Sunday, May 18, 2008
By Bob Donahue
This Sunday, May 25th, at Noon EST, the 92nd Indianapolis 500 will drop the green flag. Here is a preview of who to watch, what to expect, and who to bet on to win this event!!!
The current IndyCar circuit reminds me of the Nascar circuit in the mid 1990's. At that time, there were only a few teams with a realistic chance to win each weekend, making handicapping relatively easy. As its popularity grew, the NASCAR budgets increased and now any number of teams can win on a given Sunday.
Currently, in the IRL, there are only a handful of teams that are funded enough to win the Indy 500, and probably only 7 drivers out of the field of 33 have a realistic chance of winning this event, and they are the drivers that qualified 1-7 on the starting grid. This makes a long shot winner truly a long shot, and we need to focus on which of the seven are performing best this month.
1) Scott Dixon: Qualified on the pole, and has been consistently fast this month...He is with Target Chip Ganassi and will be a strong contender to win. He won the first event of the year at Homstead, Fla. led the most laps at Kansas Speedway and is a tough out. However, his reduced odds, (I have seen as low as 5/2) make him a tough pick, and lacking value, we will leave him out.
2) Dan Wheldon: Qualified on the front row, and is also with Target Chip Ganassi. While Dan has been quick, he has not led many laps this year, was lucky to win at Kansas, and also does not represent much value.
3 & 4) Team Penske: Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castonevas: This team has been happy all month with the operation of their cars, and have been fine tuning the last couple of practice sessions. While Briscoe appears to be a year away, this could again by a win by Castronevas as he was extremely happy with his car on Thursday and Friday.
5) Danica Patrick: Off her big win in Motegi, she failed to shine at Kansas, and in fact, the only laps she has led all year were the last three in Japan, and although a sentimental choice, does not seem to be up to speed with the other contenders.
6) Tony Kanaan: Team 7/11: Tony has not been happy as of late with his car, and if he is not happy, at odds that are not that attractive, we will pass on him.
7) Marco Andretti: Has been consistently quick all month with his car, finished 2nd in this event in his first attempt, and has very tempting odds.
So, there are the top seven contenders for this years event.
There is no doubt that Scott Dixon has been the class of the Indy Racing League so far this year. There is also no doubt that at these odds, there is not much value on him.
So, we will back Helio Castonevas at odds of 5/1 or better to get the win here on Sunday at the 92nd running of the Inday 500
We would also look at Ryan Briscoe at 8/1 as our second value choice.
Bobby D.
By Bob Donahue
This Sunday, May 25th, at Noon EST, the 92nd Indianapolis 500 will drop the green flag. Here is a preview of who to watch, what to expect, and who to bet on to win this event!!!
The current IndyCar circuit reminds me of the Nascar circuit in the mid 1990's. At that time, there were only a few teams with a realistic chance to win each weekend, making handicapping relatively easy. As its popularity grew, the NASCAR budgets increased and now any number of teams can win on a given Sunday.
Currently, in the IRL, there are only a handful of teams that are funded enough to win the Indy 500, and probably only 7 drivers out of the field of 33 have a realistic chance of winning this event, and they are the drivers that qualified 1-7 on the starting grid. This makes a long shot winner truly a long shot, and we need to focus on which of the seven are performing best this month.
1) Scott Dixon: Qualified on the pole, and has been consistently fast this month...He is with Target Chip Ganassi and will be a strong contender to win. He won the first event of the year at Homstead, Fla. led the most laps at Kansas Speedway and is a tough out. However, his reduced odds, (I have seen as low as 5/2) make him a tough pick, and lacking value, we will leave him out.
2) Dan Wheldon: Qualified on the front row, and is also with Target Chip Ganassi. While Dan has been quick, he has not led many laps this year, was lucky to win at Kansas, and also does not represent much value.
3 & 4) Team Penske: Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castonevas: This team has been happy all month with the operation of their cars, and have been fine tuning the last couple of practice sessions. While Briscoe appears to be a year away, this could again by a win by Castronevas as he was extremely happy with his car on Thursday and Friday.
5) Danica Patrick: Off her big win in Motegi, she failed to shine at Kansas, and in fact, the only laps she has led all year were the last three in Japan, and although a sentimental choice, does not seem to be up to speed with the other contenders.
6) Tony Kanaan: Team 7/11: Tony has not been happy as of late with his car, and if he is not happy, at odds that are not that attractive, we will pass on him.
7) Marco Andretti: Has been consistently quick all month with his car, finished 2nd in this event in his first attempt, and has very tempting odds.
So, there are the top seven contenders for this years event.
There is no doubt that Scott Dixon has been the class of the Indy Racing League so far this year. There is also no doubt that at these odds, there is not much value on him.
So, we will back Helio Castonevas at odds of 5/1 or better to get the win here on Sunday at the 92nd running of the Inday 500
We would also look at Ryan Briscoe at 8/1 as our second value choice.
Bobby D.
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