Tony George Statement about his future

The following is a statement by Tony George in response to the June 30th announcement by the Board of Directors of Hulman & Company and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that a new management team will be replacing George of his current responsibilities.

“Nearly 20 years ago, I was asked by my family to represent our business as President and Chief Executive Officer. Since accepting that position, I have served at the pleasure of the board and, in doing so, I enthusiastically agreed to commit myself to stewardship of a great institution. While my service as CEO has now ended, I consider my stewardship to be a life-long appointment.

“At a board meeting a little over a month ago, the Board of Directors of Hulman & Co. and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway asked me to propose a management reorganization that would focus my duties exclusively upon the operation, promotion, and development of the Indy Racing League, which I founded in 1994 and have overseen the development of since 1996.

“At a board meeting last week, I was asked to continue as CEO of the Indy Racing League, reporting to a new President and CEO of IMS. In my view, this would have created an unnecessary bureaucratic layer between the people in the operations of the IRL and the CEO of IMS that had not previously existed. From the perspective of my experience as President and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I am acutely aware that the interests of IndyCar racing as a sport, the IRL as a league, and the most important motorsports race in the world, are mutually dependant and inter-connected, both now and in the future. I did not feel that a subordinate position as ‘CEO of the IRL’ was a management vehicle which would allow me to accomplish the objectives that the family and the board requested me to pursue. I declined that position.

“Since our May board meeting, as requested, I have offered my advice to the board on management reorganization, but also and perhaps more importantly, a reorganization of our board, which would provide a structure for better governance for generations to come. It is my belief that, with the recent unification of open-wheel racing, the focus should be on the future rather than the past.

“I am encouraged that in recent conversations with my mother and Chairman of the Board, Mari George, I learned that she also sees the wisdom of taking a forward-looking approach which will provide consistent and coordinated leadership. In the near future, I will be providing a proposal for the board to evaluate. I have been assured by the Chairman that the board will engage in appropriate dialogue, with constructive give and take.

“The success of any organization relies on strong leadership from management to execute strategies that focus on achieving results, and a board whose vision is focused on owner and stakeholder returns.

“There have been many questions raised in the industry and in the media about whether any of these recent changes reflect a reduction in the commitment of our family or the IMS to the IRL or the sport of IndyCar. I have been assured by my mother that no such reduction of support or commitment is intended or anticipated. I can assure teams, sponsors, media and fans that our family is sincere in its commitment to the Indianapolis 500, the League and the sport.”

The statement concluded with the message, “At this time Tony wishes to continue to limit his communications regarding this matter to statements posted on this website.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to drive in the Indy 500

Hendrick Motor sports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in Indianapolis on Thursday to promote the upcoming All-State 400 at the Brickyard and was supposed to receive a two-seater from fellow National Guard sponsored driver Dan Wheldon of the IndyCar Series. Rain washed out the two seater ride that Earnhardt Jr was supposed to get from Wheldon, but he did get a 10 minute driving lesson from Wheldon. Quoted as saying “he picked his brains as hard as I could”, Earnhardt Jr. also had some other interesting things to say in refence to the Indy 500.

Earnhardt Jr. dropped the bombshell that could send ripple effects throughout NASCAR and possibly have IndyCar fans playing the “what if” game. Earnhardt Jr. was quoted as saying “definitely interests me” in reference to driving in the Indy 500. He also went on to say that many NASCAR drivers would try Indy if the schedules could be resolved.

Can you imagine the post popular driver in NASCAR, driving in the most famous race in the world? Earnhardt Jr. single handily could bring the Indy 500 back to its heydays of attendance every time he set foot in IMS. Earnhardt Jr. comments also raise interesting thoughts to how would the other NASCAR drivers hold up in IndyCars.

Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, all would be names that would grab fans, national media attention, jumpstart the series, and answer the ultimate question of who are the top drivers in North America.

Wheldon to pair with Earnhardt Jr. at Indy

Dan Wheldon has brought one of NASCAR's biggest stars to the IndyCar Series... for a couple of hours. Two of the National Guard’s biggest racing stars will be sharing a ride in an IndyCar this Thursday when Panther Racing driver, and former Indianapolis 500 winner, Dan Wheldon will give NASCAR Sprint Cup star Dale Earnhardt Jr. a ride in the Indy Racing Experience two-seater at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Both drivers will be on hand for photos and interviews following the event, which begins at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. Earnhardt Jr. is in Indianapolis to promote the upcoming July 26th Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and Wheldon is traveling to Canada immediately after Thursday’s event for the Honda Indy Toronto IndyCar Series race, which will be held on Sunday.

