Welcome to the island of Belle Isle, which seems a touch redundant to say, so instead we'll just refer to this races as "Detroit". Besides, as the braintrust at TrackSide Online (sign up today!) tells us this may not be the most "Belle" place in America.

We did get the opportunity to head out last night and have dinner in downtown Detroit. We visited the Greektown area, which has a casino nearby as well as Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. While that area of town was alright at the hour we went, we have frankly seen quite a few parts of town that scared us over the weekend. There are obvious efforts at improving Detroit - this race and the restoration of the island that came along with it are examples - but there is also much more work to be done. Here's an example of what the city faces - the Scott Fountain on Belle Isle, a popular photo opportunity for local weddings that you may well see on today's TV coverage, was just recently repaired after thieves stole the copper piping over the winter.

Sounds like a party!

0: Race Contol wisely has Dixon and Castroneves this week, in addition to Danica and Babe. We'll go with Helio since he's starting second, meaning he'll be the most likely to complain about blocking.

0: Helio seems loose on camera this week. He's even sneaking over and pretending to mess around with Iceman's car. At least I think he's pretending. You can never tell because Helio, how should I say this...he goes to 11.

0: Speaking of Brazilians, how many "Portuguese flag" emails do you think Marty Reid had to endure this weekend? My guess would be "not enough".

0: In case you were wondering, Marty Roth will not be a factor today. That is all I care to say about that. And with that, it's time to start.

1: That start was a nearly perfect star if you like 'em single file. Good grief.

1: And just like that we are under yellow as Milka Duno has spun in turn three. Looks like she nestled up to Junky in the turn and got herself hip checked. Race officials are going to penalize Bruno for hitting a girl by sending him to the back.

3: Milka sustained no damage and has been refired but we are still under green. Go figure. Meanwhile both Conquest cars pull in for a splash and dash. Also it appears Scheckter has pulled in but he's not pulling away. In fact, he's getting out of the car. Bummer.

4: And now we're back to green. Dixon, Helio, Servia, Wilson, Briscoe.

8: ABC Sports proudly presents your first "if the race ended now" statistic. Meanwhile Brienne Pedigo reports that Scheckter has retired due to his third driveshaft issue of the season. Clearly he's auditioning for a spot at AGR.

11: Dixon is pulling away by a little, or at the very least Helio isn't challenging him right now.

13: Even though Scheckter is out we still got to see his "less dancing/more racing" quote from last year, complete with video of Security Chief Charles escorting a hobbling but animated (as always) Castroneves away. Timeless stuff there.

14: And here's video of street thug Will Power blowing past Danica Patrick. Power has moved up from 12th to 10th, which is pretty impressive if you're not Bruno Junqeira, who has moved from 24th to 18th despite being sent to the back of the pack.

18: Dixon’s lead is up to 5 seconds, but not for long as his teammate appears to have gotten tangled up with Jamie Camara. Not a lot of damage to either car as Wheldon starts the obligatory hand puppet show. Regardless, it’s another full course yellow.

20: Dixon pits, Helio does not. Intriguing.

21: Back to green as the new leader board reads Helio, Servia, Wilson, Kanaan, Hunter-Reay.

26: Since pitting Dixon has moved up a couple of spots but he’s currently in 15th.

28: The unflappable Vince Welsh reports that Ryan-Hunter-Hyphen-Reay-Babe wishes they would take the fuel setting “knob” off the car. You da man, Ryan!

31: Dixon is now up to 14th, right behind Alex Tagliani. Tags is everywhere. Meanwhile Servia makes a pit stop as Helio continues to forge ahead.

32: Helio and Wilson (first and second) both pit. Gotta hand it to Helio's left-front tire changer for the non chalant around-the-back flip of the equipment.

34: Action in Turn 8 as Danica and Vitor collide, sending Meira off the track. I'm sure we'll hear about this in a Panther press release. Meria is still runing but Danica appears to lose her suspension and comes to a screeching halt.

34: Elsewhere EJ Viso loses grip an hits the wall in Turn 14. Must have been partying with those baseball players too late last night. Yellow yellow everywhere.

35: Looks like Spiderman was out far enough to maintain the lead when he pitted. It's Helio, Wilson, Servia, Kanaan, Dixon.

39: Back to green. Marty Reid drops a "lock step".

40: Not a lot of action at the front but Mutoh is dropping like he's driving a golf cart out there.

