IRL's Kansas Indy 300 continued the season's monopoly by Penske Racing and Ganassi Racing and also continued the frustration of other teams involved in the series amid more serious indications of some merger between IRL and Champ Car, the road racing series formed from the ashes of Championship Auto Racing Teams.
Sam Hornish and Dan Wheldon controlled the top two all day and stayed nose to tail almost every lap, until Wheldon made a try of it in the final ten laps, although ultimately to no avail; their side by side battle was the highlight of the race, especially when Hornish had to slice between Wheldon and a much slower lapped car. It was Penske's first ever IRL win at Kansas Speedway, following Ryan Newman's 2003 win there in Winston Cup.
The drive of the race, though, was by Vitor Meira, driving Panther Racing's unsponsored #4. Meira came to life after Buddy Rice's wreck and exploded from eighth to third, slicing through traffic with more gusto than he's been known for in the past. Having been involved in 2005's tremendous finish at Kansas, it's clear Meira has a superb feel for this intermediate superspeeedway.
The biggest letdown came from Scott Dixon, third most of the race only to plummet down the top ten standings late in the going.
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The quality of the racing in IRL continued to be a concern with this Kansas 300. Beofre the season IRL took some drag out of the rear wings; this has proven to be an error because it has clearly weakened the effectiveness of the draft, and the draft is vital to ability to pass; there can be no doubt that a much bigger fight would have developed for the win had the draft been more effective, and with Indycar racing in need of greater popularity improving the ferocity of the racing is a big part of the necessary package.
A different winning team is also needed right now with Penkse holding down all but two wins so far this season. Andretti-Green, Vision, and Panther Racing have displayed muscle, and even the grossly undersponsored A.J. Foyt team has shown the heart of Indycar racing's greatest racer in several events.
The IRL battle will resume in a few weeks as events at Nashville and Michigan await.
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