The Indy Racing Experience two-seater will be in the same No. 4 National Guard livery as Wheldon drives full-time in the IndyCar Series. The event also included Earnhardt’s Hendrick Motorsports’ teammate Jeff Gordon, who is also sponsored by the National Guard.

Earnhardt will also turn laps in the historic No. 16 Noc-Out Hose Clamp Special that Mauri Rose and Floyd David co-drove to victory in the 1941 Indianapolis 500. Earnhardt currently ranks 21st in the Sprint Cup standings and has collected one Top Five and three Top Ten finishes this season. He will be making his tenth career start in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard this year, and has previously recorded a best result of sixth at the race in 2006. In nine previous starts, Earnhardt Jr. has led a total of 54 laps at Indianapolis.

The Honda Indy Toronto will be broadcast live in ABC at 1 p.m.

Honda Indy Toronto Pre-Race Preview

The IndyCar Series will conduct their 10th race of the 2009 season with the first ever race in Toronto sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. The last time open wheel racing was in Toronto, was 2007 when Champ Car conducted the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto, formally know as the Molson Indy Toronto. The race was not kept on the schedule in 2008 after the merger, but was announced it would return in 2009 after Andretti Green team owner Michael Andretti purchased the assets of the Grand Prix of Toronto. Andretti teamed with Honda for naming rights, and the Honda Indy Toronto was born.

The 2007 race saw former Team Australia and current Team Penske driver Will Power take the checkered flag. Power should be making his return to the IndyCar Series after driving three of the first four races in the 2009 season. Power filled in for Helio Castroneves during his legal troubles earlier in the spring.

The race will be the last of five races broadcast by the ABC/ESPN coverage, as the last seven races on the schedule will be carried on Versus. Coverage starts at 1 p.m. on Sunday July 12th. Be sure to check out http://www.indycargarage.com/ for more race previews and discussions on the forums.

Watkins Glen Race Reactions

The IndyCar Series concluded their ninth race of the 2009 at Watkins Glen International Raceway on Sunday. Justin Wilson of Dale Coyne Racing captured a historic victory for several reasons. Wilson put Dale Coyne Racing for the first time in nearly 25 years and broke the 10 race streak of the combo of Team Penske and Ganassi Racing. IndyCarGarage breaks down five race reactions from Sunday’s race.

1. Finally a new face in the winners circle

It was great to see Dale Coyne Racing in the winner’s circle for the first time in 558 attempts. Justin Wilson provided a great addition for Coyne’s team this year, as he has proven that he is an up and coming driver in the series as showed by his dominance throughout the weekend. Most importantly about Wilson’s victory is that it provided a break from the traditional winner circle routine of a Penske or a Ganassi machine being celebrated. Wilson’s victory hopefully can open the flood gates for more drivers from more teams entering the winner’s circle or a podium finish.

2. Points Championship shakes up again

Dario Franchitti 15th place finished mixed up the points chase, as Scott Dixon now leads Ryan Briscoe and Franchitti by 19 points a piece. Helio Castroneves and Danica Patrick round out the top five, with Dan Whedlon and Marco Andretti still with a outside shot of getting back in the mix. Dixon now is in position to capture his second consecutive point’s championship with his third place finish at the Glen. The Penske/Ganassi teams continue to dominate the point’s championship, but as Justin Wilson proved on Sunday, anything is possible for the remaining eight races.

3. Marco Andretti and his rough day turned top five finish

Marco Andretti had the unfortunate luck of seeing Mario Moraes early in the race on Sunday and cut a tire while battling with Moraes. Andretti used some clever pit strategy along with lucky yellows to capture a top five finish. Andretti battled all day to get back to the front and it showed with his aggressive driving and unwillingness to ride at the back of the pack. Andretti-Green Racing isn’t having a typical AGR season, and most of the focus throughout the season has been on Danica Patrick possible move to NASCAR. Marco Andretti could salvage the second half of the season for AGR with more top five finishes and keeping his mouth shut as well. Marco is a young American that needs to finish towards the top to promote interest for the series.

