What better way to celebrate a birthday, than to race in the spectacular Indy 500. How cool that must have been for A.J. Foyt IV. The 92nd running of the Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was full of excitement, crashes, and on and off the track drama. The first racer out of the race was nineteen-year-old Graham Rahal. While Graham was trying to pass another driver, he moved up high, and slammed hard into the wall. Although Graham was not hurt, his racecar was, and unfortunately the young, talented racer was out of the race. He was only able to complete about thirty laps before the crash happened, hardly giving him enough time to experience the Indy 500. They should enforce a rule that makes all slower drivers give way to the faster cars, especially to avoid a crash.

For a rookie, this track, the number of cars, and the adrenaline rush of this race, can all cause havoc on a driver’s nerves. Poised and confident, the young racer kept his spirits up, while obviously being disappointed. The ironic part is that the racecar driver Graham had to go around was rookie Alex Lloyd who drives for Bobby Rahal, Graham’s father. You could see the expression on Bobby Rahal’s face, having one of his own drivers inadvertently take out his son in one of the most highly televised races of the IRL season. Over three hundred thousand people attended today’s race, and all eyes were on the young rookie, only to see his day end early, much earlier than planned. If it were not for that crash, Graham would have had a great shot at finishing in the top five positions. Who knows, he might have even had a chance at winning the race?

Although Graham kept his cool, unlike other driver’s like Danica Patrick and Tony Kanaan, Graham was not alone when it came to unfortunate circumstances. A.J. Foyt IV, who turned twenty-four today, who should have had a smile on his face, had his own share of misfortune. The entire month of May has been hard for this young, talented racecar driver, and today was no different. No fault of his own, Anthony has had one mishap after another. From a difficult qualifying, to starting in the last row of today’s race, from having had his engine blow up and his racecar catch on fire last week, this will be one Indy 500 he will want to put behind him.

Having just left pit lane after a pit stop, Anthony’s car suddenly caught on fire again. Quickly his crew scrambled to put out the flames, as they foamed Anthony and his car. I do not understand how a thing like that could happen twice, but fortunately Anthony was not hurt, and he got back into his car and continued the rest of the race. Not a great way to celebrate your birthday, almost catching on fire, he finished twenty-first. I do not know if I would have gotten back into the racecar after it caught on fire twice, not having confidence in the crew, but that shows you just how dedicated this racecar driver is, his passion and love for racing overshadowing the difficulties that arise during a race.

While Anthony and Graham kept cool and calm, two other racecar drivers did not. Marco Andretti passed his teammate Tony Kanaan on the inside. Now I saw absolutely nothing wrong in that pass. It was a clean pass. Marco gave his teammate enough room to get by, but that is not how Tony saw the situation. After Marco passed him, Tony’s car went up high, he lost control, spun, and another racer, Sarah Fisher, hit him, ending both of their day. Tony was furious with young Marco, saying it was his fault. That he should never have passed him. That he did not give him enough room. That it was a stupid move. I think Tony is in the wrong and Marco is being unfairly crucified by his teammate. Tony said he could have hit him and taken them both out, but chose not to. What kind of statement is that, when it was not Marco’s fault at all? Sarah Fisher is the one that hit him, if she had moved to the left, she could have avoided hitting Tony’s car, but she went straight, and smashed directly into him.

Marco Andretti was another young, talented racecar driver in today’s race like Graham Rahal and A.J. Foyt IV, who had his own share of mishaps and unfortunate situations all day. After Tony accused him, Marco did not let that phase his driving. Under considerable amounts of pressure, oppressing his thoughts, especially after a teammate makes that kind of statement, the young racer kept a level head and continued to drive excellently. He was in the lead for a short amount of time, and it looked at one point that he might even win, but sadly after a pit stop where his crew made an error in judgment, his car went slower, not faster, and he lost the lead. Marco finished in third position, and that still is a great finish, especially for someone his age. Afterwards, he even apologized again to his teammate, it was not intentional, and I believe him. I do not believe he would have done that on purpose, to any racer, let alone his teammate.

Another driver who was livid today was Danica Patrick. It seems like there is always drama on and off the racetrack for this driver. The saga continued all day long during the race. Already admitting that she is always angry, it was no different today. It you ever have watched an IRL race, you know what I mean. She is always complaining about something or someone. This driver did this, or this driver did that, it is never her fault. Even the announcers are bias when it comes to her. She can never do any wrong in their eyes. I do not understand why? Every racer should be treated the same, no matter if they are female or male. No one should get special treatment.

Today the whole race, like usual, revolved around her. They followed her on the track and talked more about her than any other racer, and that included the leader, pole setter, and winner, Scott Dixon. They even cut away from his victory, while drinking the famous milk in a bottle just to talk to her after the race ended. They did the same thing a few years back when Dan Wheldon won the race. All day she complained on her radio about her car, it was not handling right, or this is loose, or her speed is low, every time they cut to her, she was complaining about some problem. Every race she does exactly the same. She never seems happy, she is too busy complaining.

Towards the end of the race, during the final pit stop, she hit Ryan Briscoe coming out of pit lane. Both cars were damaged, ending both of their day, as neither racer was able to finish the race. Then Danica got out of her car in a huff, and stormed down pit lane towards Briscoe. Security had to stop her to avoid the confrontation between the two drivers. She was then escorted back to her pit and to the garage area to cool down. Again she was the driver who hit the other driver. It was clearly her fault. If anyone should be angry it should be Ryan Briscoe and team Penske. Briscoe did not rush over to her and start shouting, but this is not the first time Danica has had confrontations with other drivers. Last year she had words with Dan Wheldon and even pushed him, luckily he did not push her back.

I do not understand why they let that type of behavior go on? I understand it is great for the ratings, every fan loves the drama and excitement it brings to a race, but enough is enough. I just read that someone actually just commented that Indy car’s success hangs on Danica. So if she was not in IRL, than there would be no following? I strongly disagree. When you have Andretti, Rahal, Foyt, the sport will never die. When you have drivers like Wheldon, Dixon, Castroneves, the sport will continue to go on and persevere forward.

Victor Meira, another overlooked, talented racer, who started in eighth position, finished second in today’s race. A fantastic finish for Meira, he came very close to taking the checkered flag and getting his first win. He moved in close on Dixon a few times, having Marco come up behind him towards the last few laps of the race, but a second place finish for a one car team is truly wonderful. Victor who has had many second place finishes in IRL, clearly deserved today’s victory, even though it was not a first place finish, he has already proven just how talented a driver he really is.

Although Dixon was not the main attraction in today’s race, he was clearly the favorite from the beginning to win. Today’s victory was his first Indy 500, as he and teammate Wheldon battled most of the first one hundred laps of the race passing each other for first and second position. While Wheldon kept moving back on the track in positions, Dixon stayed in the top three spots, and fought off Meira and Marco to take the win. From pole position, it seemed he was destined to stay there all day. He had the best racecar of all thirty-three drivers. His pit crew was the fastest, unfaltering, which enabled him to keep his track position. The iceman, as they call him, was all smiles today.

Like every Indy 500 race, today was no different. Each year there is more action, more drama, more crashes. From famous names to rookies, you never know exactly what will happen. I guess that is the magic of this race. You could have the best car and then some other driver can take you out. You might start in last position or pole, and win or lose. That is what keeps the fans coming back for more. Now we have a whole new generation of racers, Graham, Anthony, Marco, the list goes on, and as the older veterans start to leave and the young rookies take their seats, one thing is for sure, there will never be a dull moment, not in the Indy 500!

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