Yes, it's been a while since I visited the brickyard. I relearned a few lessons. The first lesson is that the drivers in the Indianapolis 500 are divided into three categories. Of the 33 starters, I say that 12 or 15 are exceptional at what they do. A handful have some potential. Every year there seems to be a small handful of flunkies who belong on small town dirt tracks, at best. The picture is of Mario Moraes, of Brazil, hitting the wall on the first lap as Danica Patrick passes. Moraes is in the last of my three groups of drivers, along with anybody hired by A.J. Foyt. Jr. to drive his cars.
Let's talk about Danica Patrick. The Indy 500 faithful love her! They're on a first name basis with her. It's not "Patrick," it's "Danica!" (And, I think she pays her taxes!) The fans at the 500 have always welcomed female drivers. I was at the race when Janet Guthrie broke the gender line at Indy, and the fans loved it! Janet never wore a swimsuit in Sports Illustrated, but, we still loved her!
Helio Castroneves took the checkered flag, today. I saw him pass Scott Dixon on the main straight, right in front of me, as the "yellow" turned to "green." Ballsey move - the crowd loved it. While I think the guy is tax cheating scum, he sure can drive a race car! And he's handsome with an adorable accent! Is this a great country or what?