4. Ryan Hunter-Reay can’t catch a break

Ryan Hunter-Reay might be having one of the most unlucky season in recent memory. Hunter-Reay captured a second place finish at the season opener, but it has all been down hill since then. Sunday was no different, as Hunter-Reay failed to complete a lap, as he was caught in a traffic jam on the opening lap. The interesting thing about Hunter-Reay is that he has kept his composure throughout this tough stretch. The IndyCar Series has a young talented American in Hunter-Reay and he brings sponsorship with him as well, hopefully we can see better results out of him in the near future to promote his growth in the series.

5. The 2010 Schedule is a work in progress

News out of the IndyCar Series this weekend at Watkins Glen from Terry Angstadt, the league's president of the commercial division is that the 2010 schedule is still a work in progress. The schedule, which will be announced somewhere between the Kentucky and Mid-Ohio race, figures to be 16 – 18 races. Angstadt mentioned that the double header format at Cleveland is still in the mix, New Hampshire Motor Speedway is also a candidate, and a possibly street course around Gillette Stadium. The street course around Gillette Stadium is not a possibility until 2012. Milwaukee figures to be the odd oval out at this time, as it seems they are having problems paying their fees to both the IRL and NASCAR. However the 2010 schedule plays out in the next month, one thing remains to be seen and that is the development of new race cars. Brian Barnhardt said that news cars won’t be ready until 2012 because of research and development for the new machines. All IndyCar fans can only sit and wait for what the future holds for the series.

Watkins Glen Race Preview

The IndyCar Series enters its halfway point of the 2009 season with its first of three consecutive road/street course races. The IndyCar Series has had negative press over the past week and IndyCarGarage breaks down six observations going into the Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen.

1. News, News, News, for all the wrong reasons

The IndyCar Series has been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the past week. Let’s start at the top. First, the fallout from the Richmond race has been horrendous. the IndyCar series had to respond directly to drivers complaining about the lack of passing and, of course the bombshell, Tony George resigned as the CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It’s simple. This probably has been the worst week of news for the IndyCar series since 1996 when the Indy Racing League was announced. No other way around it, rumors throughout Indianapolis swirl about several things, but the bottom line is that the IndyCar Series needs SOME KIND of positive news out of its series. We could start with a series sponsor, or go to a higher car count, and maybe finish off with Danica announcing she is returning to open-wheel, but we don’t have any of those things. IndyCarGarage admits to everyone who follows this blog and website, this is a very tough time to be an IndyCar fan.

2. Car Count

21. That’s how many cars will be in the Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen this Sunday at 1 p.m. on A.B.C. The economy is tough for everyone involved in motorsports right now, but just a year after unification the IndyCar Series has seen the car count drop off a significant amount, with several high quality drivers still sitting on the sidelines looking for rides. IndyCarGarage has touched on this subject several times and throughout the discussions on this site, the questions remains… will we ever see above 28 cars on a race to race basis?

3. Penske/Ganassi domination = anyone else want to answer the door?

Throughout the first eight races of the 2009 season, the Penske/Ganassi domination has been in full effect. The top four cars in the points championship race are from the two dominate teams in the series. The IndyCar Series is still waiting for that third team to break through and win a race in the 2009 schedule. In 2008, 10 different drivers won a race in 18 races, so far in 2009, we have four drivers in eight races. Andretti Green Racing is close with Danica Patrick, Dan Wheldon and Panther Racing are a team to think about every weekend, and count in all the road course drivers from Champ Car. Let’s see a new driver win a race.

4. Paul Tracy = back in the saddle

Paul Tracy returns to the IndyCar Series for his third race of the 2009 season with KV Racing. Former IndyCar driver Jimmy Vasser will serve as race strategist and PT remains a threat to win. What this means for the IndyCar Series is that another proven driver is now involved with the series and should give them another name to talk about throughout the coverage of the race. Paul Tracy is a high possibility to replace Danica Patrick next year in the AGR stable if she would leave for Ganassi Racing, as rumored throughout the discussion boards. Paul Tracy winning a race on Sunday proves that he belongs full time in the IndyCar Series.

