News and Notes From the Indycar Series From May 13, 2010

With just a few short hours until Opening Day of the 2010 Indianapolis 500, there are several bits of news and notes to cover.  This May will mark the 94th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, marking the 99th year since the first running of the race.

The field will be the fullest in years going into qualifications, and there may still be a few surprises in store in terms of driver and car announcements. 

1. Graham Rahal will be running at the 500 after a series of road course races with Sarah Fisher Racing.  Rahal will be running with his father's team, Rahal Letterman Racing.  RLR has been running in the American LeMans Series for the past several years, despite only running part time in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

2. Paul Tracy is being reunited with Barry Green as his race strategist for the 2010 Indianapolis 500.  Green and Tracy were paired in 2002 when Helio Castroneves was declared the winner in a controversial finish.  Tracy was passing Castroneves when a caution came out, and Tracy has insisted he should have been the winner ever since. 

3. Fuzzy Vodka will be sponsoring the No. 20 Panther/Vision Racing car for Ed Carpenter.  Carpenter was stuck without a ride when Vision Racing lost sponsorship after the 2009 season.  Carpenter's new car will be painted midnight black, and feature the new Vodka designed by Indiana golfing legend Fuzzy Zoeller.  Carpenter will team with Dan Wheldon, who finished second last year with Panther racing.

4. Tomas Scheckter will return to the IZOD IndyCar Series, running in the 3rd Dreyer and Reinbold car, joining Justin Wilson and Mike Conway.  MonaVie will be returning as the sponsor for the attempt.  Scheckter has always been known as a talented driver, but sometimes has struggled to keep the car in one piece.  He will instantly be the most talented oval driver on the team, and will help to set up the cars for the entire month.  Scheckter will be looking for a solid finish in order to continue his stint with Dreyer and Reinbold.

5. Ana Beatrix will field the fourth entry for Dreyer and Reinbold, with whom she opened the season in her native Brazil.  Beatrix will be the fifth female driver to attempt to join the field, a new record.  This will be her first attempt at ovals in a full Indycar.  "Bia" has previously driven at the Speedway in the Indy Lights series.

6. Adam Carroll will be joining Andretti Autosport later in the season to run in the IZOD IndyCar Series.  Carroll is the 2009 A1GP champion, but could not find adequate funding to run in Formula One.  Carroll's ride is not expected to take anything away from anyone else on the team, but simply to be run in the fifth car at Andretti Autosport.

7. John Andretti will be the most senior man in the field if he can make the 94th running.  This will be his 11th Indianapolis 500, and he has plenty of momentum after finishing ninth at Kansas in the No. 43 Windows World Car.  The car is a joint venture between Andretti Autosport and Richard Petty Motorsports.  Andretti's top finish at the famed speedway was fifth in 1991 driving a Lola Chevy.

8. The pole for the race this year will be decided in a whole new way.  24 cars will make the field on the first day of qualifying.  Those cars will run from 11am to 4pm.  Starting at 4:30, the top nine drivers will then re-enter the field.  Their original times will be erased, and they will then attempt to run for the pole.  It is somewhat modeled after the Firestone Fast Six from road courses.  It should add plenty of excitement to the last 90 minutes of qualifying.  The final nine spots will be filled on bump Sunday, as well as plenty of bumping.

9. Saturday the 15th official marks opening day.  It will feature track time for both veterans and rookies, with rookies having four hours on the track to themselves to attempt to get up to speed and pass rookie orientation.  The day will also feature free live music from Stereo Deluxe and Everclear.  Practice will continue from noon to six everyday up until qualifying begins on the 22nd.

10. ZZ Top will be playing a concert on Carb Day the Friday before the race.  The legendary band has a career that started in 1969.  The concert is part of a great day that will feature final Indycar practice, the Freedom 100 for Firestone Indy Lights, the annual pit-stop competition, and vintage laps with Indycars of old.

It appears there will be plenty of news to go around during the month of May.  With 78 cars registered (including backup cars), the field could rapidly expand and new driver and team combinations could emerge. 

There is also a solid chance that full-time teams could miss out on this year's action, including its record purse.  Over $3 million will be the reward for the winning team, enough money to run the rest of the season for drivers still looking for full time sponsorship like Ryan Hunter-Reay.

If you can't be at the track this May, Versus has you covered.  In continuing their fantastic coverage of the IZOD IndyCar Series, Versus will be airing the full qualifying sessions during both days of time trials.  The network will also air tons of additional programming to get your blood running at 10,200 RPMs in preparation for the race. 

Coverage begins on the 15th with a special devoted to Helio's third Indycar win in 2009.  Fast Friday will be featured on the 21st, live at 3:30 with practice and a qualifications preview.  May 27th will feature the updated Crashes and Conflict that debuted last year.  May 28th will be a full day beginning at 1pm for Carb Day. 

The Freedom 100 will be aired live, as well as other Carb Day activies.  Following this will be a reshowing of "Danica's Decade".  On the 29th, starting at 5pm, Versus will show a 500 Festival Parade show, followed by the pre-race show "Ready to Race"  Versus coverage will culminate with a post race show following the 94th running.  Clearly enough ethanol fueled mayhem to appease any race fan.

The actual race itself will be featured on ABC, beginning at Noon eastern.  In addition to all that, ESPN Classic will be featuring past races every monday in May, with five races being show the day before the 500.  Classic will also air Sportscentury during the month focusing on some of the greatest drivers of 500's past.

Lots of news and notes, and the cars haven't even all been unloaded yet.  The haulers will continue to bring cars to the Speedway on Friday as teams prepare to set up their new homes for the month.  Plenty more is expected in the coming weeks, so stay tuned and stay excited!