Chip Ganassi Racing (IndyCar Series)

With the Indianapolis 500 upon us, we brought in former champion Scott Dixon to break down the field.

Which team will prove to be the toughest competition? Which racers are most primed to handle the pressure? 

Watch Adam Lefkoe and 2008 Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon discuss this year's race in the video above.

Twelve years on to this very day since the accident that almost killed him and changed his life forever, Alex Zanardi is still as chippy and cheerful as he ever was.

Motorsport is littered with stories of inspirational comebacks and bravery in the face of adversity, Niki Lauda immediately springs to mind after the release of Ron Howard’s "Rush" this week.

But if ever there was a story that should be made into a Hollywood blockbuster, then it is surely Zanardi’s.

An early acquaintance with death

Born in Bologna, Italy, Zanardi had to come to terms with the grim reality that cars are dangerous from a very early age when his sister Cristina was killed in an automobile accident in 1979.

At age 13, he began racing karts the very year his sister was killed, building his own chariot using wheels from a dustbin and pipes from his father’s factory.

Following a second-place championship finish in F3000 in 1991, Zanardi gained his big break in F1 with Eddie Jordan’s team and competed in the final three races of the season.

A brief spell with Minardi followed, but it wasn’t until the 1993 and 1994 seasons with Lotus that he enjoyed a consistent run in the sport, albeit in an uncompetitive car—sixth place in the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix was his best return.

Following the collapse of the Lotus F1 team, Zanardi upped sticks and left for America where he signed for Chip Ganassi Racing for the 1996 Champ Car Series. He made an immediate impact, securing five pole positions and winning three times during his rookie season en route to a tie for second in the championship standings.

Triumph and tragedy in America

Zanardi won back-to-back titles the next two years, and a window back into the world of F1 racing that he desired opened again with Frank Williams offering him a contract.

The team had won the drivers’ and constructors’ titles with Jacques Villeneuve the previous season, but the new Mecachrome-powered car was something of a disaster, and he returned to CART with Mo Nunn in 2001.

The decision proved a defining moment in his life when making ground on his rivals in round 15 at the Lausitzring, Zanardi spun into the path of Alex Tagliani, and his car was severed at the nose.

Zanardi lost both legs in the accident and almost three quarters of his blood volume, but rapid trackside assistance and excellent medical work saved his life.

A remarkable comeback

So began the second chapter of Zanardi’s life, which involved a rigorous rehabilitation program as the Italian was determined to race once more.

Drawing on the interest in design and engineering that led him to build his own kart as a youngster, Zanardi designed and built his own prosthetic limbs as he was dissatisfied with those he had been given. And in 2003, the Italian was back behind the wheel of a racing car, completing the final 13 laps at the race venue that almost killed him using hand operated brake and acceleration controls. In doing so, he lapped the circuit at speeds that would have seen him qualify fifth for the race.

The experience proved to himself both physically and psychologically that he was able to race again, and in 2004 he joined Roberto Ravaglia’s BMW Team Italy-Spain for what would be five fruitful seasons. He won in Germany near the scene of his life-changing accident in his first full year and would go on to win again in 2006, 2008 and 2009.

An Olympic champion

After retiring from competitive racing for the final time, Zanardi decided to pursue his other new passion of handcycle racing.

Having won the Venice, Rome and New York marathons, Zanardi won a place for Team Italy at the 2012 London Paralympics.

It was almost preordained that the determined Zanardi would succeed, and he became a double Paralympic champion, winning gold medal in the men's road time trial H4 and gold in the individual H4 road race.

The next chapter?

After doing so, Zanardi said it had been the “last day of a great adventure,” but that he now had to find something else to do otherwise “life will become a little boring."

And after all Zanardi has been through in an incredible life, it is a good bet that the final chapter has yet to be written. But perhaps it’s up to a Hollywood scriptwriter to pen what has happened up until now. As he reflected last year:

I'm Alex Zanardi, I always have to come up with something at the end of a race - I have a bit of a big head. My great friend Jimmy Vasser called me last night and said if you win a gold medal I'm going to put you in a car for the Indy 500, so I will have to call him back tonight. I only collected a second place, a third-placed finish and to win I had to come back with a hand-cycle. It's an amazing feeling.

I'm really, really happy for the result and I knew that this moment was going to bring a little bit of sadness as well. This is almost the last day of a great adventure and from Monday I will have to find something different, otherwise life will become a little boring. It's at the top of the scale with many other great moments I've been lucky enough to live.

Dario Franchitti overcame a number of hurdles to capture his third Indianapolis 500.

Firstly, the day undoubtedly belonged to the late Dan Wheldon, who was killed during an October crash in the IndyCar season finale.

