Race Trax

Krista Voda, a Clinton, Iowa, native, returns to her home state this weekend for the Lucas Oil 200 NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series race.

Krista Voda hosts NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series races on Speed TV.

She hosts Trucks Series race coverage on Speed TV. Earlier this week she took some time to talk motorcycle scars, UNI football and women in broadcasting, among other things. Here are the highights from that interview:

How do you make sure you’re not seen as just a pretty face, or eye candy on the sidelines?
The nice thing now, for females now, for broadcasting, it’s not so much a novelty anymore. 25 years ago it wasn’t that way, and they were hired more for their looks. Now, you couldn’t get by on that, and thank goodness because I’m wearing a ballcap and no makeup. I would be in trouble if that were a prerequisite for my job. It’s not exactly glamorous most of the time. That’s what nice. I wouldn’t want that to be part of my job. I wouldn’t want to be known as the best female reporter. I just want to be the best reporters. I’m just as guilty. If a female pops up on a game, I think, she better know what she’s talking about. My reason for that is different. I don’t want that to be the stereotype. Just because you’re female you don’t know your information. It’s a double edged sword. If you’re the only female in a group of reporters you’re going to get the first question just because you’re different, but at the same time, if it’s a stupid question, you’re not going to get a second…. It doesn’t bother me, It’s not why I got into this deal. If I didn’t expect that or wasn’t ready to prove myself, then you really don’t belong here anyway.

Do you think sideline reporters are necessary?
I hope they’re needed because otherwise I’m probably out of a job. I think it is more needed in football because you’ve got guys like Belichick, because things are so guarded and there are so many more gatekeepers. But you know, I can see the defensive line coach screaming and yelling and throwing his clip board in the air. I can’t necessarily hear the words that he said, but I can relay the information based on his mannerisms. I can say these guys are getting their butts chewed out right now because they really screwed up there. I can relay information because I have a better position than the people at home and that’s my job, that they get to come out on the field as much as possible. You’re also able to talk to these people all weekend. I can talk to coaches, crew chiefs, tire guys and shock guys, and we can get information all weekend long, and I can piggyback that and build a case and build stories that apply to the race. I hope that my job, I can supply information to viewers that they wouldn’t get. I love doing that. In fact, writing is probably my favorite part of the job. I love doing Wind Tunnel and Speed Report so much because I get to craft the angles and the trends and the stories any way I want to.
Continue reading A chat with Krista Voda

Rusty Wallace talked about the possibility of a Nationwide Series race hangover at Iowa Speedway, a return to racing, and the difficulties of watching his son race during an exclusive interview with me on Wednesday. Here are some excerpts from the interview.

How will the Trucks race on this track, what do you expect?
It’ll probably be one of the most exciting races of the year because the way these trucks are designed, for whatever reason these guys drive with reckless abandon. The cars are flat on the sides, and they really use those sides. They beat on each other. There’s really a lot of aggressive driving in the trucks series. It’s always been that way forever and ever, that’s the way they were brought up. And when you watch them on a short track it’s breathtaking. People love the series because of that, because they’re so damn aggressive. The guys have been here testing. And they love it a lot. The thing with the 12 13 14 degrees banking angle, steeper. It pretty much assures that they’re going to race two or three wide all around the race. They get a lot of momentum out of turn 2. It’s one of these races that going into it, I’m not concerned about how the trucks are going to be racing. I think the fans are going to be going whoa, oh, wow, oww whoo. They’re going to be freaking out the whole race because these guys drive so damn aggressive.

Continue reading Rusty Wallace and the hangover

Iowa Speedway finally hit the big time Saturday and not just because it hosted a Nationwide Series race.

No, the track joined the elite tracks becasue it had a tire controversy, albeit a little one. All of the top drivers said the tires were rock-hard, potentially contributing to a series-high 12 cautions.

“The reason there were so many cautions here was because the tires were a little bit treacherous,” said Carl Edwards who finished fourth. “I think, and I hope Goodyear will work on it just a little bit, get it a little better.”

Goodyear likely played it safe on a new track and opted for durability over grip. It just makes you wonder, if these guys can’t get the tires right, what goes on at the extensive tire tests. Ther e have been quite a few at Iowa in its three years of existence.