42: Darren Manning goes double-wide as Junky tries to get around him, nearly ripping the nose off Bruno's car ... "And now we're hearing race control is ordering the #14 to let the #18 by for blocking". OMG!!!

44: Time for the second appearance of the "if the world ended right now" graphic, showing Helio would trail Dixon by 20 points.

46: Jack Arute brings the drama. He says Scott Dixon's 88-year-old grandmother is in failing health but has told Scott she's trying to hang in there long enough to see him win the championship. Wow.

50: Still Helio, now up by nearly 5 seconds over Justin Wilson. Servia, Kanaan, and Dixon (12 seconds back) round out the Top 5.

54: While we wait for the leaders to pit soon, let's take a moment point out that Junky is now up to 8th.

54: Will Power tries to get around Hunter-Reay but the two bump, damaging Power's front wing and Hunter's tire. Incredibly, Power is staying out to with broken wing. Downforce is for the weak!

58: Dixon has pit. Wilson has pit. Helio has not pit.

59: Helio is 36 seconds ahead of Dixon, so he pits. Servia is now the leader, 11 seconds ahead of Helio. Wilson, Kanaan and Junqueira(!) round out the Top 5.

60: So much for that lead. Servia pits, but comes out in 4th right behind Tony Kanaan. Dixon will move up to 5th, 29 seconds behind Helio.

63: Another “if everyone parked it right now” graphic showing Helio still trailing Dixon by 20 points.

65: Yellow as Wheldon has gone into the wall. It looks like Moraes is stopped somewhere else, although he is quickly refired. On the one hand this will move Dixon closer to Helio, on the other it helps Helio conserve more fuel to maintain the lead for the remainder of the race.

67: Scott Goodyear is talking about "splines".

69: Back to green with Helio, Wilson, Kanaan, Servia, Dixon. Since we're keeping tabs on him, Junky is in 8th.

71: Wilson is all up on Helio, but the #3 is throwing a huge block party. "And we're hearing that Helio is being penalized and must let Wilson by". O!M!G! What kind of bizarro universe where justice prevails have we entered?

72: Helio ain't giving up that lead.

73: Helio gives up the lead. Justin Wilson is your new leader. "If a hurricaine struck Detroit right now" shows Helio now 30 points behind Dixon.

82: Wilson and Helio are pulling away, 4 seconds ahead of Kanaan in 3rd and 16 seconds ahead of Dixon in 5th. Unfortunately, we are now in a timed race. Six minutes to glory for the Cajun Sheff.

85: Wilson has fired up the afterburners and is pulling away from Helio.

87: There's 18 minutes left before the broadcast ends but we're throwing the white flag for Wilson. This race was scheduled for 90 laps - we couldn't go the distance?

88: Wilson takes the checkers and promptly stalls the cars while trying to do some donuts on the victory laps.

Helio with Arute is smiling, but he says "I'm happy, but I do not have anything smart to say right now." Meanwhile Wilson is waiting to get his car started so he can make it to Victory Lane.

I feel for Helio. He clearly blocked and was properly told to move over, but at the same time Detroit seems like a rather random place to start calling this penalty. If Castroneves loses the championship by less than 10 points this will be all anyone talks about all winter.

Than again, it sure looked like Wilson was going to get around him at some point. At any rate, congratulations to Justin Wilson on his first win, and to Helio who trails Dixon by 30. Also, hats off to Junky for finishing an astonishing 7th place. Now we can all go argue "The Call", so thank you very much, and good night.

FLASHBACK: Anyone else remember in 2006 when Helio's shot at the championship was halted by a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pits at the finale in Chicagoland? As a result of the penalty Helio was only able to finish fourth in the race and third in the points - just THREE points behind Hornish and Wheldon.

I'm guessing Brian Barnhart is NOT on Helio's Christmas Card list.

Based on the results of last year's IndyCar series debut of (the latest iteration of) the Belle Isle track, the word that best describes the forecast for this weekend's event in Detroit is "rage".

2007 pole-sitter Helio Castroneves took himself and Tomas Scheckter out when Scheckter went so boldly out of protocol as to not let Helio pass him. Tempers flared between the two afterwards, leading to Scheckter's no immortal zinger of "Maybe he should focus more on driving and less on dancing".

Two women angered two former series champions as Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher contributed to incidents with Scott Sharp and Sam Hornish Jr respectively. To her credit, Danicker went on to finish a then-career high second place in the race.