Franchitti, who was close friends with Wheldon, was seemingly racing in tribute to his fallen friend, while also etching his name in IndyCar history.

Franchitti was also able to weather some setbacks early on as he climbed back from last place en route to becoming the 10th driver to secure three or more 500 victories.

The race was no cakewalk itself, and was not decided until the final lap when Takuma Sato made a last-lap pass attempt, but did not have enough room on the inside and ended up spinning into the wall.

The race was competitive for nearly the duration, as ten different drivers held the lead 34 times—the most in race history—breaking the previous mark of 29 in 1960.

Along with the tight competition, the drivers had to deal with the scorching heat as it hit 91 degrees, one shy of the Indy 500 record set in 1937.

However, it was Franchitti who tasted the ice-cold milk following the race. He also donned a pair of white sunglasses in honor of Wheldon.

With the win, Franchitti continues his climb through the record books. With one more victory, Franchitti will move into seventh place among wins and will join the elites of open-wheel racing.

Franchitti is already the reigning IZOD IndyCar Series champion, and has captured three others in addition to last season’s while proving himself as a force to be reckoned with on the raceway.

He has already notched 31 total wins and one more victory would separate him from Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais.

At that point, Franchitti would truly join the upper echelon of open-wheel racing.

If this year’s Indy 500 is any indication, Franchitti will continue to compete for first-place finishes and championships for years to come, which could push him past all three Unsers who occupy the all-time top six: Al Sr., Bobby and Al Jr.

With seemingly more years in front of him, Franchitti could go down as one of the best ever in open-wheel racing.

Dario Franchitti changed more than history.

The focus of Franchitti’s Indianapolis 500 triumph on Sunday has been the driver’s place amongst the greatest IndyCar competitors of all-time, and deservedly so, after winning his third Indy 500. The man won four out of the last five IndyCar Series titles—with that type of resume, a major victory is naturally going to trigger attention towards history. But shifting the focus away from the big picture and back to present time, Franchitti just saved his 2012 season.

Dave Kallmann of the Boston Herald reported that Franchitti talked about his career accomplishments following his win. He said:

I don’t know. I’m very proud of the achievements, whether it’s Indy wins, championships, every one of the race wins. Sometimes I look back, but generally I’m trying to look forward. When I retire, that’s the time to look back.

Good call.

Right now, it isn’t wise to look back because he’s in the middle of a season. Up until Sunday’s win, Franchitti’s current campaign has been nothing to write home about. In his first four races, he displayed nothing but mediocrity—placing 13^th, 10^th, 15^th and fifth.

John Oreovicz of ESPN even wrote a column just a little over a month ago attempting to figure out what was wrong with him.

Before the 96^th running of The 500, Franchitti was 10^th in the standings. If he wanted to win his fourth straight championship title, Franchitti had to accelerate sooner rather than later. Will Power already had three wins and was beginning to create separation between him and the reigning champ.

Power’s stranglehold on the series got a little less tight on Sunday, though. Franchitti added 54 points to his 2012 total, skyrocketing him up the standings to sixth place. With 11 races remaining in the year, he has plenty of time to catch his competition.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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For the past decade, Scott Dixon has been the fastest Australasian on the IndyCar grid. Next Sunday, however, it will be Australia’s Ryan Briscoe leading the field when the lights go green at the Brickyard.

Scott Dixon and the Chip Ganassi team have struggled to match the pace of Team Penske in the opening four races of the season and it seems that they have carried their turbulent form into the crown jewel of American motorsport.

Dixon qualified a lowly 15th, his worst-ever qualification at Indianapolis. Teammate Dario Franchitti starts 16, emphasising the difficulty Chip Ganassi Racing are having adjusting to 2012’s new regulations.

Dixon’s qualifying performance completes a hat trick of disappointment after poor finishes at Long Beach and Sao Paulo.

Despite such disappointing form, however, the Kiwi must be viewed as one of the leading candidates to lift the Borg Warner trophy.

Last season, Dixon found himself in strong contention to win IndyCar’s flagship race and could have won were it not for the need to save fuel. With 10 laps remaining, the Kiwi found himself in a four-way battle for victory, battling against rookie driver JR Hildebrand, Bertrand Baguette and Dan Wheldon.

In the climatic final four laps, however, Dixon had to back off the lead pace, ultimately finishing in fifth place, behind Wheldon, Hildebrand, Baguette and Tony Kanaan. If the New Zealander can stay out of trouble at the beginning of the race, he has all the credentials to mount a similar challenge for victory.

