2006 Indy 500: More than just Danicaby Mark RothsteinDanica an attraction Maybe we should just go ahead and replace the drivers at the Indy 500 with the lovely spokesmodels from our BetUS swimsuit calendar. At this point in the short history of Indy Racing League, the open-wheel circuit has fallen so far behind NASCAR in the public eye that most people would rather see Danica Patrick in a black cocktail dress than in Rahal Letterman Racing's No. 16 Panoz/Honda. But at least some people will tune into Sunday afternoon's Indianapolis 500 just out of curiosity. They will probably be surprised to find out that Patrick is actually one of the better drivers on the IRL circuit. Patrick made a big splash at last year's Indy 500 when she briefly took the lead on two separate occasions before finishing in fourth place, beating the eighth-place finish by Janet Guthrie in 1978. Patrick went on to grab six Top-10 finishes and wind up 12th in the IndyCar Series Championship standings. That was good enough to earn 2005 IRL Rookie of The Year honors, not to mention a pile of endorsement money. Betting on the Indianapolis 500 is in full swing! Click here to view the 2008 Indianapolis 500 betting odds! The Illinois native once again finds herself in 12th place in the standings heading into the Brickyard. From a pure value perspective, Patrick has plenty to offer to handicappers in her quest for her first IRL checkered flag. First and foremost, because she only weighs 100 pounds, Patrick has an immediate physical advantage over the other drivers - which Indy teams figure translates to about 1 mph on the track. There is also the prevailing (and false) stereotype about women drivers, compounded in Patrick's case by her photogenic looks. Racing fans who dismiss Patrick as an open-wheel version of Anna Kournikova help lengthen her odds even as she steals the spotlight. For the quickest and easiest depositing methods available, sign-up today at BetUS.com, "for over 15 years they have been the Pioneers and World-wide Leaders in Online Sports, Poker, Casino and Racebook Gaming!" Always receive great odds, huge bonuses and fast payouts only at BetUS.com! BET ON FOOTBALL! Deposit $300 and get $100 in Bonuses! However, Patrick might not be in as good of a position to win this year's Indy 500 as she was in her rookie season. Patrick qualified in 10th place this time compared to fourth in 2005, putting her on the fourth row of the starting grid this Sunday. She'll have a difficult time keeping up with the two Team Penske drivers on the front row: pole-sitter Sam Hornish Jr. and IRL points leader Helio Castroneves, the two-time Indy 500 winner and the original "Spider-Man" of auto racing. Ganassi Racing's Dan Wheldon (the reigning Indy 500 champ) fills out the front row, with teammate Scott Dixon sitting fourth on the grid. One of those four men is your likely winner this weekend. Both Penske and Ganassi have benefited from the withdrawal of Toyota from IRL - Chevy left as well, leaving all the cars on the circuit running Honda engines this year. Toyota simply didn't have enough juice to allow Penske and Ganassi to compete in 2005. Now the four aforementioned drivers from the two marquee teams take up the first four sports in the drivers standings. If anyone can break through that Wall of Four, it's Tony Kanaan. The 2004 IRL champion with Andretti Green Racing has two Top-5 finishes after three races this year, and is fifth on the starting grid Sunday. Kanaan is looking for his first Indy 500 victory. Past winners looking to reclaim their former glory include Al Unser Jr., Eddie Cheever and Buddy Lazier, although all three will start from way back in the pack. The 2004 champion, Buddy Rice, starts on Row Five. Comments or Questions? Email FaceOff@BetUS.com. --- by Mark Rothstein at 1800-sports.com on May 25, 2006
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