Of course the big to-do was all about Dixon losing control while trying to pass Buddy Rice for second and then reversing course and blocking the path of fellow championship contender Dario Franchitti. The race ended with members of the Andretti Green team accusing Scott Dixon of intentionally trying to take out Mr Judd, although as we all know it proved rather inconsequential in the end.

One man who wasn't filled with acrimony was Buddy Rice, who reportedly apologized to Chip Ganassi immediately after the race for running out of fuel and inadvertently starting events leading to the Dixon/Franchitti controversy. Personally, I'd like to thank Buddy for spicing things up.

Otherwise ... anyone else missing Sharp, Hornish, and Franchitti just a little bit right now, or is that just me?

Favorite: Scott Dixon. Helio won twice here in his CART days and led 26 laps before he took himself out of last year's IndyCar race, so Dixon goes in this slot solely in the hopes he might be jinxed. Nothing personal, Ganassi fans - just trying to do my part to make the Chicagoland race that much more interesting.

Contender: Helio Castroneves. See above.

Longshot: EJ Viso. The success of the Little Venezuelan Who Could continues. He finished a solid 6th last week, he's starting in the Top 10 this week, and the over under on fellow drivers he takes out on this circuit is 2.

Driver to Watch: Justin Wilson. Perhaps feeling the angst of completing the season he was supposed to win the Champ Car title, the normally mild mannered Wilson was punting drivers left and right last week at Infineon. He's starting in the Top 4 for the fourth time this year, but the other three times all ended in finishes no better than 9th.

Danica Threat Level: DanCon Five. The monitor has been turned on if only because of the nuttiness that went on last year. She'll need similar nuttiness to compete for a win here this year.

Drinking term: "Alex Tagliani". Tags is replacing Enrique Bernoldi this week since the latter was having difficulty driving with his injured thumb. Of course, Tagliani will be driving for Conquest, and Conquest cars seem to only get air when they are stalled on the course.

Stat of the race: Only nine cars were still running when Tony Kanaan took the checkered flag at Belle Isle in 2007. Dallara parts representatives are standing by.

pressdog says: "Chippy didn't seem very jovial after Snorenoma. Dixon also had rage coming off his head like giant cartoon exclamation points after the race. AND he's probably flashing back to Chicagoland 2007 about now. Combine those factors and Dixon wins Belle Isle. Helio P3. Dark Horse -- Will Power."

Dixon and Helio are 1-2 in the standings and 1-2 for the start of the race on Sunday. There's nothing more to add to that drama, so enjoy the show!

Following the recent news pegging Tony Kanaan with AGR for five more years of sunshine and happiness (ahem) comes word that the primary sponsor for Kanaan's ride will remain as well.

Andretti Green Racing (AGR) announced today it has reached a multi-year agreement with 7-Eleven, Inc. to extend the company's long-running sponsorship program of the #11 entry driven by 2004 IndyCar Series champion Tony Kanaan.

7-Eleven, Inc., the world's largest operator, franchisor and licensor of convenience stores with more than 34,600 units worldwide, has been affiliated with Andretti Green and Kanaan since the team began competing at the beginning of the 2003 IndyCar Series season.

7-Eleven will also continue to have a branding presence on AGR's three other IndyCar Series cars, which are driven by Marco Andretti, Hideki Mutoh and Danica Patrick.

(MORE from Andretti Green Racing)

Oddly enough, this comes on a weekend in which the #11 looks like this.



Thanks to the braintrust at TSO for providing the alert, the photo, and the Fantasy league in which your humble host is getting completely waxed.

Word from TMZ indicates the world’s most exposed IndyCar driver may have a bit of a lead foot on the streets. Try to act shocked.

Danica Patrick isn't just dangerous behind the wheel of an Indy car, cops say she also posed a threat on the mean streets of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Court docs which show the race car diva was popped by Scottsdale P.D. back in January for doing 57 in a 40 mph zone. But here's the kicker -- Danica was ordered to take defensive driving school to get the ticket dismissed!

57 in a 40 – that’s it? Oh the shame Mrs Hospenthal must have felt while the driving class. 57 for a race car driver - that's not even a warmup lap. I mean, even a hack like your humble host has been busted for exceeding that, although my insurer will gladly confirm that was some time ago.

Here for your enjoyment is a dramatic portrayal of Danica’s run-in with the law, incredibly filmed years before the actual event.

