Ryan's Hope

I fully expected a Penske car to be on the pole for this year’s 500.  Of the three Penske drivers however, Ryan Briscoe was the last one I expected to be on the pole.  It’s been a rough couple of seasons for the affable Australian and like others, I wondered whether his days were numbered at Indy racing’s version of the dream team.  After all, he’s the only one from that stable who hasn’t won anything this year.  And although he had a somewhat respectable season last year, he didn’t notch any victories either.  Dwelling in the shadows of Will Power’s dominance and Helio’s helioness, Ryan somehow appeared to have slipped into the role of persona non grata, or at the very least, third on Roger’s depth chart.  He even had to endure the indignity of getting punted by the “other” Ryan, (you know, the one with the hyphenated last name) at Alabama last year.   So, Ryan has a mediocre season last year, and appears to be on his way to another one this year.  Then, bam!  He hangs on to win the pole at Indy, Penske’s raison d’être.  If making your boss happy is the key to job security, then Ryan sure earned a lot of brownie points this last Saturday.  Now, can he win Sunday’s race?  Normally, I wouldn’t be pulling for a Penske driver, but in this case, I’d have to say it’d be nice to see another nice guy in Victory Lane.  Do I think he will do it?  ‘Fraid not.  I’ve heard over and over that there are at least 15 drivers in this year’s 500 who have a shot at winning.  That may be so, but in the end, it’s gonna be a Penske Driver in Victory Lane.  It just ain’t gonna be Ryan Briscoe…It’s gonna be Will Power.   Frankly, I think the guy is unstoppable.  He’s proven he doesn’t need to be on the pole to win a race.   Barring another disaster in the pits, Power’s gonna win this one.  The place owes him one. 

So for the record, my picks for the top five are:

1.      Will Power (I predict he’ll lead at least 120 laps)

2.      Scott Dixon (I don’t think he’ll stay mid-pack for long)

3.      James Hinchcliffe (fast car, wins only if Power botches a pit stop)

4.      Ryan Hunter-Reay (fast car, wins if running second behind Hinch, and Hinch smacks the wall on the last lap)

5.      Rubens Barrichello (He’ll drop back early, then will quietly work his way back into the top 5 earning him rookie of the year honors. Sao Paulo will go bananas.)