Kanaan Wins His Third

Don't be surprised if the 2004 season turns out to be known as, "The year of the Honda." A Honda powered racer has started every race so far this season with the exception of the Richmond short track event that was started by a Penske Toyota, and then a Honda started second.

The only race so far this season that a Honda hasn't won was the first event at Homestead-Miami in which the Penske Toyotas placed first and second, followed by a Honda in third. The New Chevy engine has really taken a beating, especially since the switch was made at Indy from the 3.5 liter to the 3.0 liter. There has been at least one Chevy in the top ten starters with the exception of the Japan event, in which the Chevys didn't make the starting grade until the fourteenth position.

As the wheels quit turning at the Nashville Superspeedway Saturday night, Honda was once again in the win column. Tony Kanaan won his third event of the season, besting second place Penske Toyota driver Sam Hornish Jr. Kanaan is now the proud owner of the Gibson Stratocaster Guitar trophy that is handed out at all major Nashville, Tennessee racing events.

Following the two across the finish line were the two Toyota's of Helio Castroneves and Darren Manning. Townsend Bell finished fifth in a Menard's Chevy, followed by Buddy Rice in the Rahal-Letterman Honda. Rookie Mark Taylor finished seventh in a Honda followed by Scott Dixon's Toyota, with the two Honda's driven by Kosuke Matsuura and Adrian Fernandez finishing ninth and tenth. The top ten starters and how they finished:

1. Buddy Rice -- #15 Honda - finished 6th
2. Vitor Meira -- #17 Honda - finished 12th
3. Bryan Herta -- #7 Honda - finished 18th
4. Dan Wheldon -- #26 Honda -- finished 13th
5. Tony Kanaan -- #11 Honda -- finished 1st
6. Darren Manning -- #10 Toyota - finished 4th
7. Dario Franchitti -- #27 Honda - finished 20th
8. Scott Dixon -- #1 Toyota - finished 9th
9. Sam Hornish Jr. -- #6 Toyota - finished 2nd
10. Tomas Scheckter -- #4 Chevy - finished 19th

Tony Kanaan's third victory of the season solidified his driver's point's lead in fine fettle. With eight events in the books and eight events remaining in the 2004 season, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that the season is at its halfway point. Kanaan has 325 points, as opposed to second place driver Dan Wheldon's 264 points. The 61 point lead is as good as gold at this stage of the game. The winning driver receives 50 points, with the second place driver receiving 40 points, so any way one chooses to look at it, Kanaan is at least two races away from being caught. Third place driver Buddy Rice is knocking on the door with 253 points, 72 points down from the leader. Helio Castroneves is closing in with 242 points in fourth place, 83 points down, with Sam Hornish Jr. rounding out the top five with an even 200 points.

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