5. Changes to look forward to at Kentucky?

The IndyCar Series announced a number changes for the next upcoming race, which is at Kentucky Motor Speedway on August 1st at 8 p.m. Among the changes is 300 more added down force, which is designed to create more side by side racing and passing. The good news is that remains the lone positive out of the IndyCar Series in the last week. It remains to be seen what happens on August 1st at Kentucky, but if the future holds true, it should offer some more competitive racing. IndyCar Garage will be at the Kentucky race and will offer insight coverage to what the new changes bring to the series.

6. Vision racing where are you going?

With Tony George recent resignation as CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, more pressure should be on him to improve his middle of the road race team in Vision Race Team. Tony has a talented driver in Ed Carpenter, and is loaning another talented driver to A.J. Foyt Racing for the remainder of the season. Tony George needs to pick up his race team and put it in the top three to spice up the IndyCar Series. Watkins Glen provides his first opportunity

Tony George Out as CEO of Indianapolis Motor Speedway

News out of the IndyCar Series tonight, as reported by Robin Miller of SpeedTV a month ago is that Tony George has resigned his position of chief executive officer of Hulman & Co. and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will remain on the board of the family’s organization. He will be replaced by Curt Brighton and Jeff Belskus. George became president of IMS in 1990 at the young age of 30.

George has often been sighted for the decline of open wheel racing and the sport endured a nasty political spilt in 1996 with the creation of the Indy Racing League. He has transformed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the SAFER barrier, now commonly used in all types of racing, and also brought NASCAR, F1and just recently the MotoGP.

It remains to be seen what type of role George will play in the family business. Rumors have been circulating throughout the last month that the Hulman family would like Tony to focus on the IndyCar Series and his four year old race team Vision Racing.

SunTrust Indy Challenge Race Reactions

Richmond Race Reaction

The IndyCar Series completed their eighth race of the season at Richmond International Speedway on Saturday Night. Scott Dixon took home his third win of the season and moved to second in the point standings. Scott also tied Sam Hornish Jr. record of 19 career victories in the IndyCar series. Rounding out the top five were his teammate Dario Franchitti, Graham Rahal, Hideki Mutoh and Danica Patrick. IndyCarGarage breaks down five race reactions from the SunTrust Indy Challenge.

1. We have a new point’s leader

Dario Franchitti is now the new series point’s leader with his runner up finish behind his teammate. Dixon is a close second, trailing only by a point. The Team Penske cars are third and fourth with Ryan Briscoe dropping from first to third and Helio Castroneves fourth. Andretti Green Star Danica Patrick is now fifth, but is now 60 points behind the leader. The oval racing this season has been lukewarm at best this season, but the point’s championship is very exciting to follow through each race. Let’s hope the IndyCar Series has the passing problem figured out by August 1st at Kentucky.

2. The IndyCar Series needs the lucky dog format that NASCAR uses

Five drivers finished on the lead lap in Saturdays SunTrust Indy Challenge. Throughout the course of the race several of the leaders had to make green flag pit stops and caused them to go a lap down. In order to help the drivers get back on the lead lap and spice up the race, the IndyCar series needs to adapt some sort of lucky dog format that NASCAR uses. I won’t call it the lucky dog as NASCAR does, maybe the comeback car award, but by allowing more cars to stay on the lead lap it would spice up the racing and give drivers more of a chance to comeback after a bad start to the race.

3. Andretti-Green Racing = Lots to talk about

Andretti Green Racing had a horrible pre-race with only one of their four cars qualifying in the top nine. The race itself was completely different, as all four drivers finished in the top seven. Hideki Mutoh lead his first career IndyCar laps, as he was in control for 74 laps early in the race. Mutoh and Danica Patrick had pit strategy to win the race, but caught a horrible break as Dixon, Franchitti, and Rahal caught a yellow right before they were about to cycle through for green flag stops. This would have possibly allowed AGR to sweep the first four spots, as Mutoh finished fourth, Patrick fifth, Marco Andretti sixth and Tony Kanaan seventh. Overall, the fans of AGR had to be happy with a rebound from qualifications, in the bigger picture, they just missed a break to have a huge night at Richmond. This team will be under the microscope for the remainder of the season for several reasons. First, the Danica drama surrounding her possibly move to NASCAR or to another team. Second, Mutoh’s possibly sponsorship could not be renewed with the Formula Dream package looking at all its options. Third, Marco Andretti possibly exploring F1 options and possibly forming his own team with grandfather. Fourth, Tony Kanan has not had the season he hoped for after signing a multi-year contract this past off-season.


