I'm sure that most die-hard IndyCar fans remember the horrific crash at Texas Motor Speedway capping the 2003 season. Kenny Brack's car crossed paths with another racer and went airborne, spinning into the fence. The car disintegrated right before our eyes, with nothing left but the driver's cage, which careened helplessly across the track toward the inside retaining wall. The thought was instantly on everyone's mind that no one could live through such a violent crash at a speed of over 220 miles per hour.
Kenny Brack not only lived - but he's back with a vengeance! Buddy Rice was hired by Rahal/Letterman Racing to fill in for the critically injured Brack, and he handily won last season's Indy 500 along with two other IRL events. Rice was injured in practice for this season's Indy 500 as mentioned in my previous article, and was expected to be cleared by the IRL doctors to compete in this season's event. Rice's spinal cord injury was more severe than expected, sidelining him until at least the June 10th event at Texas.
Kenny Brack hadn't totally decided when or if he would get back into racing. His inclinations leaned toward getting back into the cockpit, but things hadn't sorted out to his liking. When Rice was out, he was given the opportunity to pilot his old ride in the most prestigious race in the country, and he readily accepted. His former team was in dire straits without a driver and the old team spirit won the battle over his apprehension.
Brack's re-entry into the #15 Agent sponsored Honda came too late for pole position qualifying, but when he made his four lap run in the second round, he blitzed the pole speed set by Tony Kanaan. Brack recorded a 227.598 mile per hour average in his four-lap run as opposed to the pole speed of 227.566 set by Kanaan in his four-lap run. Although he has the top speed in qualifying, he will be forced to assume the 23rd starting position. Not to worry thought, a driver of Brack's caliber should easily make it up through the field in the 200 lap event on the 2.5 mile race track.
In another major issue, the Honda continues with it's domination in the IndyCar Series. At the completion of last season, the Toyota people let it be known that they were definitely going to go all out with their engine program to compete and beat rival Honda. They failed - to say the least. Out of the four events so far this season, Dan Wheldon has won three of them in the #26 Andretti/Green Kline Tools/Jim Beam sponsored Dallara chassis Honda. Toyota has claimed one event at Phoenix with Sam Hornish Jr. taking the win in the #6 Team Penske Marlboro sponsored Toyota. With this being Chevrolet's last year in Indy Car competition, Toyota is making a pitiful showing. I alluded in an article last season that I would not be surprised to see Toyota leaving the series along with Chevrolet, and with the performance so far this season, I'm still sticking to my guns.
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