source:
paddocktalk.com by Iain Shankland
The IRL turned right this past weekend for the first time in the series'
history. And they did a nice job of it! The race had a total of 15 turns in
various directions and the cars didn't self-destruct!
That's basically the way the commentators on ESPN portrayed the first-ever
street course in the IRL. They seemed to be mesmerized that the cars could
actually make their way around a road course. They were equally amazed that the
drivers could too.
Click READ MORE for the full feature by Iain Shankland.
Their general lack of confidence makes no sense to me. Most of the IRL drivers
have come from Champ Car, so they've done this before. The majority of the IRL
rookies - Danica Patrick, Ryan Briscoe and Patrick Carpentier (though not
considered a rookie), all have road/street course backgrounds from just last
year, so why the skepticism that this couldn't be done?
With 2005 being my first year to look at the IRL series, I have no pre-conceived
notions about the IRL or its drivers. However, after just three races I've
started forming opinions of various drivers and their styles. For instance, in
Phoenix Tony Kanaan blew me away as he flew past 1/2 the field on the first lap!
Also impressive was his teammate Dario Franchitti who was having a great race in
until he got into the marbles and ended up in the wall right at the end of the
race. After their remarkable performances in Phoenix I was anxious to see what
would transpire in St. Petersburg.