GLADEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tony Kanaan cheerfully roots for
teammate Dan Wheldon to win the IndyCar Series points title.
That doesn't mean the Brazilian is conceding anything with nine
races left this year.
The Andretti Green Racing teammates have switched spots since
their last visit to the Nashville Superspeedway. A year ago, Kanaan
led the season race with a mere 28-point margin over Wheldon, won
the Firestone Indy 200 and went onto capture the series
championship.
Now Wheldon couldn't be hotter as the winner of four races. He
has nine races left to match the IndyCar record of five victories by
Sam Hornish Jr. in 2002, and he leads Kanaan in the points race by
76 points.
Kanaan said the role reversal has helped both men understand the
difficulties of leading the points race and trying to play
catch-up. And Kanaan knows from experience it won't be easy running
down Wheldon.
To win his first race this year two weeks ago at Kansas, Kanaan
had to hold off Wheldon in the sixth-closest finish in IndyCar
Series history.
"He's a very good race car driver. He has the same equipment as
I do and the same setups, so it's going to be a long championship.
The points they way they are I think this championship is going to
be decided in the last two races anyway," Kanaan said.
"He can't put his foot wrong, and I can't either. I hope,
thinking selfish-wise, I can catch him and win this championship.
If I cannot win this championship, I hope he does."
Kanaan comes into Saturday night's race at the 1.33-mile,
concrete tri-oval knowing he won here last year, a victory that
came when Wheldon and Buddy Rice tangled up long enough to let
Kanaan move to the lead.
With his own team clicking well, Kanaan is ready to build on his success at Kansas.
"I think the guys are pumped, and we're coming to a race track
that we had success. I don't think we had the best car here last
year to win the race. We got in a situation where we ended up
winning. If we can carry this momentum
it will help us a lot,"
he said.
The Firestone Indy 200 features a little something for everyone
including a healthy dose of "Danica-mania" where track officials
handed out 400 free wristbands to limit fans at a Friday night
autograph session because of the lengthy lines at recent races for
the rookie Danica Patrick.
She was set to chase a second straight pole in Friday
qualifying, a spot teammate Buddy Rice took in qualifying last
year.
Buddy Lazier, who won the inaugural race here in 2001, is back
in a car for the first time since finishing fifth at the
Indianapolis 500. He will be racing for Panther Racing this weekend
and at Michigan, with the possibility of more to come after
Pennzoil joined on as a primary sponsor Thursday.
Dario Franchitti would like to win at the track he considers his
home because it's a short drive from the home he shares with his
wife, actress Ashley Judd.
Then there's the track itself, the only concrete track on the
IRL's 17-race schedule.
The concrete sections make for a bumpy ride, and the surface
shreds the Firestone tires, leaving rubber marbles that make the
track slick late in the race and away from the racing groove.
Rice said he thinks Rahal-Letterman Racing are primed for
another good performance based on their Honda-powered engines and
experience on long tracks. Once again, Patrick said she will be
pumping Rice and Vitor Meira for tips on handling the surface.
"We'll start with a good car and go in from there," Patrick
said.