Race Reaction from the Milwaukee Mile

5 Race Reactions from the Milwaukee Mile 2009 – Race Winner Scott Dixon

1. HE’S BACK – SCOTT DIXON
Dixon has rebounded nicely from his early season struggles and captured his second win of the 2009 season and his 18th career IndyCar series victory. He needs only one more win to tie Sam Hornish Jr. for the most career wins in IndyCar series history. During Sunday’s race he positioned him perfectly when Ryan Briscoe got caught in race traffic, enabling himself to make a perfect inside pass that allowed him to lead the rest of the race. With the win, Dixon moved up to 1st in the point standings, captured his second consecutive top ten finish, and positioned himself to win his second straight IndyCar series championship. Dixon should be considered the driver to beat for the remaindered of the season.

2. DANICA ISN’T A MEDIA TOY FOR THE INDYCAR SERIES
With her fourth consecutive top five finish on Sunday, Danica Patrick is proving herself as a competitive driver week in and week out. The AGR star moved up to fourth in the point standings, which is a career high for her, and also proved that she can make the most of a average car. She battled handling issues throughout the day and was the highest finishing AGR car in the race. With the rumor mill circulating about the NASCAR jump, this should prove to IndyCar officials and a Andretti-Green Racing that Danica is worth the price of keeping her around for her entire career.

3. WHAT HAPPENED TO PAUL TRACY AND A.J. FOYT RACING?
Paul Tracy had an eventful week as he circled the country in his motor home, and while on the road he got a call from Foyt to fill in for Vitor Meria. Tracy made the trip to Milwaukee with much fan fare, but had little to work with in the ABC Supply machine. Tracy battled throughout the race but had no chance of a top ten finish as his car struggled to make it through the turns in one piece. It was great to see Tracy back in a car, but you would think that he would like to be more competitive. Look for him in the Toronto and Edmonton Races.

4. TONY KANNAN?
TK is one of the most popular drivers in the IndyCar series and he has struggled mightily in the past two races. First it was a third turn crash at Indy that left him in a physical wreck for Milwaukee. TK raced off to a quick start from his third position and lead 25 laps in the earlier stages of Sunday’s race. His car then fell apart on him as it got loose and eventually caught on fire in the pits, which lead to a DNF for TK. He has taken a hit in the points and needs a comeback win at Texas to get back in the mix. It’s hard to see bad things happen to such a great competitor in the IndyCar Series.

5. 33 TO 20
I know we just finished the Indy 500, but can we get more than 20 cars in the race after? This was supposed to be the race that everyone turned into after Indy and was also televised by ABC/ESPN. Last year the IndyCar series had 22-24 cars running. This year the economy has affected some of the smaller teams and effectively limited others to just one race deals. I know some drivers are signed up to race partial schedules, but for the health of the series and the competitiveness to stay fresh, the IndyCar series needs more cars to interest the fans.