Earlier this year at the Carb Night Burger Bash your humble host had the good fortune of meeting a fine couple who had been united by Helio Castroneves. Literally.

This was news a few years ago although for the life of me I can't find a link, but the story goes that a big Penske fan went up to Helio and convinced him to help him propose to the fan's would-be wife. Long story short: Helio played the part, magically produced the ring, she said "yes", and the two are blissfully married, spending The Month of May together decked out in Team Penske gear and and chatting with IndyCar blog-types. Oh, l'amour.

And since there's such a storied rivalry between Helio and his clean-shaven countryman, well, anything Helio can do Tony Kanaan can do as well, right?



"That was my one worry, that she would think the ring was from Tony and say yes to him".

If the Food Network had broadcast the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County, he would have been the host. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a man who will drink no wine before it's time, the one, the only, the "mmack".

Sunday around 4:00 PM Maria invited me to put down the model airplane I was working on and come out on the front patio to have a glass of wine before the race started, Borrowing Pressdog's shtick, since Sonoma is smack dab in wine country our wine of the race is a chilled Rosemount Estates Sauvignon Blanc. Around 4:30 I figured it was time to come in to 1) get the bottle to pour us each another glass of wine and 2) watch the coverage of the race on ESPN 2. So I turn on the TV and point our magical satellite TV to . . . a golf game. Goodness, what a shock.

At this point I realize that we DO have ESPN Classic, since we were watching a replay of The N-Word Wreckfest From Bristol on it earlier that day. Then I think forget this, and go back out on the patio with the bottle of wine and sit back down next to Maria. After another glass of wine and half an hour of discussing upcoming travel plans (including the upcoming Chicagoland race), I walk back in to see that the golf game has ended, and the race coverage will start. I prep a plate of cheese and olives (wine and cheese for a road race, hmm, not too stereotypical) and invite Maria to sit next to me on the big comfy couch to "watch Scott Dixon win another race". ESPN 2 jumps in at the green flag and we're off!

It's a Penske front row and that guy that won that dancin' show leaps to the lead, followed by that fellow that Danica doesn't like. No, it's not that English fellow with the big teeth, it's that Australian driver. The rest of the field strings along behind them. At this point Maria asks about the car in third place. I tell her it's Will Power and she says "Good, I'd like to see a CART driver win this race. Somebody different would be nice." I silently begin to wonder if Maria has followed the links on My Name is IRL.com to Pressdog.com. Later in the race as she bemoans how boring the race is compared to an oval track, I realize she still reads your site.

Early on Vitor drops in to the pits to try a different pit strategy and I realize that once again, Vitor will not win this race. A little later when Justin "Too Tall" Wilson tangles with Ryan "The American Ryan" Hunter-Reay, I catch the strained comparisons to The N-Word Wreckfest From Bristol. Note to the boys in the booth: If there is a seven car pile up that litters the track with carbon fiber and wheels and red-flags the race for an hour, THEN you can use comparisons to The N-Word Wreckfest From Bristol. BTW: Keeping everyone up to date, Mr. Hornish, late of the IRL, was included in that red-flag raising event.

I pour myself another glass of wine as Maria begins to start preparing dinner. Maria's mom stops by to join us for dinner after going shopping for a new storm door. Sadly I realize that talking to my mother in law about storm doors is a little more interesting than the race action at hand. Somewhere around this point I remember two things from the race that are worth noting.

The first is an almost simultaneous two car pass for position (or backmarkers) when Wheldon passes Bernoldi (I think), while Dominguez passes Meira. It's almost a text book example of "this is how to pass on a roadcourse, and this is how NOT to pass on a roadcourse" in one camera shot. Wheldon passes his car clean while Dominguez "jabs in the elbow" and forces Vitor into the dirt. All I can think of is we have a motorized Goofus and Gallant going on: "Goofus forces his way past people on the road, pushing them into the dirt. Gallant always checks his mirrors and makes sure he has plenty of room before he merges back in."

The second is a "chop-block-o-rama" that Briscoe puts on Dixon after Ryan comes out of the pits. Suddenly Ryan has to swing his car back and forth to warm those tires up, coincidentally right in front of Dixon.

Also in here EJ Viso is leading the race WITHOUT punting anybody into the tires to do so. I get up and open the back patio doors to check to see if I've been transported to Bizarro World. Hearing our neighbor's dog Louie with his incessant barking tells me I am still on my current plane of existence. I close the door and return to the comfy couch. Later on as Mario Dominquez is mentioned as being in the top five, I raise a toast to our "hometown" racing team (Dale Coyne's shop is in the next town over, literally).

