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INDYCAR: Miller’s Richmond Preview
Written by: Robin Miller   
06/25/2009
Indianapolis, IN
 
Two teams and four drivers have won all seven races so far in 2009 but Andretti-Green and Tony Kanaan haven't been part of the celebrations.

While Team Penske and Target/Ganassi occupy the top four slots in the standings with Ryan Briscoe, Dario Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves, AGR and TK are mired in a puzzling drought.
Tony Kanaan returns to the site of his last IndyCar win -- and after the rough and tumble time he's had of late, the 2004 IndyCar champion could use a win at Richmond. (LAT) ยป More Photos
The team with 34 total IRL wins has not been to victory lane since a year ago at Richmond when Kanaan dominated from the pole position.

"It's been too long, I know that," said Kanaan, whose 13 wins rank him fourth among active IndyCar drivers since the series started in 1996. "Last year my win at Richmond kinda got my season jump started and I'm looking forward to going back.

"We made progress last weekend but it obviously didn't turn out like we wanted."

The 2004 IRL champion led 48 laps at Iowa before crashing and his aggressive style makes Saturday night's final short-track oval race of the year almost a must win.

"It's a driver's track and it's more about dealing with traffic and keeping up with the changing conditions than it is about your car," said the 34-year-old Brazilian who is still recovering from his wicked accident at Indianapolis when his suspension failed at 220 mph.

"But I like Richmond because it's demanding and you have no time to rest. It's fast and physical."

The leader of AGR's 4-car armada heads to Richmond seventh in the standings (79 behind leader Briscoe) and understands that getting back near the top won't be easy.

"This year has been tough because six drivers have to have a bad day in order for me to get back to the top of the points," he said. "And four of those cars belong to Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing and they don't have problems very often.

"Obviously,
I need to win some races."

While TK hit the wall, Briscoe again led the most laps and Franchitti scored his second win of '09, Tomas Scheckter almost stole the show.

Starting 16th because qualifying was scrapped due to weepers in the track, Scheckter passed five cars on the first lap, charged into the Top 5 early and ran as high as second before finishing sixth for Dreyer & Reinbold in his MonaVie Special.

"It was a good day for this team and we're getting better, we've just got to keep pushing," said Scheckter, who lost two spots on his last pit stop. "I made a good start and it was fun to run up front again, that's where I intend to be.

"I like Richmond, I've always run well there so we'll try and improve some more."

Briscoe, who has led 509 laps but only garnered one win, leads two-time winner Franchitti by three points, two-time IRL champ Dixon by 15 and three-time Indy winner Castroneves by 29 as the stretch of six consecutive ovals comes to a close.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.

Robin Miller became an Indy-car junkie in late 1950s and stooged for his hero, Jim Hurtubise, at the 1968 Indy 500. He went on to work as a vent man and board man on Indy pit crews from 1971-77. Miller bought a Formula Ford from Andy Granatelli in 1972 and raced it in SCCA until 1974 when he purchased a midget from Gary Bettenhausen, competing in the USAC midget series from 1975-82.

Robin flunked out of Ball State College in 1968 and began working at The Indianapolis Star sports department in 1969, covered motorsports there from 1969-2000.

In addition to his broadcast work. Miller's also covered IndyCar racing for Autoweek, Autosport, Car & Driver and On Track magazines over the past 35 years.
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