Shawn Payne / IRL

Get ready for Danica Mania 2.0… or as Emeril Lagasse might say, “Let’s kick it up a notch!”

Danica Patrick made her mark on history with her win in the Indy Japan 300 at Twin-Ring Motegi, becoming the first female driver ever to win a major open-wheel racing event. The victory in her 50th IndyCar Series start banished forever the questions about when or even if she’d win, as well as the comparisons to other female athletes that had failed to produce wins during their careers. And her timing couldn’t have been much better, providing a huge boost to the IndyCar Series in what has already been a major momentum-building year with reunification and Graham Rahal’s exciting victory in the previous event.   read more »

Fantastico! Magnifico! Eccezionale! (Help, I’ve run out of Italian adjectives!) The highlight of the recent 2008 Indy 500 Media Tour was a 150mph+ thrill ride around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in a brand-new 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car driven by Italian driver Max Papis. As always, my camera and my recorder went along for the ride.   read more »

One of the stops on the 2008 Indy 500 Media Tour was the top secret warehouse that stores Firestone Racing’s “Magic Rings”. In fact, so top secret is the location of this warehouse that tour attendees were blindfolded, transported via passenger bus, and subjected to rigorous background checks by armed guards prior to entering the facility.   read more »

Marty Roth was kind enough to host an open house at the new headquarters of Roth Racing during the 2008 Indy 500 Media Tour. Though perhaps not the size of one of the “Big 3″ teams like Team Penske, Andretti Green Racing or Target Chip Ganassi Racing, the facility is still quite impressive. The tools are new, the floors are clean, and the sense of pride is abundant. You just gotta love the spirit of this up and coming team.   read more »

I thought I’d start off my 2008 Indy 500 Media Tour postings with a fun photo. From left are 1998 Indy 500 Champion Eddie Cheever, two-time Indy 500 participant Max Papis, and 1989 & 1993 Indy 500 Champion Emerson Fittipaldi standing with the Borg-Warner Trophy. Eddie will be part of the ABC/ESPN broadcast team during the month of May, Max will attempt to make his third start in the Indy 500 in a car entered by Rubicon Racing, and Emerson will drive the Pace Car to start the 92nd running of the race. Max last participated in the Indy 500 in 2006 in a car owned by Eddie, and Emerson also happens to be his father-in-law.   read more »