Maria's mom returns to the kitchen to talk to Maria as the race goes on. I continue watching the race as Maria starts cooking dinner. At this point Helio is chasing TK for the lead and pulls a move that makes him look like a student at the Bob Bondurant School of Performance Driving, going WAY wide trying to pass Tony and failing. At this point I know 1) TK will cycle out of the lead, having to pit, and 2) Helio will get the lead when TK pits. I happily go into the basement to get a bottle of Zinfandel (from Napa Valley no less) to go with the pasta for dinner. When I come back I check the TV and see that Helio has the kind of lead where second place needs a telescope to see him. Helio makes his last pit stop and we sit down for dinner.

Not much else happens of note until the last lap, where in a desperate bid for airtime, Will Power torpedoes a tire barrier and Ed Carpenter literally "goes for a spin". Helio wins the race and searches desperately for a fence to climb. He vaults the fence and parties with the fans before vaulting the fence again to celebrate with his team. I think I see Security Chief Charles corral Helio and remind him he has a trophy to get and interviews to give. At this point Helio is so excited I wonder if he's about to go Super-Nova on us, all on live TV.

At this point Scott Dixon is big news because he DIDN'T win, and the Iceman is definitely tight lipped. And with that, the race coverage finishes, all in time for dessert.

Next, on to the mean streets of Detroit, where Maria hopes "one of those CART guys" will win.

Welcome to beautiful Sonoma County in Northern California, where ESPN2 proudly brings you ... the Safeway Classic women's golf event. Evidently the IndyCar race has been moved to ESPN Classic to make room for Sudden Death in the golf tournament, although I suppose the only people dying are IndyCar fans right now.

No, I don't get Classic. Insert that noise Charlie Brown makes when Lucy pulls the football away right when he's about to kick it. Looks like it's time to switch to online assistance from Mike King and the boys at IMS Radio.

0: I've already received my first email about coverage on Versus. Hopefully the 23 million of us who don't have the VS will fork over the extra cash to get the network next year. I know I will - it's the other 22,999,999 of you that worry me.

0: Optimistic thought: compared to women's golf the Infini-yawn race has GOT to be more interesting. See, it's all about perspective. Added bonus: sleeping golf fans will get included in the ratings once The Deuce switches back to racing.

0: Following up on news stories, one of the IMS radio guys was discussing Dan Wheldon's lack of a contract for next year with TCGR. Not sure who it was but the announcer just said "although he had agreed to terms Dan is back at Ground Zero." Holy mixed metaphors, Batman!

0: Huzzah! Someone just won the golf tournament, and the race hasn't even started yet.

1: And we're off. Another spectacular display of starting formation by the IndyCar regulars.

2: The two Penske cars qualified in the first row and are pulling away a little bit. You can burn their primary cars to the ground but you can't stop Team Penske. In a related note, it's Firefighter Appreciation Day at the track. I kid you not.

5: Five laps in and the only pass in the Top 10 is that Will Power got around Servia for 6th place. Who loves a parade?

6: Remember, this track has been reconfigured this year to allow for more passing. Riiiight! We'll let you know when we see some. I think I saw Viso jump some spots at the start of the race (he's up from 14th to 12th) but the camera cut away before I could see pass completed.

7: Wow, those pictures of the Char-Broiled Transport were stunning. Helio's primary car is extra crispy.

8: Marty just dropped a "Holding Station". He's brought his A-Game.

10: Vitor pits to try a different fuel strategy.

11: Dan Wheldon pits to try a different fuel strategy.

12: Dominguez, Rice, Bernoldi and Mutoh have all had pit stops to try a different strategy. In case you're wondering, I haven't finished my beer yet so I'm still up with the leaders.

13: Shocking statistic: Helio has led 377 laps this year without a win. Helio says that even though he hasn't won he doesn't feel he's had bad luck. Good grief, remind me not to go to Vegas with that guy.

15: Yellow for Marty Roth as he spins off the track. This of course will bring out a full course yellow so everyone can pit. Local yellow are only for Canadian races.

17: Still under yellow and most of the leaders pit. You'll be shocked to learn Dixon picks up a spot. However enough cars stayed out so that it's a total change in leadership. Briscoe, Kanaan, Patrick, Rahal, Moraes.

