DOVER, Del. - The Indianapolis 500 added to its wonderful history last weekend, as Helio Castroneves eventually became the first driver in 31 years to win back-to-back 500s.
And I'm not questioning that result. I think when Castroneves saw the yellow caution light with a lap to go, he let up on the gas, and that's why Paul Tracy was able to zoom around him without a challenge through the third turn and cross the finish line yards ahead of Castroneves.
After more than 5 1/2 hours of review, Castroneves was declared the winner.
But that doesn't mean there is nothing wrong with the rules. A few things should be given a long, hard look:
When a race ends under a caution flag/light.
The appeals process.
If two competing drivers aren't going to be given the option to race back to the checkered flag, then the result should revert to the finish of the previous lap. That does away with all questions about who was - or wasn't - in front when a yellow light came on.
If you're driving over 200 mph and concentrating on nose-to-tail or side-by-side racing with another driver, you might not notice exactly when the yellow light came on, and it is obvious from the long delay that race officials didn't know, either.
In the appeals process, John Barnhart, the vice president of operations who acted as race steward, took his time and did his best before posting the final result. Tracy's team disagreed with those results and appealed.
But what hope does an appeal have of succeeding when it is made to the same person?
The IRL, which is the sanctioning body for the Indy 500, should seriously consider having an impartial board hear appeals, and on that board should be at least one person who has expertise in the field of studying videotape and has no connection with racing.
On-the-job training
Nick Woodward is 22. He has his degree in finance from High Point (N.C.) University, and he's using it. His day job is in the accounting department of a Charlotte marketing firm.
But this weekend he was in Dover, trying to gain some valuable experience with the Jay Robinson-owned No. 49 Busch Series team. It was Woodward's debut in the series, and he finished 30th yesterday. Fellow Marylander Dion Ciccarelli finished 31st.
Woodward, from Preston - "Go to Easton and hang a left," he said, when asked where Preston is - paid $5,000 for his ride with Robinson.
"He came to me because he is going to drive for another team, a better team, really, next week at Nashville, and NASCAR said he needed some on-track experience before they'd OK his license there," Robinson said. "I like giving young guys a chance. I've had countless drivers - a different driver almost every week . A lot of them have been first-time drivers.
"I'd say Nick is very good. If anyone has specialized in brain, I'd say he's far and away the best of those first-timers."
Robinson, 42, is a story himself. The word around the garage is that he is the least-funded of the full-time competitors.
"That's a fair statement," he said. "I operate on from $200,000 to $250,000, while the top teams run on $4 to $4.5 million. But I do operate in the black."
It is an amazing statement in a sport that eats money the way horses eat hay.
"Most of the guys are volunteers on this team, and I have volunteer crews all around the nation," he said. "There is a group of guys in California, a group in Wisconsin, friends in New Hampshire. There are six different groups of volunteers around the country. We're a throwback to the independents of the 1960s and '70s. When we have disasters, the money comes right out of my pocket."
One of his sponsors is Rent-A-Wreck in Owings Mills. It pays him $5,000 every time his car makes the field, and he makes most of the fields. "They operate like we do," he said. "They don't waste anything. You can't run a race team leaner than we do."
The team is 29th in points and has finished four of the past six races in the top 25, with the best finish a sixth at Talladega.
"We've been on a little roll," he said.
Woodward and Robinson have the same goal - to find a major sponsor and run among the best in the Busch Series.
"I'd love to work a deal with Nick, where he'd be my full-time guy," Robinson said. "If we could, I'd do a deal in a minute. But it's hard to do without a full-time sponsor when another driver shows up with $3,000 or $5,000 to buy a ride."
A quick study
All students 17 and under will be admitted free Saturday night for the four-feature program at Hagerstown Speedway.
Six-time Late Model champ Nathan Durboraw has a 15-point lead as he tries to win a seventh title and break the tie he shares with Denny Bonebrake. In the Late Model Sportsman Division, Larry Baer of Dover, Pa., also leads by 15 points.
Mike Warrenfeltz of Hagerstown leads the Pure Stock Division.
Racing begins at 7 p.m.
Nuts and bolts
Tracy was very mature after being told he finished second and not first at the Indy 500. But the result obviously still rankles. At the Milwaukee Mile, where he has won twice, Tracy was asked about his success there. "I'm planning on giving every bit I can at this race, and with a little bit of luck we'll be celebrating in victory circle where we belong," he said.
Carl Long, who is driving the Jaret's Angels/Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation car at Pocono, Pa., next weekend, has a hood design that was done by Annapolis artist Jim Hunt.
Baltimore's ASA short track driver J.C. Beattie had a rough afternoon at the Auto Parts 300 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After qualifying 24th, he was moving through the pack and seemingly headed for a top 10 finish when his oil pressure hose caught fire, forcing him out of the race.