More help: While the track drew rave reviews, some drivers can’t wait for a new car for the series, which is scheduled to debut next year. The current model is underpowered for some tracks, and a tightened-up rule book, likely designed to cut costs, leave many drivers wanting more.

Jason Leffler, for one, seeks an extra boost.

“We could use a little more horsepower in these cars,” said Leffler, who finished third. “And if they could loosen up the rules a little bit that would be good. But I’m looking forward to coming back (to Iowa) for sure.”

A theory: Why do all the drivers love Iowa Speedway so much? Kenny Wallace has a theory, and it has nothing to do with progressive banking.

“What makes the track such a success right now is that everybody likes my brother Rusty,” said Wallace, who finished a season-best seventh. “Let me tell you, my brother is working his butt off for that track. Everybody talks about how great it is because of how much work he did at the track.

“Now that we have this Nationwide and Truck Series date, they can do more, they can add on. But that is his signature on this track, and that is what made it so big so fast.”

It’s just a theory. But he might be on to something there.

Wallace watching: Even more difficult for Rusty, trickier than helping to build the track, is watching his son, Steve, race.

“It’s definitely nerve racking,” he said. “It’s one of the toughest things I’ve ever had to do. When we started this three years ago I told my wife, ‘OK, here we go, get your crash helmet on because there’s going to be a lot of people who don’t like him.’

Steve finished 17th in Saturday’s race, but ran as high as second. He was merely a passenger in a three-car crash on lap 236 that took him, and Illinoisans Justin Allgaier and Erik Darnell out of contention.

“We heard everything. We heard some really horrible things that made my wife cry. But it’s been really neat to watching the maturity that happened.”

7:30 p.m.: Brad Keselowski couldn’t be happier to win, and Kyle Busch couldn’t be more ticked off at his second-place finish. This guy doesn’t care about anything other than winning races. He lengthened his points lead in the series, but the only thing he focused on after the race was the fact that he has finished second 12 times this season. Check out qctimes.com  soon for a full story, notes and video.

6:02 p.m.: Michael Annett update: He’s in 10th.

5:40 p.m.: Time for the pit crews to make their money. This will be the last pit stop, for sure. It’s a shame for Justin Allgaier, who was having a good day. The Illinois native led the race earlier. The question now is to pit, or not to pit, and how many tires, two or four.

5:25 p.m.: Wallaces update: Kenny, who started 24th has moved up to 10th, which is where he finished last weekend in Indianapolis. His nephew, Steve, is in 12th after starting eighth.

5:15 p.m.: It’s official, today’s crowd was the largest in Iowa racing history. The total: 56,087. That can’t hurt the track’s case for a Sprint Cup date, if one ever comes open.

5:06 p.m.: And as soon as I hit the publish button on this post, the caution comes out. Debris on the racetrack. Really? I thought they only had phantom yellows in Sprint Cup. I guess not.

5:05 p.m.: This is starting to look similar to this year’s IndyCar race at Iowa. Drivers got silly at the beginning of the race and caused six cautions in the race’s first 110 laps. There was one caution the rest of the day. It appears the Nationwide drivers are settling in. Here’s hoping it continues and we can see some green-flag pit stops. The pit crews can really earn their money.

4:55 p.m.: Michael Annett update: He’s up to 18th, 6.5 seconds behind leader Brad Keselowski. He has struggled a bit with the handling of his car and narrowly missed being collected in the last wreck. The Des Moines native started the race 36th.

4:45 p.m.: Can these cars run three-wide here? Not so much. Not for long anyway. I have seen it happen a few times, usually when a lapped car is involved. But going three wide is part of what caused the last wreck. Of course, Brendan Gaughan’s cut tire didn’t help.

4:40 p.m.: After 95 laps, nine cars are out. And as a sign of the times, there was one start-and-park.

4:20 p.m.: Pole sitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has slipped to 10th place. It’s only his sixth Nationwide Series start, and he’s got Kevin Harvick breathing down his neck. Welcome to the show, kid.

