Orange Crush

So - anyone still think Dario Franchitti is getting it done on luck alone?

Mr Judd - and contrary to some he will remain with that moniker until Ashley stops getting more face time than him, or at least until she actually refers to him as "Dario" instead of "my husband" - was handed the pole position by the rain at Richmond, and then proceeded to lay total smack down all over the track.


After his dominance of short(er) tracks the last month, I think everyone should be convinced that if this IndyCar gig doesn't work out that ol' Dario could join World of Outlaws. Then again, this IndyCar gig is going pretty sweet for Franchitti right about now.

Remember after he won at Indy how folks were asking how a handsome driver with a famous wife was not a marquee name in the series? Well, at this rate this up this may not be an issue for much longer.

The Good

Buddy Rice has been interviewed at the conclusion of consecutive races. There is much price for our fellow Phoenician, but seriously - is this a sign of the apocalypse?

Third and fourth at Milwaukee, pole position in Iowa, second and third at Richmond - looks like the Target Twins have figured out short tracks. Now they just need to figure out how to get past that #27.

Another race and another Top 10 for Scott Sharp, who is doing a fine job of keeping the groovy Patron machine clean. RLR is not back to a top-tier team, but it's a whole heck of a lot better than the garbage season of last year.

Sometimes we think he's confused us beyond comprehension, but Jack Arute continues to upstage his colleagues. Dude is so good he reports on mechanical problems of the pace car.

The Bad

As neato keen as that ground level shot at the start/finish line was of Uncle Sam showing his backside to the world, it meant his car failed from the get go and Sam was never in contention at a race he was considered a favorite. After calling out Vitor last week (after reviewing the Iowa restart ourselves it sure sounded like Meria was standing on the gas) there is one word for Sam: karma. With several road courses forthcoming, his chances for a Championship repeat look dim.

Marco Andretti didn't wreck, but he was never a factor at Richmond. Then again he probably hasn't reached the point he should have been considered a factor on short ovals, so we should probably try to tie down the sliding expectation scale for the young Skywalker.

No matter how may races he wins, Marty Reid and Scott Goodyear still seem to think "Dario" rhymes with "stereo". Ugh.

As good as Buddy Rice, Scott Sharp and Vitor Meira have looked the last few weeks, there has been notable disparity in the performances of there teammates. Sarah Fisher has been clean but slower, Jeff Simmons seems stuck in "this could be the week" mode, and we are running out of adjectives (horrendous, abysmal, wretched, etc) to describe Kosuke Matsuura's season.

Milka...pffft.

The Ugly

Did everyone see the pre-race footage of Brian Barnhart's birthday celebration? All the drivers had gathered around and presented him with a cake, and then like Lloyd Ruby out of the frame popped Helio Castroneves, shoving an unidentified confection into the face of the Iron Hand of Justice. (Is your recent racing not difficult enough, Mr Spiderman?)

So really, was anyone surprised later when Helio got a penalty that effectively put him a lap down? I mean, when is the last time a "blending" violation was called? What that...I hear "blending" and I think of that Marissa Tomei line from "My Cousing Vinny".

Come on, Helio - you don't tug on Superman's cape and you don't mess around with the IHJ. It looked before like you just had some unbelivably bad luck, but now you're just bringing it on yourself.