A solid qualifying performance was a fundamental reason why Dixon was able to challenge for victory in 2011, a luxury the New Zealander will not have this weekend. Despite this, there are plenty of reasons to draw encouragement from starting in the midfield.

Recent history shows that qualifying in the midfield does not compromise the opportunity to fight for the lead. In 2009, Dan Wheldon qualified 18th but finished second and he repeated the feat in 2010. Marco Andretti qualified 16th in 2010 and came third.

Most significantly JR Hildebrand started last season’s race in 12th and would have won were it not for a silly error on the exit of Turn 4 during the final lap.

In 2011, five of the top 10 finishers qualified 21st or lower, which reveals that it is not impossible for Dixon to negotiate his way around the field. 

Scott Dixon should be also be buoyed by promising times set in practice sessions. An average speed of 233.088 mph in a test on Friday, May 18 was the quickest of the day, although it is considerably slower than pole sitter Ryan Briscoe’s four lap average of 226.484 mph in qualifying.

It will be difficult for Chip Ganassi Racing to match the dominant pace of Team Penske, but last year’s race came down to fuel strategy and not engine power. The Chevrolet engine has been much superior to Chip Ganassi’s Honda power so far this season, but the Brickyard presents a different challenge altogether.   

Further to this, Dixon is a two-time IndyCar series champion and a one-time winner of the Indy 500. In nine starts at Indy, he has finished in the top 10 seven times and achieved four top 5 finishes. He has the experience and race craft to weave through the pack.

Last year, a victory eluded Scott Dixon; this year, he has the chance to avenge it.

After a long, hot day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there were many things that could be taken away from the first day of qualifying for the Indianapolis 500:

1. Although the DW12 appears to be safer, it crashes ugly

Crashes by Bryan Clauson, Oriol Servia and Ed Carpenter on Day 1 were our first opportunity to see the DW12 crash on an oval. While all three walked away unscathed, the car splintered into pieces. Although this disperses energy (and thus is ultimately beneficial), it was alarming to some.

In addition, the DW12 was designed to not go airborne during crashes, and during Ed Carpenter's crash, it did catch some air. It will be interesting to see if the car remains flat during crashes on race day.

2. No Ganassi cars made it into the Fast 9

Most people are used to seeing Ganassi drivers Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti battling for the pole at Indianapolis, but 2012 saw both drivers on the outside looking in during the Fast 9 shootout. Franchitti has been visibly frustrated all month, and yesterday was no exception. Dixon and Franchitti will roll off the grid in P15 and P16, respectively. It remains to be seen if either can find the speed they're used to in race day trim. 

3. SFHR driver Josef Newgarden was the only Honda to make the Fast 9

Fast Friday times indicated that Honda engines were at a disadvantage with the increased boost levels given for qualifying weekend; however, nobody expected just one to make it into the Fast 9. In addition, Newgarden is an Indy rookie, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway tends not to be kind to newbies. SFHR and Newgarden have been one of the fastest teams, and they're looking for a strong finish on race day.

4. Crashes on Pole Day may have put a stop to 'bumping' on Bump Day

Although rumors were flying during the week that owners were potentially planning to roll out T cars in an attempt to bump Lotus from the field, it appears that that may no longer be the case. Prior to the start of Pole Day, Pippa Mann tweeted that her chances at a Bump Day special had fallen through, although she was unable to give a reason why. This resulted in rampant speculation that IndyCar itself had put a stop to T car bumping to preserve Lotus in the field. However, IndyCar maintains that that is not the case.

It is more likely that blown engines and crashes are the result of the purported lack of T car bumping. In addition, the inability for both of A.J. Foyt's cars to make the field yesterday also likely put a stop to a third car for that team. It appears that Pippa Mann and Jay Howard will both be on the outside looking in in 2012.  

5. Can the dominance of Andretti Autosport be continued on race day?

In 2011, Andretti Autosport struggled on Pole and Bump Day, but with Andretti Autosport cars starting P2, P3 and P4, it appears that they have found their groove. However, it is obviously impossible to predict whether that will carry over to race day. It remains to be seen whether the Chevrolet engines powering Andretti cars will have the endurance or the speed to keep up with the Hondas, who appeared to be faster in non-boost conditions. 

Next season I feel will be a big one for American Graham Rahal in the Izod IndyCar Series. He returns to Chip Ganassi Racing for his second year and appears to be improving in each of his four seasons.

Rahal has the confidence and the skill level to win not just the Indianapolis 500, but the series championship. He's a smart, smooth and patient driver. He's not afraid to be aggressive when needed. He just needs a little luck and to have people stop treating his car like a punching bag.