4:15 p.m.: Illinois native Erik Darnell was the biggest loser on that last pit stop. He dropped down to 10th. But he gained three spots on the restart. Casey Atwood was treated and released from the infield car center.

4:05 p.m.: The guys on TV won’t shut up about how many spots Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards have gained. Right behind those guys is Kyle Busch, in 14th. He started 27th.

3:40 p.m.: As the engines fire, here are some pre-race notes.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the pole in his sixth Nationwide Series start.

Justin Allgaier posted his fourth top-10 start of this season.

Erik Darnell (third) took his fifth top-10 start in nine races.

1:50 p.m.: Word is spreading around the media center that almost 60,000 tickets have been sold for today’s race. That’s unofficial, and likely an exaggeration, but we’re approaching Kinnick Stadium numbers here.

1:30 p.m.: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start on the pole for today’s U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. Riverton, Ill.’s Justin Allgaier will start second. Fellow Illinoisan Erik Darnell starts third, Trevor Bayne is fourth, and Brad Coleman starts fifth.

Local favorite Michael Annett will start 36th. Kyle Busch will start 27th, Kevin Harvick starts 34th, and Carl Edwards will start 40th. I’ll post comments from the drivers when I get them and video, too.  Stay tuned.

1 p.m.: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is on the provisional pole for today’s U.S. Cellular 250 at Iowa Speedway. That much you know, if you’re watching on TV or at the track.

The surprise in qualifying, if there can be such a thing, because qualifying matters so little in these races, is Justin Allgaier. The Riverton, Ill., native leads the Nationwide Series rookie of the year standings and has run well at Iowa in the past is in second place, provisionally.

Overlooked no more: At Andretti Green Racing Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti get most of the attention. But it was Hideki Mutoh who turned in the best finish Sunday.

Mutoh didn’t shy away from a question about being overlooked.

“I’m really enjoying with my teammates. I mean, T.K. (Tony Kanaan) has a lot of experience and he is a really funny guy,” he said. “And Danica (Patrck) sometimes seems, you know, angry, but she’s not. She’s really focusing on winning races. But I like her very much, too.

“And with Marco (Andretti), I go out to dinner or sometimes, you know I have night life with him. We’re having fun, yeah. don’t know what he’s drinking, because I’m so drunk every time. Sorry. No, I’m kidding. We drink just water.”

Sure they do.

Smooth moves: Tomas Scheckter started the race 17th but that didn’t stop him from going to the front of the field.

He passed seven cars on the first lap and moved up as high as second place in the first 25 laps. He finished sixth.

It was only his third race of the season.

“The car looks beautiful and it goes great,” he said. “We’re working at it here. It’s a really new program and we’ve changed a bunch of stuff. This finish pumps everybody up, but we’ve got to keep going. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Don’t fear the weepers: Water seepage in turn 4 canceled qualifying Saturday even though it didn’t rain at all. But downpours on Friday raised the water table causing water to come out.

The water stumped track designer Rusty Wallace.

“We’re going to do some research after this event is over and see if there’s anything we can do to help that,” the retired NASCAR great said. “Almost all of the tracks on the NASCAR series have suffered that. A lot of problems at Pocono, at Michigan, Texas. It’s not an excuse. We’ve got to figure out what’s causing it at our racetrack.”

The middle of where?: Last year’s winner, Dan Wheldon, stayed in the top four for almost the entire race, and he finished fourth. Like most drivers at the track he has nothing bad to say about Iowa Speedway.

“I know a lot of people say that Iowa is in the middle of nowhere, but you know what, we get such a great crowd and they’re so enthusiastic,” Wheldon said. “As a driver you could put me in paradise, but if there’s nobody in the grandstands then it’s not good racing.”

Johnson in the house: West Des Moines native and Olympic silver medalist Shawn Johnson spent some time with fellow “Dancing With the Stars” competitor Helio Castroneves before the race. She took some laps around the track in the pace car. And watched some of the race from Danica Patrick’s pit.

“”I’ve been home for about a week and it’s great to be home,” Johnson said. “And now to come out to the track to watch the race and meet Helio is fantastic.”

The IndyCar Series will compete at the Iowa Speedway through the 2011 season. Series and track officials announced they had reached an agreement in principle to sign a two-year deal.