19: Finally back to green. Four laps under yellow for a guy who spun out and was refired within a lap. Shame shame. I'm even making that little motion with my fingers (and typing at the same time!)

21: Wilson and Hunter-Reay tangle, sending Babe for a little spin. I'm stunned there's no full course yellow. I'm not stunned that Marty Reid just compared it to events in last night's N-Word race.

23: Here at the World HQ, P1 and P3 have just left the room. Only P2 and your humble host remain, although P2 is nearly nodding off. In the racing world they call this a "technical challenge".

25: Ms Pedigo just said Ed Carpenter has benefited from Vision Racing's decision to hire Bryan Herta as a "road course specialist". Congrats Brie - you were the first to drop an "RCS" today.

28: The leaders have pit and your new leader is ... EJ Viso? Hang on, I need to check for swarms of locusts outside.

29: Viso, Wheldon, Dominguez, Meira, Rice. For Real. I'm speechless.

32: Enrique Bernoldi has been warned for blocking. Sure, pick on the guy driving with a torn ligament in his thumb. Sheesh.

34: Viso continues to lead so we get to hear about his unicycle exploits. As pressdog would say, "my viewing is enhanced".

37: Viso pits and surrenders the lead to Helio. Marty just said the only drivers to complete more laps than Viso this year are Helio, Dixon, Well Done and Danicker. What Marty doesn't mention is Viso skipped the Nashville race with the mumps. No, I'm not applying for the HVM PR job, sorry.

38: And now Goodyear is talking about "the knob". Ahem.

39: You know what, I think pressdog was right. I think 691 is a reasonable estimate on this "crowd".

40: Helio, Briscoe, Dixon, Wilson, Servia. No offense guys, but that other Top 5 was more interesting.

44: A few leaders pit so it's Briscoe, Servia, Kanaan, Helio, Junky. Typical road race random leadership caused by differening pit strategies.

46: Just as Wilson and Hunter are racing against each other on the trackwe cut away to show a Bruno Junqueira pit stop. Maybe the ESPN crew is under orders to not show passes since they're only showing 5 races next year.

47: Hey, I think I just saw Danicker get passed, but we were on side-by-side so I can't tell. Drat. Meanwhile, I haven't heard "overtake" yet so I'm still fully sober.

51: I just checked the leaderboard and Dixon is in 15th, 35 seconds back. Smells like conservation. Or maybe it just smells.

55: More leaders pulled off for fuel recently so it's now Helio, Wheldon, Viso, Meira, Briscoe. Helio is 14 seconds ahead of Dan so it doesn't appear like he's "making fuel". He tried that at Kentucky and it didn't work out.

58: Helio makes presumably his last pit stop and comes out ahead of Meira. Let's hope the fences are secure at Infineon.

59: Will Power will be getting a drive through penalty for skipping the chicane three times. Cheater cheater pumpkin eater. Meanwhile a few more drivers pit and the Top 5 looks like Helio, Briscoe, Dominguez, Kanaan, Wheldon. Sing it with me: "One of these things is not like the others..."

60: And Dominguez pits, returning to obscurity. Bummer.

62: Helio is leading, Dixon is in 14th, and Marty keeps talking about this being a "Hollywood Ending" for Team Penske. "Hollywood Ending" could have been the drinking term, but then you probably wouldn't be conscious enough to see this "Hollywood Ending".

63: You are conscious still, right?

66: Full disclosure, for the first time in many, many weeks my TSO Fantasy team included Scott Dixon and not Helio Castroneves. It's looking like applying the My Name Is IRL jinx to Dixon might be enough to help Helio to victory. He's even 5 seconds up on Briscoe and 11 seconds up on Kanaan.

67: Hey, I just saw Briscoe pass Will Power. I don't think it was for position but I'll take what I can get in this parade.

69: Viso and Vitor are battling for 7th on the track. Please ESPN don't start talking about Graham Rahal in 9th...aw, nuts!

70: We're told Scott Dixon feels he lost a lot of positions when the other Penske driver (Briscoe) chopped him off exiting a pit stop. Once again, teamwork rears it's ugly head at Infineon.

72: Just heard Helio on Race Control dropping some F-Bombs trying to get around Ed Carpenter. I'm following along there because ESPN has been airing non-stop commercials for the last few laps.

73: On the side-by-side it appears Servia and Dominguez got tangled up on the track. Both spin and continue with no yellow. Amazing restraint shown by the IHJ there.

