David Reutimann had the right strategy by staying out during the last (of many) rain delay and he won the Coca-Cola 600.
Our View: He was nowhere close to the strongest driver, but NASCAR pays points based on winning no matter what the circumstances.
May 25, 2009
Penske may add 4th team
According to Jayski.com, Penske Racing South is considering adding a fourth Cup team with Justin Allgaier as a part time pilot.
Our View: With so many Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series, it's been a while since the Cup guys have seemed to have a developmental plan in place. Allgaier will be a good value in selected events—not because of his talent, but due to the strength of this organization.
Our View: With so many Cup drivers in the Nationwide Series, it's been a while since the Cup guys have seemed to have a developmental plan in place. Allgaier will be a good value in selected events—not because of his talent, but due to the strength of this organization.
Riggs, Baldwin part company
After the Coke 600 is completed (assuming that ever happens), Scott Riggs and Tommy Baldwin will part ways, according to SceneDaily.com. Riggs cites the lack of competitiveness of the No. 36 as the reason.
Our View: Mike Skinner and Patrick Carpentier are schedule to run the car in most or all of the remaining races, but without sponsorship, this team will not be a good fantasy value.
Our View: Mike Skinner and Patrick Carpentier are schedule to run the car in most or all of the remaining races, but without sponsorship, this team will not be a good fantasy value.
Competition caution coming
According to Dustin Long, NASCAR is expected to throw a competition caution around lap 40 in the Coke 600.
Our View: Since drivers have not been able to touch there cars and the race has switched from a night race to a day race, this is going to be critical to a team's success.
Our View: Since drivers have not been able to touch there cars and the race has switched from a night race to a day race, this is going to be critical to a team's success.
IRL: Milwaukee, Last five races
Tony Kanaan had another terrible Indy 500 when he crashed before the halfway mark and finished 27th in a 33-car field. If the past is any indication though, he should rebound nicely this week. The Indy Racing League has been going to the Milwaukee Mile for five years and Kanaan has never finished outside the top-five there. In fact, he took top honors in back-to-back season in 2006 and 2007, which makes him one of the favorites to win again this week.
Nearly as stout, Dario Franchitti is back from his NASCAR sojourn and he's never finished worse than sixth in four starts on this track. He won the inaugural race in 2004 and then posted runner-up results in 2005 and 2007. Last week, he was in contention for the 500 victory until trouble in the pits relegated him to seventh, so he will be looking for redemption.
Dan Wheldon does not have the overall numbers of Kanaan and Franchitti, but he's certainly come on strong lately. He struggled to an 18th-place finish in 2004 and was a modest eighth in 2006, but every other result has been a top-five—and that is enough to recommend him for this week's Milwaukee race.
Results, Last five years
Nearly as stout, Dario Franchitti is back from his NASCAR sojourn and he's never finished worse than sixth in four starts on this track. He won the inaugural race in 2004 and then posted runner-up results in 2005 and 2007. Last week, he was in contention for the 500 victory until trouble in the pits relegated him to seventh, so he will be looking for redemption.
Dan Wheldon does not have the overall numbers of Kanaan and Franchitti, but he's certainly come on strong lately. He struggled to an 18th-place finish in 2004 and was a modest eighth in 2006, but every other result has been a top-five—and that is enough to recommend him for this week's Milwaukee race.
Results, Last five years
| Driver | Avg Finish | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
| Tony Kanaan | 2.60 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Dario Franchitti | 2.75 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | |
| Sam Hornish Jr | 3.75 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Oriol Servia | 6.00 | 6 | ||||
| Justin Wilson | 7.00 | 7 | ||||
| Patrick Carpentier | 7.00 | 7 | ||||
| Bryan Herta | 7.33 | 7 | 6 | 9 | ||
| Alex Barron | 7.50 | 8 | 7 | |||
| Dan Wheldon | 7.60 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 18 |
| E J Viso | 8.00 | 8 | ||||
| Adrian Fernandez | 8.00 | 8 | ||||
| Townsend Bell | 8.50 | 11 | 6 | |||
| Jeff Simmons | 9.50 | 10 | 9 | |||
| Danica Patrick | 10.00 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 19 | |
| Scott Dixon | 10.20 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 22 |
| Scott Sharp | 10.75 | 6 | 12 | 10 | 15 | |
| Tomas Scheckter | 11.00 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 21 | |
| Vitor Meira | 11.20 | 22 | 5 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| Buddy Rice | 11.60 | 10 | 18 | 11 | 17 | 2 |
| Hideki Mutoh | 12.00 | 12 | ||||
| Kosuke Matsuura | 12.50 | 12 | 17 | 11 | 10 | |
| Helio Castroneves | 12.60 | 5 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 12 |
| Felipe Giaffone | 13.00 | 13 | ||||
| Jeff Bucknam | 13.00 | 13 | ||||
| Ed Carpenter | 13.20 | 20 | 7 | 16 | 12 | 11 |
| Ryan Briscoe | 13.67 | 1 | 18 | 22 | ||
| Marco Andretti | 13.67 | 21 | 15 | 5 | ||
| Mark Taylor | 14.00 | 14 | ||||
| Jimmy Kite | 14.00 | 14 | ||||
| Will Power | 14.00 | 14 | ||||
| Sarah Fisher | 14.00 | 14 | ||||
| Anthony Foyt IV | 16.75 | 17 | 13 | 21 | 16 | |
| Roger Yasukawa | 15.00 | 15 | ||||
| Ryan Hunter-Reay | 15.00 | 15 | ||||
| Darren Manning | 15.75 | 13 | 11 | 20 | 19 | |
| Enrique Bernoldi | 16.00 | 16 | ||||
| Jaques Lazier | 17.00 | 17 | ||||
| Bruno Junqueira | 18.00 | 18 | ||||
| Buddy Lazier | 18.00 | 18 | ||||
| A J Foyt IV | 16.75 | 17 | 13 | 21 | 16 | |
| John Andretti | 19.00 | 19 | ||||
| Tora Takagi | 20.00 | 20 | ||||
| Mario Moraes | 23.00 | 23 | ||||
| Jaime Camara | 24.00 | 24 | ||||
| Graham Rahal | 25.00 | 25 | ||||
| Mario Dominguez | 26.00 | 26 | ||||
| Marty Roth | 27.00 | 27 |