Unification, rising stars bring glitter back to Indy 500

[Editor's Note: Although dated today, this article appears to have been written before last year's Indy 500. In particular, they quote Helio as if he doesn’t have some issues facing his very participation in the Indy 500, let alone the sport! Then they reference the challenges to first time Indy drivers like Justin Wilson, who was reported to be on the Champ Car powerhouse team of NHL Racing, but he is without a ride going into 2009 and looks to be ALMS bound. Granted, no one outside the few thousand core fans IndyCar Racing has left would even notice this is obviously an article written prior to the 2008 Indy 500, but you read something like this, weep at what IndyCar once was before the split.]

This may be the year that the Indianapolis 500 regains its glitter.

Since the Indy Racing League began competing in 1996, igniting a bitter 12-year rivalry with the now-defunct CART/Champ Car World Series, its showcase event has lost prestige, about half of its once-impressive annual TV audience and most of its big-name drivers.

But things are looking up for the IRL's IndyCar Series as it heads to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 92nd edition of the big race.

With the recent unification of the two American open-wheel series promising the most competition in years, and historic victories by Danica Patrick and Graham Rahal adding to the anticipation, the May 25 race could be the most watched – and most exciting – Indy 500 in years.

"Indy's an open road, so I think everybody's going to have a chance to do really well there," former IRL champion Tony Kanaan said.

One thing is certain this year: there is no question about having enough entries to fill the 33-car starting lineup.

That's a change from recent years, when it was a struggle for IRL and speedway boss Tony George to make sure his crown jewel didn’t face the embarrassment of coming up short of the traditional 11 rows of three cars.

And bumping – the time during the four days of qualifications when faster cars can knock out the slowest cars already in the field – fell flat, with few candidates and little of the expected drama.

"This year, you're going to see bumping, maybe every day (of qualifying)," said two-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves. "The competition is really tough. You can't afford to make mistakes because there are so many guys to take advantage of it now." More from AP Article