75: Still Helio, Briscoe, Kanaan, Wheldon, Patrick. Dixon is back in 12th. Ready the fences for climbing.

79: White flag for Helio as Will Power takes out the tires in the chicane. Maybe Ricky Bobby really does have brake problems. No yellow, all Helio.

80: With Carpenter spinning randomly somewhere on the track Helio takes the checkered flag, pumping his fist, screaming "Whooo-hooo-hoooo!" Brazilbilly style.

On the victory lap he nearly takes out the parked car of Will Power in the chicane. My, that would have been awkward. Now Helio is back to the pits, out of the car, and onto the fence. OK, it's not a fence - it's a gate to the main grandstands. If you're partying with Spiderman you're feeling fun-tastic!

We made it through. Well, most of us. P3 came back to watch with about 10 laps to go but he fell victim to sweet slumber. Congrats to Team Penske for winning despite the mid-week Car-B-Que. I don't know if we have a legitimate race for the championship yet but we do have one happy driver in Victory Lane. Thank you very much, and good night.

My sincerest apologies for the slowdown in posts recently. We've had some family members with health issues ranging from the sniffles to the serious here at the World Headquarters, but I'll spare you the details since you don't come here to discuss my family.

No, we all come here to discuss IndyCars, and personal problems notwithstanding I don't mind admitting I'm kinda bored. B-O-R-E-D. Or as that recent campaign would say, BO(RED).

Boredom happens and it's not permanent, but it's there for several reasons. Silly season didn't get that silly, largely because we can't say so-and-so is jumping to or from Champ Car. The weekly action of most of the summer has screeched to a halt in the last month, leaving us with one race over the last 26 days (although it was a darned good event). Oh, and Scott Dixon has pretty much sealed the deal for his championship season, with the only thing remaining on his IndyCar championship checklist being the obligatory N-Word rumors.

(That's a joke, people. Please don't send me emails asking what I've heard about Dixon driving stock cars.)

Topping it off we come to one of the most challenging yet passing-free courses in the world, where the professional meets the processional. At least there's AGR to keep it interesting in Sonoma. Last year Tony Kanaan threw the mother of all block parties for Dario Franchitti, trying in vain to finesse his teammates damaged car to victory. The year before it was Bryan Herta's impeccably timed spin allowed Marco Andretti to conserve his way to his lone series victory. Who knows, maybe this year Danica Patrick or Hideki Mutoh will take one for team.

Hey, we need something to get excited about here.

Favorite: Scott Dixon. He's the defending champion. He has 6 wins in 14 races this year. He has 5 wins in 9 IndyCar road course events. OK, he's been freakishly awesome, but it would be great if he could something silly like you did two years ago when he had that bad pit stop and moved up 6 spots in 15 laps by passing people on the track and not on pit stops.

Contender: Helio Castroneves. As noted earlier this week, the Dancing Champion has finished in 2nd place on 3 of the 4 road/street events this year. Two things Helio has been doing: win pole positions (3 of the last 5 races), finish in 2nd place (3 straight races).

Longshot: Oriol Servia. Just because I'm weary of jinxing Will Power and Justin Wilson. Besides, everyone knows the driver to watch this year is ALWAYS EJ Viso. Viso is more relentless than Denzel Washington in "Man on Fire", although not as judicious.

Driver to Watch: Ryan Briscoe has lead 80 of 145 laps at the last two road course events (Watkins Glen and Mid Ohio). Does he block defend for his teammate or does he gun for his third win of the year? Inquiring minds want to know.

Danica Threat Level: Pffft. The threat monitor has been turned off indefinitely.

Drinking Term: "Overtake". We need to go with a sobering term that won't be used much, because honestly, you're better off just brewing a pot of coffee this weekend.

Stat of the Race: Sunday will mark Helio's 110th consecutive IndyCar series start, which will tie Sam Hornish Jr. for the second-longest streak all time. I miss Sam, and judging from the lackluster results Sam is having in the Cup series I wonder if Sam misses us.

pressdog says: "Infini-yawn. Snore-noma. Sears Point-less. I should care about this race .... why? I guess we need a break from all the excitement of the Olympics and a lock-step-a-thon is just the medicine. Dixon has the title locked up. Look for him to drive to finish. The winner will be one of the big three, AGAIN. z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z. I'm saying a too-little-too-late win for Helio, an estimated 691 people in the stands and a TV rating nearing the illusive 0.0."

