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Written by:
Robin Miller
03/25/2008 - 08:07 AM
Homestead, Fla.
The winningest driver in '07, Kanaan (above) leads, together with Castroneves and Dixon, the list of 2008 title favorites. (LAT Photo) ยป More Photos
The fact open-wheel racing again flies under one flag is obviously the major storyline going into this Saturday night's IndyCar opener at Homestead, Fla.
Having Graham Rahal, Justin Wilson, Oriol Servia, Bruno Junqueira and Will Power in the field has instantly made the Indy Racing League deeper and more interesting. By May, as many as 40 car/driver combinations might be going for the 33 starting spots and qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 could sport some restored drama, if not credibility.
But, while 24-26 cars figure to be the norm on the rest of the IRL's 19-race schedule, another set of numbers isn't likely to change for quite a while.
Since 2005, three teams have won 45 of the 47 races. Andretti Green, Target-Ganassi and Penske Racing have also combined to claim the last five IRL titles and seven of the last eight Indy 500s.
And nothing about their dominance would seem to be threatened for 2008. Not even the addition of longtime powerhouse Newman/Haas/Lanigan
"It's great for the fans to have the Andretti-Foyt-Rahal rivalry going again, but do I expect to run with them initially? I’d like to be able to say yes but with my lack of experience on ovals, it's not realistic," said the 19-year-old Rahal, whose only previous oval race came in Star Mazda four years ago. "It's going to be a steep learning curve for me and my team, so we'll just try and get competitive as quick as possible."
Wilson, twice a runner-up to Sebastien Bourdais in Champ Car, has joined Newman/Haas/Lanigan yet agrees with his teammate it's not going to be easy.
"We've got to judge the competition when we get there but it's going to be a tough road because we have no time in these cars, let alone the fact most of us have very little experience on ovals," said the 29-year-old Brit who has five oval starts in his career. We've got to be realistic and these first few races are going to be very difficult."
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