Rahal has 62 career starts in the series with only one win, but I feel he should have been in victory lane multiple times last year. Lady Luck just had other things in mind.

He had a dominate car in nearly every race. Many times he was the best of the Ganassi four-car stable, but his results make it seem like he was neglected for the Target cars of Dario Franchitti or Scott Dixon, who also happen to be Rahal's teammates.

It seemed like Franchitti and Dixon were getting special treatment on qualifying setups and would out qualify Rahal who seemed very capable of starting up front. By Rahal not having the setups he would be forced to start mid-pack and it caused him some troubles.

Twice last year Rahal was wrecked on the first lap of the race and neither time was it his fault. Those wrecks were caused by him having to start mid-pack and getting around drivers that don't drive very smart and they got into him.

Those races were in Edmonton and New Hampshire where Rahal was having a good weekend and I picked him as my darkhorse to win in both races.

Six of the final seven races Rahal had one of the best cars in the whole field, but he was either taken out by something that was out of his control or a pit-stop mishap by his crew.

All of the races could have been won by Rahal or at the very least Rahal would have finished in the Top Five.

Here's how he fared:

Kentucky- 12th. Rahal didn't get enough fuel on the last pit-stop while running second at the time.

Japan- 12th. Franchitti took him out on an early restart while Rahal was runing in the Top Four.

Baltimore- 10th. Bad pit-strategy after a lengthy yellow late in race pushed Rahal back in the pack. He was running second at the time

Sonoma- 8th.

New Hampshire- 26th. A first lap wreck caused by Mike Conway sunk Rahal's chances.

Mid-Ohio- 24th. Rahal was spun out by Danica Patrick.

Edmonton- 25th. A first lap wreck caused by Alex Tagliani took Rahal out of contention.

The whole season wasn't all gloom and doom for the second-generation driver. Rahal had two runner-up finishes and a third in the 100th year of the Indianapolis 500.

The Indianapolis 500 is a race where I feel Graham Rahal is on the verge of winning. After wrecking in his first two attempts, he finished 12th in 2010 running for his dad Bobby Rahal's team and last year nabbed a third-place finish.

Next year is Rahal's year. Ganassi has won the last three series championships with Dario Franchitti, so this organization can obviously win. The other plus is the new car and engine packages. Everyone starts off fresh and with the same resources. With nothing to base each race package off of since it's the first time through with this car, the best team and drivers always shine.

It couldn't happen to a better driver or person if/when it does. Rahal is the American driver that the series needs to be competitive for a title again. Plus he's a second generation driver that fans can relate to.

Rahal is also very good with fans and an easy guy to root for. I have personally seen him every year at Indy sign an autograph or take a picture with anyone that comes up to him no matter what day it is or what's going on. He treats everyone like they're important and I really appreciate that he takes time out for the fans.

Most of the popular drivers are hard to get to, but not Rahal.

Rahal also started a charity auction for the late Dan Wheldon.  He's not pocketing any of the money himself and as of today he's raised over $400,000 dollars for the foundation.

He deserves to not just be a champion, but to be a champion multiple times. I think next year is the first of many championships for Rahal.

Unfortunately in life, sometimes it takes a tragedy to create change.

In the aftermath of Dan Wheldon’s tragic death on Sunday, IndyCar and Las Vegas Speedway have to make a decision to fix something about the race.

A lot of the drivers expressed concern at the amount of drivers on the small course. Here is International Business Times with the details of why 34 cars on this specific track are way too much:

The Las Vegas Speedway is a mile shorter than the Indianapolis 500 track, meaning that drivers are turning for almost the entire race. The course is also rather narrow, meaning that the drivers were riding three and four abreast. On Sunday, there were 34 cars racing, which was more than were racing at this year's Indy 500, which Wheldon won.

When you’re turning constantly next to three others cars, the smallest error can cause a huge wreck. 15 drivers were involved in the crash and a life was lost because of it.

Looking at the video in slow-mo, Wheldon was launched into the air by another car and was essentially unable to do anything at that point. With all of the oncoming traffic unable to stop, Wheldon was drilled by multiple other cars once his car returned to the track.

It just doesn’t make sense why they have the same amount of cars on the track for a NASCAR race when the average speed is 190 miles per hour...in Formula 1-style cars can reach 230. Considering how much less protection the drivers in Indy have and how much faster they drive—the field has to be shortened significantly.

Nothing is wrong with the oval; it’s the traffic on the track. Cut the field by 5-10 drivers and allow racers more room to make an error. With the competitive juices on overload, drivers will do anything to win. Being aggressive is part of their DNA.

You can’t change that part about the sport, but you can minimize the risk and after a day like Sunday...it has to be done.