1}Where's the reliability? Prior to Texas, there was supposedly one certainty.....that the Honda H-16R Indy V8 engine was bullet-proof; apparently, Bryan Herta and Buddy Rice would disagree. Prior to racetime, Herta's team had to replace the #7's engine twice; during the race, Rice's engine decided to BBQ in a very smoky manner. I get the feeling that Honda Performance Development and Ilmor Engineering staffs have been very busy over the past day or two rebuilding, repairing and replcing parts on every H-16R engine prior to Tuesday's open test in Kansas.
2}Drivers roaming the paddock.........seen in Texas this weekend: former Hemelgarn Racing driver P.J. Chesson, and IndyCar Series journeyman Townsend Bell. According to reports, Vision Racing is looking at running Bell in selected races this year, and Panther Racing, if the sponsorship can be found, is trying to bring Chesson aboard as well. Hey, if it brings the car counts up........well, there's always T-K....and Julian.......heck, even me!
3}Penske 4.....Ganassi 2. Everyone keeps looking for reasons why Penske and Ganassi have been so dominant to date this year. Here's a possible reason; last year, both teams ran the Toyota engine, which was underpowered. To make up for it, the teams became exquistely expert at trimming the cars out to the absolute minimums'......now that they've got Honda engines, that aero-advantage is paying off......big time. Unfortunately, the next track is one that requires not aero-grip, but mechanical-grip.........Richmond. On the flip side, Castroneves won there last year(........has it been THAT LONG since my first post?? ), so their combined stranglehold on the points table might continue still.
Anyway, it's on to the open test in Kansas this coming Tuesday.....then on to the fastest 3/4-mile track in the 'States, Richmond Intl. Raceway. T-K.......to the plider!!
