The Indy 500 always has a lot of excitement, if it didn't, it wouldn't be the Indianapolis 500, the most famous open-wheel race in the world. Celebrating a hundred years at the Indy Motor Speedway, this year's race had a bit of drama on and off the track. Within weeks of being acquitted of federal tax evasion charges, driver Helio Castroneves got his seat back with Penske, took pole, and wound up winning the Indianapolis 500 for the third time, joining an elite group of racecar drivers. Full of tears, Castroneves was surrounded by family and friends in the winner circle. His sister was also acquitted of federal tax evasion charges.

From the very first lap of the race, not even getting in an entire lap, Mario Moraes collided with young Marco Andretti, taking them both out of the race. Furious, Marco did not even get a chance to come back into the race, unable to fix his racecar. It was sad for the young racer who had worked so hard and qualified well. Another young racer with great potential to win this year's race was Graham Rahal. Poised and confident, this talented racer was determined, but hit the wall coming around a turn, almost doing the exact same thing as he did last year. Both Graham and Marco will have to wait all the way till next year to have another go at the Indy 500 again.

There were three women in this year's race, but the most talked about was Go Daddy Girl Danica Patrick. Since Go Daddy sponsored the race, it was no big surprise that the announcers mentioned her name every other minute, even though she did not move into third place till the end. Patrick stayed in third position behind Brit Dan Wheldon, unable to pass him, unable to catch up to Castroneves, and came in third, the best finish by a woman in the Indy 500.

Dan Wheldon, who was so under the radar by the announcers, came in second. The former Indy 500 winner almost won the race again, but you would not have known it, since he got virtually no coverage. This talented racer had raced with Andretti, Ganassi, and now with Panther Racing. A one car team, he did a great job all on his own without a teammate.

Teammates Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, who surprise return to the IRL after a short stint in Nascar, felt right at home. Racing for Chip Ganassi, the Target duo seemed unbeatable once they had taken the lead. Dixon won last year, and Franchitti won the year before, so it seemed like one of these two racers were going to win again this year, but bad pit stops cost them their lead, losing their edge, sliding back in positions, and they were never able to get to the front again. Dixon finished sixth, and Franchitti finished seventh.

And while most of the talk was about Alex Tagliani's pregnant wife who was having contractions ten minutes apart but stayed for the entire race, much of the excitement came from two huge crashes on the track. Tony Kanaan crashed into the wall hard at about 200 mph after his rear suspension broke, sending him into the wall twice. A bit shaken up after the crash, Kanaan seemed okay, but disappointed he was not able to finish the race. And the second huge crash of the day was when Raphael Matos collided with Vitor Meira. Before this, Meira was already having bad luck when a pit stop turned disastrous. His racecar caught on fire, engulfing his entire car. Immediately his pit crew put out the flames, but not before it was reported that he had burns on his face and eyes, and then was sent out to finish the race. How could they send him back out on the track with burns in his eyes if he could not see, but that is what happened. Racing for A.J. Foyt this year after losing his seat with Panther Racing, Meira seemed unaffected by the fire or burns and continued racing till Matos hit him, sending him into the wall hard, as his racecar turned on its side. He was taken on stretcher to hospital, and complained of pains. He broke two vertebrae.

The main reasons for the crashes were the inexperienced drivers, and the poor job done by the spotters. Spotters are the ones telling the drivers where the other cars are on the track. Those two issues should be addressed. Perhaps rookies should complete a full year in IRL before they are allowed to compete in the Indy 500, and perhaps they should get some spotters who can actually see. But all in all, this year's Indy 500 had more than enough thrill, over a hundred thousand fans packed into the stands, with drivers from all over the globe, and three women, now that is some good racing!

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