IRL: George shuts down team

Tony George continues to distance himself from the league he created and that recently ousted him as its president. According to ESPN.com, he is shutting down his IRL race team, Vision Racing.

Our View In a league that has never had stunning car counts to begin with, it is unfortunate to lose any team. Last year, however, George's driver Ed Carpenter was hardly a fixture on anyone's race league.

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IRL: Briscoe wins thriller over Carpenter

Ryan Briscoe won the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway in a photo finish over Ed Carpenter.

Our View Briscoe won by 0.0162 of a second to notch his second win of the season in the No. 6 Penske car.

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IRL: Several tests on tap

Most of the Indy Racing League drivers tested at a variety of locations this week in preparation for the upcoming season. According to OpenWheelWorld.net, they were:

Watkins Glen International: Danica Patrick, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Mario Moraes, Mike Conway, Milka Duno, Justin Wilson and Richard Antinucci.

Richmond International Raceway: Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, Dan Wheldon, Raphael Matos and E J Viso.

Chicagoland Speedway: Ed Carpenter (in a Firestone tire test).

Iowa Speedway: Dario Franchitti

Our View: Practice makes perfect, so put a tickle file in your computers for the appropriate week and then watch these drivers closely in open practice sessions when that race rolls around.

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IRL: 11 more in the Indy 500 field

The second day of qualification is in the books at Indy and two-thirds of the field is now set.

Raphael Matos posted the fastest time of the day and rounds out row four.

Row five will be made up of Paul Tracy, Vitor Meira and Justin Wilson.

Row six will be made up of Hideki Mutoh, Ed Carpenter and Dan Wheldon.

Row seven will be made up of A.J. Foyt IV, Scott Sharp and Sarah Fisher.

And finally, Davey Hamilton qualified 22nd to take the final spot on the roster.

Our View: The pressure is off these drivers, but the remaining hopefuls have to sweat all week until next Saturday's session.

IRL: Vision Racing flies high

Vision Racing's next top-five could be their biggest. In 140 combined starts in the IRL Series with Ed Carpenter, Ryan Hunter-Reay and seven more drivers, they have amassed 11 such finishes, but one more at Indy would be incredibly special. Car owner Tony George also owns Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Our View: They are headed in the right direction. The current high-water mark for Vision Racing came in the April 5th season opener at St Petersburg. For more on this story, check out IndyCar.com.