Egotastic
For the last week drivers have flocked from every corner of the world to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in order to practice and hopefully qualify for The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indianapolis 500. When all is said and done 33 drivers will have a chance to make racing history.
One guy already has; the driver of the No 2 Penske car, Ryan Briscoe.
Briscoe took the pole position with the fastest time in the Fast Nine Shootout Saturday beating out James Hinchcliffe by the smallest margin in the history of the 96 year old race, .0023 seconds. When someone smarter than me did the math the difference came out to a hair over nine inches—after the drivers had just covered 633,600 of them (10 miles).
Winning the pole is great, and if recent history is any indication it could very well lead to victory for Briscoe. Scott Dixon won the pole in ’08 and Helio Castroneves did it as well in ’09; both went on to win the race. Sam Hornish Jr. did the same in ’06 as did Buddy Rice in ’04.
Even if he doesn’t win he does get a nice payday just for winning the pole--$175,000. Not bad for a days work.
Article by Travis Pulver
Dario Franchitti Wins Third Indy 500 (VIDEO)
In order to enjoy a day of racing fans at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway had to endure some incredibly hot temperatures. Ask anyone that was there and they would say that it was well worth it.
Dario Franchitti was in one heck of a battle for first during the last lap with Takuma Sato. When Sato tried to pass Franchitti on the inside of turn 1, it appeared that he touched Dario's tires. After doing so he spun out, crashing into the wall, effectively securing the win for Franchitti.
On a day where the late Dan Wheldon was being honored it was only fitting that it was one of his friends that won the iconic race. It seemed destined that one of Wheldon's friends was going to win. With six laps to go prior to the last restart the three drivers in front where all good friends of Wheldon--Tony Kanaan, Franchitti, and Scott Dixon.
It's the third time that Franchitti has won the Greatest Spectacle in Racing making him only the tenth driver to do so.
Article by Travis Pulver