“We are very excited about this, we’re excited about being here every year,” IndyCar Series commercial division president Terry Angstadt said. “When we’re here, we’re treated so well. The fans are so great, and that doesn’t happen in every market.”

The deal hasn’t been signed yet, but IndyCar Series commercial division president Terry Angstadt said the deal would be signed soon. It was a matter of paperwork and not details of the deal.

“This will solidify Iowa Speedway as one of the top motorsports venues in the world,” track president Jerry Jauron said. “It’s an exciting time to be at Iowa Speedway.”

The deal doesn’t specify on which date the race will take place, but both sides are open to moving the date.

Iowa Speedway’s sponsorship deal with Iowa Corn Promotion Board ends after today’s race.

The IndyCar Series schedule will be finalized at the end of July. The schedule will have nine ovals and nine road or street courses, Angstadt said. The current mix is 10-7 ovals to street courses.

What do you expect at Iowa this weekend, the track has changed quite a bit since you last ran there?

I think the big difference will be the track, not so much the cars. They’re very similar to how they were when we raced last time. The track has aged for sure since when we were there last time. It’s a little bumpier than before. But I think we should see a similar type of race to last year.

What is the biggest challenge of the track?

One of the big challenges is the balance between cold tires to warmer tires. We run the superspeedway tires because of the loads they are under and they get temperature in the tire quickly. But it definitely makes for a couple of exciting laps. It makes it a bit dicey. You’ve got to get up to pace quick or you’re going to be under attack

Do you approach a track where you already have won any differently?

You try to approach them all the same. It definitely gives you some more confidence. I really want to get to the car and drive in it. This is the car that Dan Wheldon won in last year and the same team. We tested here last week as well, so that’ll help a little bit.

There hasn’t been as much passing and as much side-by-side stuff this year, why do you think that is?

Texas and Milwaukee were a bit disappointing in that way. I think part of it is that they’ve taken away some of the freedom in the rules packages. Some of the smaller teams were complaining that that was the reason that the Target team and the AGR and Penske were running away with it was because of the rules. But you’ve still got the same cars up front now, and it’s just really hard to get any passing. I’d like to see them open up the rules a bit more to promote some passing. The fact that the cars are so similar, they’re so close is that it’s almost impossible to overtake.

How quickly did you re-adjust to being in an IndyCar? Is it like riding a bike?

I’d say there was a certain adjustment of maybe a day, day and a half. It came back very very quickly. It was a surprise because I was a bit concerned about that really. Things happen so much quicker in an IndyCar than they do in a stock car.

Are you comfortable with this team now, how long did it take to get comfortable?

I’m very comfortable. That was one of the big reasons to come back. I knew that with the Target team I had the chance to compete for wins and championships. I was lucky enough to be with AGR for all those years. And coming back to the Target team really made it easy for me. It’s slightly different than I’m used to, but it’s worked quite well and it’s going very smoothly.

How is this team different than AGR?

It’s more in the way they set the car up and in the way the engineering executes. They work just a little different. But it works very well. It’s not that one is better than the other. It’s just different.

What is it like having Scott as a teammate; you had a rivalry going in 2007, a bit, with the title being decided on the final lap?

We had all kinds of rivalries over the years. But it’s friendly rivalry. So to be teammates with him, it’s really nice. He’s really a good guy to have as a teammate. I’ve really been lucky to have some great teammates, and Scott is right there at the top of that list. Scott really works hard and pushes hard, and he pushes me too.

Do you and Scott talk much about flying? He has a pilot’s license, too.

We talk quite a bit about it. We flew together when we did the 24 hours of Daytona together. A couple of weeks ago we flew. We both share the passion for flying, and it’s great.

Why are so many racing guys into flying?

I think that people who race are into anything mechanical, whether it’s cars or planes. We’re really into that stuff.

How often do you go up in the helicopter?

I sold my helicopter when I went to NASCAR because I just didn’t have any opportunities to fly it.

Is the Iowa gas pump trophy the strangest one you have?

I have a gold hamburger from a race in Germany in 1998. I also have the guitar from Nashville, so the Iowa fuel pump fits right in there.