4. Graham Rahal career best finish on an oval

A young American driver on a podium finish, that’s great for the IndyCar Series and Graham Rahal. While clearly the race didn’t factor into Grahams decisions to try for a win at the end, it was a good finish for the 20 year old driver and hopefully gives him momentum into the upcoming road courses. Graham and Marco Andretti are the future of the IndyCar series, and like their fathers, will make or break the longevity of the IndyCar series itself. For all the American drivers in NASCAR, a Rahal and Andretti making news in the IndyCar Series could be great for the series. The ultimate race is a Rahal and Andretti battling at the end of the race for the win, hopefully that is in the future of the 2009 season.


5. Team Penske – What happened?

Team Penske had an unusual race as Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves finished 17th and 19th respectively. Both drivers suffered similar fates, just in different stages of the race. Briscoe was very disappointed after the race, as he seemed to be happy about the car during qualifications. This was the first race all season that we saw both Ryan and Helio be non-factors in the race. With three straight road courses on the IndyCar series schedule, it will be interested to see if Briscoe and Castroneves can bounce back and get back in the championship hunt.

SunTrust Indy Challenge Race Preview

The IndyCar Series moves on to Richmond International Speedway for its 8th race of the season and second race in six days. The last time we saw the IndyCar Series, Dario Franchitti captured his second win of the 2009 season by dominating the second half of the Iowa Corn 250 at Iowa Speedway. The IndyCar Series is in the heart of its schedule, as they begin a stretch of six races in seven weekends. The chase for the point’s championship is heating up as well, as six drivers remain separated by only 57 points. IndyCarGarage breaks down five things to watch for in Saturday night’s 225 mile race.

1. The Track itself – Richmond International Speedway

Richmond International Speedway will offer some of the most action packed racing of the entire 17 race schedule. The IndyCars will be able to pass at any spot on the track and also will battle for position through pit-stops. Traffic will be factor as well, as only eight of the 26 car field finished on the lead lap last year. The 2008 race saw the pole sitter Tony Kanaan take home the checkered flag, that win a year ago was the last time both Tony Kanaan and his team Andretti-Green Racing were in the winners circle. This will mark the ninth sanctioned IndyCar Race at Richmond International Speedway. Richmond will also be the last oval before the IndyCar Series embarks on three consecutive road/street courses, if you’re an oval fan, enjoy this race until the series heads to Kentucky in August.

2. Still looking for a third team to break through in 2009

Seven races into the 2009 season and we have only seen two teams enter the winners circle. Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi have dominated the 2009 season by winning every race on the schedule. It’s not surprising either that the four drivers represented by those two teams also represent the four drivers in the top of the point’s championship. The IndyCar Series needs someone new to break through this year. Fan favorite Tony Kanaan won last year as mentioned above. Danica Patrick could possibly break through for her second career win if she can qualify towards the top. A handful of other possible drivers are in the mix as well, Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti to name a few. Early traffic and crashes will factor into who survives the 300 laps at Richmond.

3. The Points Championship

Ryan Briscoe holds a slim lead over second place Dario Franchitti and only because Briscoe finished runner up in Iowa. The top six drivers are separated by 57 points as mentioned above, Briscoe, Franchitti, Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, and Dan Wheldon all need solid races (top 10) to maintain their positions in the race for the championship. Keep an eye on the pole sitter and the driver who leads the most laps, as additional bonus points are awarded for those accomplishments. Danica Patrick needs a podium finish to recapture the momentum she had coming out of Indianapolis.

