Vroom

The Indy Racing League began its 12th season tonight under the lights at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. If you are like me you were glued to your TV all night, or at least until the last twenty minutes or so when Dan Wheldon got himself so far ahead that the race was pretty much over.

And you probably have no idea what I'm going on about, and care even less.

I know. Indy car racing just isn't all that popular anymore. NASCAR is the big thing among race fans nowadays, and it seems the IRL is just along for the ride.

The big difference between NASCAR and the IRL is that NASCAR races modified stock cars while Indy cars are purpose built race cars. They are really fast. The speeds are such that tiny little things are usually the difference between winning, losing, and bouncing off a wall. A thousand things are going on everywhere on the track, every minute of the race. Some people find it to be dull. They say they can't understand why people watch cars, on a track, going in circles. That's about as perceptive as saying that drama is dull because it is just people, on a stage, talking to each other.

The IRL is auto racing for smart people. It requires a lot of attention and rewards that attention with great competition.

IRL racing is a team sport. Good teams can hire better drivers and better crews. Understanding what all those people supporting the driver do is a big part of enjoying the race. Teammates often work together on the track to improve their position, but cooperation only goes so far. When it gets close to the finish drivers tend to loose their team spirit. Allow me to introduce the major teams and some of the key players.

A.J. Foyt Enterprises: The legendary A.J. Foyt is celebrating his 50th year in Indy Racing this season. His team had a good deal of success early on in this rather young league, but as the overall level of competition has improved Foyt has become something of an also-ran. This year he is fielding one driver, Darren Manning, and I don't see much chance of improvement. He's not a bad driver, I just don't think he's on a strong team.

Andretti Green Racing: In the past AGR was dominant, but last year it was all Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi. I look for them to improve a lot this year. They are sending out four drivers. Tony Kanaan, a Brazilian, is one of my favorites. He's a funny guy, smart, nice, and a very good driver. He's known to be very dangerous in restarts (when cars go from controlled, speed-restricted laps back to full-speed racing) where he often finds a way to get the drop on other drivers, passing several in moments. Dario Franchitti is another favorite. I still haven't gotten used to hearing him talk. His name is Italian. He looks Italian. He should sound Italian, but his accent is all Scottish. It's like watching Mario Andretti's lips move but hearing Jackie Stewart's voice. Oh, and Dario is married to Ashley Judd, which I imagine is a good thing. The third Andretti driver is an Andretti. Marco Andretti is last year's Rookie of the Year. At 19 he came within an eyeblink of winning the Indy 500 and later picked up his first win during that season, a remarkable achievement. It is going to be a lot of fun watching this young man in the future. The newest member of the team is (be still my beating heart) Danica Patrick. Oh my ears and whiskers but she is . . . um . . . really rather attractive. Yes. Now then, a couple of years ago she was the Rookie of the Year. A lot of people who didn't know any better expected her to win a race in her first year in the IRL. Her second year in the League was something of a disappointment. A lot of people who don't follow Indy racing announced that she had been overrated. Poppycock. This, as I've just said, is a team sport. Without a strong team no driver can do well. Rahal Letterman, her old team, had about as bad a year as you can have (more about them later). They made some bad decisions, had some very bad luck, and never really had a chance. This year she is surrounded by a proven team. I really expect her to win her first race this year, and I'm really looking forward to her shutting up all her critics.

Andretti Green has one more driver -- team owner Michael Andretti, Mario's son, Marco's father. He will continue his lifelong quest to win the Indy 500 this year. Like last year, it will be his only race.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing: This team has two drivers. Buddy Rice is a good driver who had a bad season last year with Rahal Letterman. I'd love to see him get back to his old winning ways, but I'm not sure D&R is the team to get him there. Sarah Fisher is the other woman who will likely be in all the races this year. The media tries to create a story about a competition between the two women, but it's just hype. Fisher had some success a few years ago in the league and on paper looks more accomplished than Danica, but the level of competition is higher today than it was when Sarah was doing well. I think she'll probably finish in the mid-pack all year.

Panther Racing: Not a great team but they do have a really good driver. Brazillian Vitor Meira is the best driver on a not-best team. I would love to see him pick up his first win. Their other driver is Kosuke Matsuura, a Japanese guy who is a pretty good driver, but not a threat to win.

Rahal Letterman: These guys had the worst year ever. The first major mistake came months before the season started. While every other team announced that they were going to be using one company to build their chassis, RL chose to stick with another. This put then at a serious disadvantage and they had to switch in mid-season. It took several races to get the new cars working the way they wanted them. But that was a minor blow compared to the loss suffered just prior to the start of the 2006 season. Rookie driver Paul Dana died in a crash during a practice session.

Maybe it was that, maybe the chassis thing, maybe the fact that team owner Bobby Rahal missed a lot of races watching his son Graham race in another league, but the team had bad luck and made mistakes all year. Buddy Rice had a bunch of mechanical failures. Late in the season the team allowed Danica to run out of gas on the track. It was not pretty.

This year they are fielding two cars. Jeff Simmons, who replaced Paul Dana last year, is the only driver to stay with the team. I don't really expect much from him, but his new teammate Scott Sharp could bring some badly needed success to RL.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing: This is one of the two teams that dominated the IRL last year and looks to continue its winning ways with Englishman Dan Wheldon. Wheldon is (if you'll pardon the pun) a driven man. He didn't do too badly last year, but he didn't dominate the League, and nothing else will satisfy. Team owner Chip Ganassi is a very competitive guy and will find a way to give his driver every tool he needs. Ganassi is also fielding Scott Dixon. Dixon's a good driver but he is not a superstar like Wheldon.

Team Penske: Roger Penske had a very, very good year last season. A genius strategist, Penske guided his main man Sam Hornish Jr to victory in the Indy 500 and to a series championship. Sam is Mr. America, a personable small-town guy. He is also a wizard on an oval track, which is why he has three IRL championships. They say he has been working hard to improve his chances at road courses, which could make him even tougher to beat this year. His teammate Helio Castroneves is terrific on ovals and is something of a wizard himself on road courses. A fun-loving, enthusiastic guy with an infectious smile, Helio is called "Spiderman." When he wins (which he does quite a bit) he likes to spin to a stop on his victory lap, jump out out of the car, and climb the track fence -- much to the delight of fans.

Vision Racing: This team is owned by Tony George, a controversial figure in the sport, who founded the IRL and owns the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He is fielding three drivers, Ed Carpenter, A.J. Foyt IV, and Tomas Scheckter. South African Scheckter, son of the Formula 1 (and occasional Indy car) driver Jody Scheckter, is the best driver on the team, but I'd be really surprised to see him finish a race in the top three this year.

There you have it -- my highly subjective take on the major teams and players in the IRL this year. I've only scratched the surface, and very lightly at that. Welcome then, to the race that never ends, a spectacle and a story that never slows down and never fails to fascinate. The drama continues April 1 on the streets of St. Petersburg.