As a racing enthusiast, I have become rather weary of the proceedings that accompany Pole Day qualifying at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sure, last year Alex Tagliani scored an upset over perennial favorites Team Penske and Target Team Ganassi, but for the most part it has become a day where the big dogs eat what they want and go home. However, this year should be more exciting as with a new chassis, new engines and a ton of unpredictability. Pole Day will likely be much more suspenseful and entertaining for those in attendance than in the past.
With the new DW-12 Dallara car making its debut on an oval, there is some renewed hope and optimism amongst the smaller teams that may be able to take advantage of this period of transition and capture the top spot and all the accolades that go along with it.
With Chevrolet back in Indy Car in an attempt to overthrow Honda from the spotlight, we now have some competition in terms of power plants, which have now returned to the ranks of turbocharged. To add to the intrigue, just four races into the season there is already controversy regarding the aforementioned turbos, prompting Honda to seek intervention through the Indy Car brass, who in turn allowed for modification which in theory will narrow the advantage Chevrolet appeared to have. It wouldn’t be racing without a formal appeal and Chevrolet did just that only to come up short and head to IMS without the apparent advantage they had worked hard for in the off season.
This turbocharger debacle aside, the new equipment will still need to be sorted out from top to bottom and that could allow for a smaller team to capture the moment on May 19 when Pole qualifying begins. To date, Team Penske who has won the first four races and appears to be on a quest to win the 500 for a mind boggling 16th time, has dominated the season.
While Ganassi Drivers Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon loom as the legit Pole challengers to Will Power and Helio Castroneves, look for Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe and Graham Rahal to challenge as well.
Danny Bridges can be reached at Bridgeshd@aol.com.
For more info on Pole Day, visit www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
Danny Bridges is an award-winning journalist and a longtime sports columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. He covers college, professional sports and especially all things IndyCar racing. He can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com.