4. The return of Versus Coverage

The IndyCar Series will return to action on Versus for the SunTrust Indy Challenge on Saturday night. The last time we heard from Versus in the IndyCar Series was at Texas Motor Speedway. Versus will cover qualifications on Friday night from 6-7 p.m. and cover the race on Saturday night starting at 8 p.m. The Versus trio of Bob Jenkins, Jon Beekhuis and former driver Robbie Buhl have offered great insight from the booth, and the camera shots have been great as well. The ABC/ESPN coverage last week at Iowa was average at best, as replays of the wrecks were often forgotten, some of the pit stops were missed in the side by side coverage, and overall it just wasn’t great. Hopefully Versus can get back to their May type coverage of the IndyCar series, as they seemed to be at their best during that time period

5. Car Count

IndyCarGarage has touched on this before, but hopefully Richmond is the last race on the schedule were only 20 cars will take the green flag. President of Competition in the IndyCar Series Brian Barnhart has been quoted as saying 22-25 drivers should be the norm for the rest of the season. 26 cars took the green flag last year at Richmond, and this year it looks like it will be down substantially. The economy is hurting everyone in auto spots, (see where the NASCAR truck series is next year) but IndyCars have weathered the storm to a degree. If the car count can return to the mid 20s for the remainder of the season, we should see some more competitive racing and story lines develop.

Iowa Corn 250 - Race Reactions

The IndyCar Series concluded the Iowa Corn 250 on Sunday with 42,000 fans taking in the action at the 7/8 mile track. Dario Franchitti is now two for two in appearances at Iowa, as he took home his second career victory at Iowa. Ryan Briscoe took home his third runner up finish of the 2009 season and Hideki Mutoh finished a season high third for Andretti Green Racing. IndyCar Garage breaks down four race reactions from Sunday’s race.

1. Another Ganassi/Penske in the winners circle
Dario Franchitti won his second race of the season on Sunday and continued the trend of a Ganassi or Penske in victory lane. There has been a total of four drivers reach the winners circle in 2009 and they are residing with the Ganassi/Penske machines. Give credit to both teams, they both gave their drivers outstanding machines and had it not been for early contact between Dixon and Helio early in the race, we might have seen a top four sweep. IndyCar Garage has said this before, if the IndyCar Series wants to continue to generate interest in the common fan, someone new needs to win. There were glimpses of new drivers breaking through on Sunday, as several lead changes occurred during the first half of the race. It will be interesting in the upcoming road courses if any driver can break through to the top spot on the podium. Among the likely candidates to win a race this year Justin Wilson, Graham Rahal, Ryan Hunter-Rea, Paul Tracy, Danica Patrick, and Dan Wheldon.

2. 2010 Schedule
Terry Angstadt president of the IndyCar Series Commercial Division announced prior to the Iowa Race that they have reached a two year contract extension for the IndyCar Series to return to Iowa Speedway. Since the IndyCar Series added Iowa to their schedule in 2007 it has been a major successful for all involved, attendance was sold out this year as they needed more grand stands. Angstadt also announced that the IndyCar Series has an 18 race schedule in mind for the 2010 schedule. They would add a race in Brazil as an additional street course and possibly another at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. Angstadt mentioned that schedule would have a split of nine ovals and nice street/road courses. The oval rumored to be in jeopardy is Milwaukee, not enough information was available on Milwaukee to confirm that. Either way you look at it, this is not the way the Indy Racing League started back in 1996, but it shows you a change in the direction of the overall series in general. Since the merger, Penske and Ganassi have dominated the ovals, while some of the smaller teams have had success on the road/street courses. To give the IndyCar Series more parity, a more even mix of street/road courses seems to be the future.

3. Finally some racing
Iowa offered some of the most exciting racing of the season to date. Tomas Scheckter passed six cars in the first lap and drover the outside line hard all day. Two to three car wide racing was very present in the first half of the race and made for a good day of overall racing. The IndyCar Series has taken some heat from the drivers and media for the lack of passing and competitive racing in the recent tracks such as Indy and Texas. Brian Barnhardt said that some changes could be made for the Kentucky race on August 1st. Whatever the case may be, hopefully Iowa is a sign of good things to come in terms of better racing and excitement for the fans.

4. Points Championship
Ryan Briscoe held onto to his points lead by finishing runner up to Dario Franchitti on Sunday, his three point lead is the slimmest of margins. Dan Wheldon sits in sixth place only 57 points back of Briscoe. It will be very interesting to watch the chase for the points champions over the course of the next six races. None of the leaders can afford a DNF at this critical time in the schedule.

As it sits now:
1st Ryan Briscoe – 241 points
2nd Dario Franchitti – 238 points
3rd Scott Dixon – 226 points
4th Helio Castroneves – 212 points
5th Danica Patrick – 189 points
6th Dan Wheldon – 184 points