You would never smash the guitar trophy would you?

We were talking about that this morning and I wouldn’t personally do it. But it’s entirely up to him with what he wants to do with it. And he did it for the best of reasons because he wanted to give pieces of it to the crew. But that’s not for me.

Are you a Kentucky basketball fan like your wife, Ashley Judd?

It’s really selfish for me. I just hope it’s going well for her, so she’s happy. She’s really excited about (the new coach), so that’s really good for her.

How is your collection of Jim Clark stuff coming?

The collection is going well. One of the cool things after winning Indy in 07 is that people found out I was into Jim Clark. People come up and say, hey I’ve got this piece that you might like. And people have some really nice pictures. It’s very very cool.

Do you have room in your trophy case for another gas pump?

Absolutely. I’ve got all kinds of room and it would fit very well.

Defending Iowa Corn Indy 250 winner took time away from hanging out with his new son and adding to his 300-plus pair shoe collection to talk to me. Here’s what he had to say:

Can you defend your Iowa title with this team?

I think so. The biggest thing this year is when you look at the competition, it’s incredibly important to when you can roll off the truck fast. When you do that it gives you the ability to work on the racecar and really perfect it. You can fine-tune the racecar. It sounds like obvious things to do, but if you don’t roll off the truck with a really good package it takes some time to really get it the way you want it. That being said once you’ve done that you can perfect things. We seemed very competitive in the last race at Texas in practice, but for whatever reason we didn’t carry that over to the race. I seemed to do well in traffic. But just given the outright pace we didn’t quite have the same pace. That’s something we’re working on.

What’s the biggest difference from this team to the Ganassi team?

It’s a much smaller operation and I think certainly going into the season I was under the impression that we’d be working on just one car but we’d have a budget to be where they are. But for whatever reason it isn’t quite there. In terms of development and the little things on the racecar we’re certainly not at their level yet.

How much different is Panther racing since last time you were there?

It’s always very difficult to judge after only a couple of races with a team. I was very new to IndyCar. Back then they were competing for championships and working with Penzoil. But I think when you get to the budget they were working on then. But then you compare them to the Penske team, I don’t think you can compare them right now. But the ethics of the team is great. The work ethic of this team is really good. There’s a few of the people left from when that team then.

At Indy did you have car to win?

At Indy the quickest car doesn’t win. It’s about execution on pit stops and strategy. But if you compare my car to Helio’s it obviously didn’t have the speed at the end of the race that he had. But we adjusted our car to work well in the end. When you compare my car to his, I don’t think it would’ve been that much different. We actually struggled in the month at Indianapolis we had a big imbalance. But for carburetion day and for the race we certainly helped it, we weren’t quite there but we really helped it. At Indianapolis it just seemed to be track position, which Ganassi had and Penske had. But when those Ganassi cars got in the back of the pack they couldn’t overtake. That was the theme for that race. Without track position it was pretty difficult to overtake.

What’s the biggest challenge about Iowa?

It changes so much. This will be the third time we’ve been here. The first time it was really comfortably flat out. You were able to run as low of a line as you possibly could. That was comfortable, but passing was pretty limited. It was pretty much in the pits and on restarts. Last year we went back and the second lane opened up and it was sometimes quicker or at least as quick as the low line. But it was about getting your car to work well in between turns 1 and 2. If you can do that and continue to run that low line. If you can do that as your fuel starts to burn off then you can keep pace there.

Is it a fun track?

Absolutely it’s fun. I wouldn’t say, it’s definitely a different race track there. They all have slightly different challenges. Iowa it’s getting the car to work over the big bumps in turns 1 and 2, and then as the track sort of falls away off of the exit of 4 you have to make it shorter in the rear. But if you’ve got the car working for you it sure is a fun track. I don’t think we’re quite pulling 4 G’s at Iowa, but I think Richmond is the track where we carry the most G’s. It’s a very very fun race track and I always like to go there.

Can you pass on the high side?

You certainly could last year. I have to say when you look at the races that we’ve been part of this year it’s been incredibly difficult to overtake. Going on last year I would say certainly that it’s going to be one of those races where you can overtake on the high side. But the big thing is the track position. When you look our last race at Texas, which is typically a side-by-side racetrack, there wasn’t much of that. So I would certainly hope that would be the case. Certainly from last year that would be. But it’s probably not going to be as easy as last year just because of the rules that are.