Hang on. I was there last year and I can vouch for the fact that there are more than 691 fans at the track. They're just not sitting in the main grandstands because those happen to offer the worst views of the track. You on the other hand will probably be watching at home with multiple camera angles, so enjoy the show!

With two more twisties upon us in the coming weekends and the My Name Is IRL TSO Fantasy team languishing in 84th place, it behooved your humble host to try to figure out who exactly would fit the bill as the 2008 King of the Road. And so the data was summoned and brought forth, so with any possible typos notwithstanding here are the results for each driver who participated in the St Pete, Watkins Glen, Mid Ohio and Edmonton races, ranked by average finish.

1. Kanaan: (3, 3, 7, 9) 5.50
1. Castroneves: (2, 16, 2, 2) 5.50
3. Manning: (13, 2, 8, 10) 8.25
4. Hunter-Reay: (17, 1, 10, 8) 9.00
5. Dixon: (22, 11, 3, 1) 9.25
6. Servia: (7, 23, 5, 5) 10.00
7. Briscoe: (23, 12, 1, 6) 10.50
8. Wilson: (9, 25, 11, 3) 12.00
9. Power: (8, 15, 4, 22) 12.25
10. Rice: (15, 4, 20, 11) 12.50
11. Rahal: (1, 8, 16, 26) 12.75
11. Viso: (4, 10, 22, 15) 12.75
11. Mutoh: (6, 9, 9, 27) 12.75
14. Patrick: (10, 14, 12, 18) 13.50
15. Junqueira: (24, 6, 13, 14) 14.25
16. Wheldon: (12, 24, 17, 7) 15.00
16. Foyt: (11, 19, 18, 12) 15.00
18. Carpenter: (18, 17, 15, 13) 15.75
19. Meria: (19, 22, 6, 19) 16.50
20. Moraes: (16, 7, 24, 20) 16.75
21. Bernoldi: (5, 21, 26, 16) 17.00
22. Andretti: (25, 5, 25, 17) 18.00

(Results from the Long Beach event were excluded because of the difference in race cars, as were results for drivers who only participated in some of these events. Sorry, Mr Tracy.)

As you can see there are a few drivers outside of the Big Three who have excelled on road courses, although the two that jump out are Darren Manning and Ryan Hunter-Reay. When bimergification occurred earlier this year, the conventional wisdom then was that the refugee, err, transition drivers would be able to hang or possibly even better the IRL regulars on the road and street courses. Well, wisdom rarely is conventional, and aside from Graham Rahal’s win at St Petersburg the fact is the former Champ Car teams haven’t exactly set the world on fire on the non-ovals. Oriol Servia notwithstanding.

Still, the road courses have resulted in an unusual jumbling of the regulars. You cam make your own case for which is the most unusual result so far.
• Darren Manning, surprisingly in 3rd?
• Scott Dixon, slumming in 6th?
• Marco Andretti, dead effing last?
• Dale Coyne’s Bruno Junquiera, bettering a Ganassi driver (Dan Wheldon)?
• EJ Viso, tied or ahead of three AGR drivers?
• Graham Rahal, having progressively worse results?

Take your pick, and pick your fantasy team accordingly.

Holy Infernos! The braintrust at Trackside Online informs us that Team Penske just suffered their worst fire since Indianapolis in 1981.

The Penske Racing transporter taking Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe's primary cars to Infineon was destroyed in a fire early this morning in Wyoming.

Apparently a wheel bearing caught fire and when the truck drivers were unable to extinguish the flames themselves, they eventually retreated and unhooked the tractor - watching the trailer and its contents burn - including the cars.

Team president Tim Cindric told Robin Miller in a SpeedTV.com story that the loss is at least a couple million dollars. The team immediately began to ship more cars to Sonoma from their North Carolina shop.

Those cars however are currently set-up for oval racing. Helio's back-up road course car had been used in testing at Sonoma last week and it is apparently still in California - where it now becomes his primary road course car.

Well, Helio wasn't going to catch Dixon anyways, was he?

UPDATE: Robin reports that Team Penske President Tim Cindric cited the lack of telephone coverage as contributing to the disaster.

"It was about 2:30 in the morning and they had no cell phone coverage but somebody finally saw it burning and eventually the fire department showed up. Obviously, it was too late to help."

Fun fact: one of the Penske stock cars is sponsored by a cellular service provider. How ironic.