ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Now that the long-awaited IZOD IndyCar Series opener has finally concluded, it's time to move away from the storyline that has cast its shadow over the sport since the tragic death of Dan Wheldon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Beginning with this weekend's Honda Grand Prix, the new season marches forward. Here are three key questions to keep an eye on as the season progresses.
INDIANAPOLIS -- When Scott Dixon met his new teammate at Target/Chip Ganassi Racing after the 2005 season he wasn't quite sure what to expect. After all, Dan Wheldon was a fierce competitor and rival who had dominated the season by winning six races, including the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship for what was then Andretti Green Racing.
Two-time IZOD IndyCar champion Scott Dixon fell behind in the points race after a bump in Edmonton forced him to pit for long radiator repairs. SI.com discusses the incident, instigated by a double-file restart, and how it will affect his performance this Sunday at the Honda Indy 200 (2 p.m. ET, Versus).
David Foster (16-time Grammy Award-winning composer): Danica Patrick
INDIANAPOLIS -- To call Alex Tagliani's pole for the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 a surprise might be a bit misleading. The French Canadian was one of the fastest drivers all week in practice.
Ten days before the commencement of the 2011 Izod IndyCar Series season at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, storylines are beginning to crystallize that could meander all the way to the much-anticipated season finale in Las Vegas. There's Danica Patrick, of course. There are those Ganassi drivers again. There's Tony George. Huh?
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- When Dario Franchitti was asked if his 2010 season could still be considered a success if he doesn't bring home his third IndyCar title in four seasons, the Scotsman scoffed.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Dario Franchitti of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing is hoping for another "Power failure" as the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series championship battle heads to Japan for Sunday's Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi.
Two teammates. One former teammate. Two power teams. Eight points between the three them. One race left. One step on the podium that really matters.
TOKYO -- Three drivers separated by just eight points heading into the final race of the season with a championship on the line. That's what the IndyCar Series has coming up with its winner-take-all season-finale in South Florida on Oct. 10.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Weekend off?
STEAM CORNERS, Ohio -- Scott Dixon has earned many nicknames during his highly-successful racing career such as "The Iceman" for his cool demeanor as well as 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner and two-time IndyCar Series champion.
NEWTON, Iowa -- A perfect storm for the IndyCar Series could result in its most successful driver moving to a new team in 2010, and provide the opportunity to keep the sport's most recognizable driver in the series.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- After the longest offseason in sports, the IndyCar Series is back, beginning with this weekend's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. That means the return of sleek, high-flying machines and some of racing's most diverse drivers as they begin a 17-race schedule that includes short ovals, intermediate ovals, big tracks, streets and natural terrain road courses.
JOLIET, IL -- Scott Dixon will be the first to admit he is a far different individual than when he won his first IndyCar Series title in 2003.
DETROIT -- One of the biggest complaints about Brian Barnhart is that the IndyCar President, Competition Division, is usually "all bark and no bite" when it comes to enforcing penalties, that he often warns drivers against the sins of blocking but rarely penalizes offending drivers.
WATKINS GLEN, New York -- Now that Mark Martin is back in a full-time NASCAR Sprint Cup ride for 2009 and Kyle Busch is back in Victory Lane after his thrilling win at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, it draws a stark contrast to the different directions Chevrolet and Toyota are heading.
For 13 years they had waited for this moment, waited as open-wheel racing lost its luster and receded deeper into the background of America's sports landscape. For 13 years, following the breakup of the open-wheel circuit into competing series (CART and IRL), the top owners and drivers had watched the Indianapolis 500 become less and less relevant. For 13 years the race that was once America's most watched and celebrated had the feel of a party at which only half the guests (IRL drivers) showed up.
Five things we learned on Sunday in the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500, one of the most significant days in the race's history.
The buzz was back at the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday as one of the largest crowds in years filled the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France, who was on the starting grid before the race.
INDIANAPOLIS -- It's been a hard day for the rookies at the 92nd Indianapolis 500.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Scott Dixon was asked last Friday if winning the pole for the Indianapolis 500 is as big as winning an IndyCar race anywhere else?
With only three points separating Dario Franchitti from Scott Dixon going into Sunday's IndyCar Series championship-concluding showdown at Chicagoland Speedway, the nip-and-tuck battle the two have staged in the second half of the 17-race season will finally come to a close.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Ganassi Racing, one of the last major teams to enter the Indianapolis 500, submitted four cars for former winner Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon, the IndyCar Series leader after the first two races this season.
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