Incentives Vary at Andretti Green Racing.

Andretti Green Racing (AGR) is the most decorated in IndyCar Series history.  The only four-driver team has 34 series wins and three championships since 2003.  However, with the added load of drivers comes chemistry and competition issues.  AGR has been plagued with driver issues and cooperation problems in the past few years.  When Dario Franchitti left for NASCAR after a 2007 championship, the team replaced him with Hideki Mutoh.  This opened the door for a new team ace, which has the drivers at AGR looking more like rivals than teammates.

Each driver seems to dance to their own tune.  Tony Kanaan has been with the team since 2003, so naturally he would be the team leader and have the highest expectations.  He already has 13 wins, and a series championship.  AGR should be supporting him as the team's leader and the respect seems to be there.  However, Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti have their own set of expectations.  If AGR wants a championship now, Tony has to deliver until Danica and Marco aren't distracted by outside motives.

TK and Team 7-Eleven enjoyed a championship in '04.

Danica is in her contract year, and she is milking it for all she can.  While she is doing more interviews and has more commercials than ever before - she seems to be more focused as well.  Going into Richmond she is fifth in points, and only a win away from being a serious

contender.  The fire is burning in #7, and while a jump to NASCAR is unlikely, there seems to

be a certain team with a "Target" on their back that would love to find her a seat next year.

Marco's troubles are hard to explain.  A year ago he was going through a string of run-ins with the barrier, ending in too many DNF's.  This year, he can't seem to consistently run with the class of the league.  His car is often fast enough, and his skills are obviously there, but the results are not.  For Andretti to tap his potential, he is going to have to find the drive to be the best within him.  Sometimes, it appears he is happy to just be "Marco," and expects success to happen because he is an Andretti.

Just how good Mutoh is has yet to be determined.  The 2008 Rookie of the Year is a steady ride for AGR.  He doesn't threaten to contend for wins, but you don't see the young driver in the wall or tangled with other drivers either.  With the wealth of racing knowledge around him, Mutoh could find the winner's circle sooner than later.

Andretti Green still has time this year to turn the season around and contend for a championship, but it has to start this weekend at Richmond.  Kanaan, Marco and Danica need to start beating the Penske and Target drivers.  They can start by ending the inter-team feuds, and start going out to the track hungry.

Franchitti Wins at Iowa

The third running of the Iowa Corn Indy 250 brought a re-peat winner in two ways on Sunday.  Dario Franchitti took the checkers at the Iowa Speedway for the second time in his career.  He won the inaugural race there in 2007.  Also, Target Chip Ganassi's #10 entry won for the second season in a row, as Dan Wheldon got the job done for the team last season.

                         

IOWA RESULTS

1.  Dario Franchitti

- Loves this track.  Two wins in two races (missed last years), and holds the track's speed record at 182.031 mph (set in '07).  Dario was also this year's fastest in practice at 182.031 mph, which gets him around the 7/8 mile oval in 17.6805 seconds.  He's fast.

2.  Ryan Briscoe

-  As frustrating as a third second-place finish in a row can be, he continues his perch atop the standings after seven races.  Briscoe led the most laps (85), but gave his lead up to Dario during the last installment of pit stops.

3.  Hideki Mutoh

-  Turned in the fastest lap of the day, reaching 178.673 on lap 32.  Mutoh now has back-to-back top three finishes at Iowa, the best two races of his career.  He was all smiles as he got out of his blue and red Formula Dream car Sunday afternoon.

4.  Dan Wheldon

-  Run was solid from start to finish, including a stint in the lead (laps 106-113).  The National Guard Panther Racing team has to love having Wheldon in the seat.  He sits sixth in the points after Sunday.

5.  Scott Dixon

-  If it wasn't for qualifying being cancelled due to weepers, Dixon could have contended for his third pole at Iowa.  If that happened, Helio wouldn't have flatten his tire 18 laps into this one after being passed by #9.  Dixon held it together for the 30 points.

6.  Tomas Scheckter

-  His #23 Mona Vie car was one of the best on race day.  Starting 16th, he flew around six cars on the high side during the first lap!  Tomas showed he can race with the best of them, when he isn't in the wall.

7.  Helio Castroneves

-  A disappointing day for Helio as he started on the Peak pole and dropped back to finishing a lap down.

8.  Mike Conway

-  The Dad's Root Beer car delivered for Father's Day.  The rookie kept it steady for his best IndyCar Series finish of his career, and turned in the largest move of the day (19th to 8th).

9.  Danica Patrick

-  Lead for the first time this year, yet snapped the string of five consecutive top-6's. Despite debris causing a flat tire on the first lap, and a near disaster with Conway and Rahal, her run was fast and competitive.

10.  Ed Carpenter

-  The sole Vision Racing entry has a mediocre car.  Started 13th, finished in the middle, and now sits 12th in the standings.  

11.  Graham Rahal

-  Was forced high early, and brushed the Turn 3 wall.  Was forced to pit, and never recovered, he finished five laps down.  His season is slipping, with only one top-10 in the last three races.

12.  Marco Andretti

-  Crashed in practice, and had to make too many adjustments during the race.  Hard to recover from that on a short oval.  He'll be back in the top-10 at Richmond.

13.  Jaques Lazier

-  Was slow, and in the way all day.  Last of the cars in "Running" status.

14.  Tony Kanaan

-  Oh, TK!  His third crash in turn 2 at Iowa in three races there.  Led for 48 laps early, yet after a green flag pit stop for fresh (cold) Firestones, he spun around and hit the wall ending his day early, AGAIN.

15.  Robert Doornbos

-  Got sideways on Turn 4 of Lap 1 and tangled up with Hunter-Reay.  The Newman/Haas/Lanigan team was able to get him back on the track, but retired later due to handling.

16.  Raphael Matos

17.  Mario Moraes

-  Matos took Moraes with him into the Turn 2 barrier on Lap 55.

18.  Justin Wilson

-  Became another victim to Turn 2 on Lap 34.

19.  Ryan Hunter-Reay

-  Too much damage from his collision with Doornbos ended his debut in the ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing #14 car on the first lap.

20.  E.J. Viso

-  In a separate incident at the same time in the same spot, Viso failed to complete the first lap Sunday.  He is now 0-for-7 in 2009.  That is "Races Finished for Races Started".  Viso's seat has to be getting hot.