Have the rules tightened the teams up this year?

I think it’s a variety of things. I think obviously with the competition level. I think Brian Barnhart is in a very difficult position. I think a couple of years ago when we were in side-by-side racing we were trying to, I think his job basically was to try to spread the field out because people complained about how dangerous the IRL was with how easy it was to go flat out. It’s a very difficult position he’s in because now it’s almost gone the other way. There obviously are changes that he’s made that have spread the field out. I don’t think we expected it to be like this year. But I know he’ll do a fantastic job in the future. That’s what the IndyCar Series is about it’s about entertaining side-by-side racing. And I think we just haven’t had that. But I think personally it’s down to a variety of things.

What did you think of last year donating and helping?

It was something that needed to be done. My wife and I we drove from Chicago to Iowa and seeing that devastation of the floods, it was the very least we could do. I’m in a very fortunate position to do what I love and to make a lot of money to do it. I think it was the least that we could possibly do. Don’t forget that Scott Dixon did it too and Chip Ganassi was part of it. I felt that it was something that before the weekend started it was something that we could do to give them all the money. It was unbelievable. I’ve never seen the devastation of a flood, it absolutely blew my mind. There’s a lot of people that lost everything there. It was the least that I could’ve done. I know it was a very small amount. I was just grateful that I could do my small part. I think that we could make some people smile. I think the race last year the race was incredibly entertaining in difficult circumstances, but if that took their mind off that, I think that was awesome.

Why the success on ovals when your background is on road courses?

It’s one of those things. I would say this year it has been on the other way around. It depends on how you can get the racecar to work for you in the different situations. You’ve got to work incredibly hard with your engineer to get a feel that you’re 100 percent confident, particularly when it’s so competitive these days. I performed well on the road courses, not as well as I would’ve liked. But this year it’s sort of the opposite. I think it depends on the package that you have and the amount of time to get the package to your liking.

What do you think of Jenson Button’s success?

I think it’s great. A lot of people wrote Jenson off in the last few years. And I think it’s great that he’s got the car to show that. He’s the same driver he was last year and he didn’t even win a race and didn’t even feature. But this year he’s won six out of seven. So I’ve known Jenson for an incredibly long time. I’ve got an immense amount of respect for him. We’ve raced together since the age of 8. I couldn’t be happier for him. I really couldn’t.

You’ve never won at Nashville, you’ve finished second a couple of times, but if you ever did would you smash your trophy guitar like Kyle Busch?

No. Absolutely not. I’ve tried really hard to win that race because of the guitar. I have a couple of guitars in my house. So I wouldn’t have smashed it. I didn’t know that he smashed it. That’s crazy. I would’ve bought it off him. I would’ve offered him a lot of money to buy it. I finished second there a few times and I was bummed because I didn’t get it. If I’d have known he was going to smash it I would’ve offered him some money before. But he’s a fellow NOS driver. We’re sponsored by the same energy drink and maybe he was hopped up on NOS or something.

Do you have a favorite pair shoes?

I don’t have one. That’s why I have so many.

Any other superstitions besides tapping the car three times before you get in?

That’s about it, really. I think tap the nose on the right front. But nothing too exciting. It’s little things drivers do. It’s more being repetitive than superstition. That’s the main one, patting the car on the nose.

I will talk with Dario Franchitti on Friday morning as he prepares for this weekend’s third Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway in Newton.
If there’s anything you’d like me to ask him, please post it here in the comments. I’ll post excerpts from the interview here.

Franchitti won the first Iowa Corn Indy 250 in 2007. He returns to the track for the first time since then. He drove for Chip Ganassi’s NASCAR team last season.

With all apologies to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King and his “Ten things I think I think,” here’s 10 things I know after the biggest racing weekend of the year:
1. I know the IndyCar Series needs help at promoting its races and has needed that help for a long time.
It might finally get that help as H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler was at the Brickyard on Sunday.
Although, it might take a miracle to put Indy back on the map as it once was, if anyone can work miracles, it’s Humpy.

