Indianapolis 500
Tight Pack Of Top Drivers Zero In On Indy After Kansas Race
  Tight Pack Of Top Drivers Zero In On Indy After Kansas Race |
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04-28-2008 03:53 PM |
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 Tight Pack Of Top Drivers Zero In On Indy After Kansas Race Four IndyCar Series races, four different race winners for the first time since 2004. Four drivers within 15 points of the championship lead heading to the 92nd Indianapolis 500 in four weeks. Dan Wheldon, who became the first repeat winner in eight races at Kansas Speedway by edging Tony Kanaan by 2.1778 seconds in the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 on April 27, will be among the "500" favorites for the fourth year in a row. Credit the Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver's early-season success. In 2005, Wheldon glided to the checkers in the 500-Mile Race prequel at Twin Ring Motegi and went on to Victory Circle at the Brickyard. In '06, he finished second at the egg-shaped oval in Japan before qualifying on the front row and finishing fourth at Indianapolis. Last year, of course, the victory at the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway oval set the table for Wheldon to make another run at the Borg-Warner Trophy. Well, let's just say things didn't go according to plan after he qualified sixth. "I think the win is good, but the biggest thing that you notice about this year is you pick up the wins when you can, but you can't have races out of the top five because the points are just that close," said Wheldon, who has finished third, fourth and first on the ovals this season. "So it's important to score wins. I think this will help going into the month of May, but I don't think it means too much because it's just going to be tight there." If Wheldon wants to fly under the radar, teammate Scott Dixon will show up on the screen of the 2.5-mile Speedway. 2003 IndyCar Series champion Dixon has gone first, third and third on the ovals and trails championship leader Helio Castroneves by six points. The first practice day for veterans is May 6 (noon-6 p.m. ET, live streaming video on indycar.com). "I was looking at his results, and I think they've been in the top four every single (practice) session the whole year," Kanaan said. "So Scott's been very strong. He has shown that sometimes other things have let him down. So I think Scott is one of the favorites, for sure." That's two known commodities, but what about Kanaan and others? After a runner-up finish and a strong showing at Kansas, Marco Andretti could contend like he did in his 2006 debut. Danica Patrick, who started and finished fourth in '05, likely will make some noise. Castroneves will seek his third victory. "We've ran consistently well the first part of the season, and I have no doubt that the team will continue to give me the car I need to go for my third Indianapolis 500 win next month," Castroneves said. Oriol Servia, Justin Wilson and Graham Rahal among others that showed speed and consistency at Kansas. "Everybody wants to win that race, especially me and Scott," said Kanaan, who has come close numerous times including last May's thunder clap of angst. "It's kind of a place that you create a lot of expectations, which I try not to do because you can leave that place pretty disappointed. If I have a car to win, it would definitely mean a lot to me. "Indy's an open road, so I think everybody's going to have a chance to do really well there. If you remember when anyone asked (Sebastien) Bourdais and Bruno (Junqueira), they were pretty strong there (in 2005). So I don't see why not they can come back there and be as strong. "Indy's a whole different game. So I'm pretty sure there are a lot of those guys going to be up to speed pretty fast." *** 
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