With a flurry of family-oriented rivalries, long-standing tiffs between veterans and the addition of Champ Car veterans, the IndyCar Series' 2008 season, two races old, is off to a hotter start than the previous ten years combined.
The under-21 group, comprised of first-time ICS racer, first-time winner Graham Rahal, whose father Bobby is a legend in the sport, and his rival, Marco Andretti, the son of team owner Michael and grandson of arguably the greatest racer ever, Mario Andretti, is at present the duo most talked about.
Neither have finished a race together so far, as when one excels, the other embarrasses himself.
Rahal crashed in testing and missed the season opener at Homestead-Miami, while Andretti led 86 laps and finished 2nd. Then at St. Petersburg, Rahal won, as Andretti broke a halfshaft on a pit stop, a self-described "rookie mistake," evening the count at 1 apiece.
Then there's the Danica factor. Danica Patrick, in her fourth ICS season, is under tremendous pressure to win a race this year. Teammate Tony Kanaan is a series champ, Andretti won at Infineon in 2006, and newcomer Hideki Mutoh takes over the defending title winner's car. She has to win this year to keep the media around her.
Whether it's Helio Castroneves vs. Kanaan, Dan Wheldon vs. Danica, or the media's darling matchup, Rahal/Andretti 2.0, the ICS has the promise to catch up with its most important and long-term rival...NASCAR.
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