http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/32513/

Written by: Robin Miller Indianapolis, IN – 9/12/2006

When Roger Penske and Chip Ganassi dumped CART and moved to the Indy
Racing League earlier this decade, many longtime IRL stalwarts couldn't
contain their joy.

Eddie Cheever (who no longer fields a car full-time in the IRL because
he could no longer afford the price of competition) and John Barnes
(co-owner of Panther Racing, the most successful team in IRL history
which went winless this season and only has one victory in the past
three years) acted downright giddy and publicly welcomed the two CART
biggies they loathed in the mid-90s.

Now you can draw your own conclusions as to whether their opinions have
changed any but the reality is that those two teams made a mockery of
Tony George's series in 2006.

With supposed equal equipment (Dallara/Honda), they won 12 of the 14
races, led 2,134 of the 2,510 laps and finished 1-4 in the point standings.

Sam Hornish Jr. and teammate Helio Castroneves each triumphed four times
while Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon both notched a pair of victories.

Yet even those numbing statistics can't clearly convey their dominance
on the big ovals. They were so superior that even a bulldog like Tony
Kanaan had to peddle hard just to stay on the lead lap.

How could two teams distance themselves so much from the field in spec
series that promotes a level playing field?

Some people say it was in the fuel mapping.

Some point to the aerodynamic advances made during '05 when both
operations were powered by Toyota and 80-90 horsepower behind.

Some say it has to be mechanical grip, also learned during '05.

Others believe it's simply the windtunnel work and attention to detail.

And a few claim (off the record naturally) there was some kind of
cheating going on, although they also admit they can't finger it.

"They've figured something out, obviously, that we haven't and it's
really apparent on these mile-and-a-half tracks," said Dario Franchitti,
whose Andretti-Green team earned the other two wins but only led 280
laps all season.

"Those cars are so fast in the middle of the corner but I don't think
it's aero because we ran as trimmed out as they did."

It could also be said that it took 20-some crashes by Ganassi and Penske
last season to find that edge.

Hornish, who figured to be unbeatable when he joined Team Penske, spent
2004-2005 trying too hard to make up for his horsepower deficit and
found the wall more than victory lane.

"I was kinda banging my head against the wall trying to get that first
title for Roger and obviously having Honda on board made that easier,"
said the 2001-2002 champion who scored his initial Indy 500 win last May.

"But this has always been a great team and I think they showed it this
year. They gave Helio and I the best of everything and I was finally
able to give them a championship."

Wheldon, who actually led more laps (764 to 705) than Hornish, could
take little consolation in losing his second straight IRL crown in a
tie-breaker. Bad luck at Indianapolis and bad pit strategy at Texas cost
the Brit two races he dominated and his mistake on the last pit stop
cost him a win at Kentucky.

"We threw away a lot of points and, in the end, we didn't deserve to win
because we just made too many mistakes," said Wheldon, who left AGR
following his '05 title. "But losing Indy is the one that really hurt.
To be that dominate and lose because of a puncture, it was tough to take.

"But on the other hand Scott and I had great cars all year and I really
got on well with Andy (Brown, engineer). And I think you'll see the same
four guys battling it out next year."

Castroneves, now with one runner-up and a pair of thirds in the IRL
season standings, lost the lead pack early last Sunday when he got
tagged for speeding in the pits but it was easy to pick his downfall.

"That was at Milwaukee," said the two-time Indy winner who was on the
pole there and led 31 laps before tangling with Ed Carpenter. "Starting
second at Indianapolis and then having the car go so loose before I
crashed also hurt."

Dixon declined to point out any crucial losses.

"You've always got a couple races you wish you could have back but it's
all about being fast and making the least number of mistakes," said the
2003 IRL champ who clearly had Sonoma in the bag before being foiled by
a faulty air jack.

Kanaan used his aggression and Milwaukee's flat surface to break up the
Penske/Ganassi monopoly and then teammate Marco Andretti cappped an
impressive rookie season with a road course victory at Infineon Raceway.

Vitor Meira was best in class as he gathered up a half dozen podiums for
Panther Racing and wound up fifth in the standings.

But, leave it to The Captain to put things into proper perspective:

"Certainly, with a level playing field, with all of us with similiar
equipment, it turned out to be a great season," said Penske.

Yep, for at least two teams it did.

--
Forty

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and
mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.” - Ernest Hemingway