2. I know three of the top 10 drivers at Indy won’t be at the race next weekend in Milwaukee. Townsend Bell, left, Will Power and Paul Tracy were one-off deals. They won’t compete at Milwaukee. Six of the finishers in the 11th through 20th spots won’t be there either including Tomas Scheckter and Sarah Fisher. And that more or less sums up what’s eating open-wheel racing these days.
Tracy might find a ride with A.J. Foyt Racing, as Vitor Meira, who suffered the second-most vicious hit of the Indy 500, is out for the season with a back injury.

3. I know Tony Kanaan will race next week in Milwaukee after suffering the hardest hit of the day. It’s no knock on Meira, who certainly is a tough driver, too. But Kanaan is about as tough as they come.
The Andretti/Green driver might have suffered some broken ribs and slew of bruises after hitting the wall almost head on at 195 mph. He told Speed TV’s Robin Miller that the car sustained 175 G’s on impact.

4. I know if Formula One was using a medals system instead of a points system the championship already would have been decided.
Not that it isn’t already. I don’t know if anyone can catch Jenson Button, right, and Brawn GP the rest of this year and we’re not even to the season’s halfway point.
Something is fishy in your sport if a team that didn’t exist or was near-extinction a month before the season started ends up winning the whole thing in blowout fashion.
And you thought IndyCar had problems.

5. I know that we should know more about the U.S. Formula One team that allegedly will run next season.
I’d like to know who is sponsoring this team. Everyone else would like to know who is driving for this team.
Here’s what we know, or think we do: The team will use Cosworth engines. Cosworth hasn’t been in the sport since 2006. That’s all I know, and I just found that out last week.
So, judging by the Brawn GP plan for success, might as well just give Peter Windsor, left, and Ken Anderson the championship now.

6. I know David Reutimann deserves a better team than the one he has now. The journeyman has some talent, but runs for a lousy team, Michael Waltrip Racing.

The journeyman driver is better known for this wreck, above, than for anything else he has done on the track, and that’s partly Waltrip’s fault.
Darrel’s younger brother needs to figure out if he wants to be a TV personality, a car owner or a driver and just stick with one. But it was nice to see Reutimann pull out a win Monday because of some good racing luck.
7. I know Jimmie Johnson has a Twitter account and it is called fake_Jimmie. His teammate, Jeff Gordon, has an account called fake_jeff. As far as I can tell, those accounts actually are theirs.
They’re keeping it real.
From fake_Jimmie: “I swear the only time I’m alone anymore is the car or the toilet! Actually just the toilet, I have to listen to Chad in the car!”
From fake_jeff: “Just heard Nelly’s “E.I.” on the radio. Hadn’t heard it in a long time. Still cool to hear my name!”
Jimmie follows Kevin Smith. Jeff follows only five people, the only non-racing person is ESPN reporter Marty Smith. I don’t know what to make of that. Stay tuned to this blog for a complete list of drivers’ Twitter accounts.

8. I know Tony Eury Jr. isn’t long for this world, at least, the world of being Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief. Earnhardt has only three top 10 finishes in the season’s first 12 races.
When asked about Eury Jr., team owner Rick Hendrick was noncommittal. In the past he strongly has defended Eury Jr.
9. I know the Indianapolis 500 starts too late.
I realize egos have pushed the race start time back to 12:15, too late for drivers to pull a double.
But you’ve now got some NASCAR guys who no doubt would be interested in swinging doubleheaders at Indy and Charlotte, and at least one, Tony Stewart, is free of contractual obligations that prevent him from running at the Brickyard in May. Because as team owner, he writes his own contract.
Want some sizzle? Want more than 300,000 at Indy? You’re gonna need the NASCAR stars’ help.

10. I know that Danica Patrick will head to NASCAR next year. As I have already written. She won’t be able to say no to NASCAR’s money.
I know she has pretty much maxed out her fame in IndyCar. She hasn’t come anywhere close to maxing out her results, but unless a seat came open at Ganassi or Penske, there’s no way she’ll do much better than she has.
Outside of trying to come back for another shot at an Indy win, Danica is gone.