RACE: First, fourth, and fifth for the red, white, and blue. Who says Americans can no longer compete successfully in Champ Cars?

TRACK: Who can call themselves a true open wheel racing fan while advocating removing ovals such as this flat short track? Then, factor in the 100-year tradition of The Mile, and those people should be tarred and feathered.

HUNTER-REAY: Any doubt Ryan is a star of the future was put to bed with this dominating weekend.

CARPENTIER: Patrick is off to his best season start. So far...

JOURDAIN: It might be third, but Michel remains strong at Milwaukee.

VASSER: Jimmy hasn't lost his touch at Milwaukee.

ALLMENDINGER: For a driver who admitted having reservations about the place, A.J. was splendid.

JUNQUIERA: A quiet but effective race.

DOMINGUEZ: Not a bad run for Mario, but his teammate smashed him.

LAVIN: Two laps away from making one heck of a statement to his critics.

TAGLIANI: When it rains, it pours at Milwaukee.

WILSON: All I have to do is make it through the first lap. All I have to do is make it through the first lap.

MAZZACANE: Who says oval racing is hard...BAM!

TRACY: It's great fun watching someone like Paul at Milwaukee. However, being overly aggressive at Milwaukee will eventually catch up to you.

BOURDAIS: Sebastien will not miss Milwaukee while he is at Le Mans.

SPERAFICO: Is it really possible for someone to make Roberto Gonzalez look like Speedy? Apparently, yes.

PHILIPPE: "I've earned my spot in the Champ Car World Series." That's still a negatory.

POINTS: We never liked the idea of changing the points system -- the original one being perhaps the best in all of motorsports -- and the reason is obvious. It does not promote hard racing nor encourages going for the win. We very well may see the first winless champion since Tom Sneva in 1978.

SPIKE TV: We can't quite seem to put our finger on it, but the race production just isn't cutting it compared to the quality we saw on SPEED Channel last year, and even ESPN before that. Which is odd, considering how good Dangerous Curves is.

DANGEROUS CURVES: Speaking of which, this has got to be the best weekly show of its type in all of racing. Not just because it would qualify for that ranking if all we did was stare at Bronte Tagliani not saying a word for 30 minutes, but because it has just the right mix of technical features, human interest stories, highlights, humor, and well, yeah, a sexy host who knows what she's doing. All packaged in a smartly written quality production.

JENKINS: We were willing to give Bob the benefit of the doubt based on his great reputation from his NASCAR days on ESPN. Despite how hard we are on folks who under perform, even we weren't willing to give Jenkins the axe so quickly. But, it was definitely the right move having Jenkins left out.

WORD OF THE WEEKEND: Wipeout.

STAT OF THE WEEKEND: 1-2 -- In every session during the weekend, Ryan Hunter-Reay posted either the fastest or second fastest time.

HISTORICAL STAT OF THE WEEKEND: If you thought Ryan Hunter-Reay was dominating at Milwaukee, in 1972 Joe Leonard won by over four laps.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Gaston Mazzacane on his first taste of small track oval racing, "It's crazy, really crazy."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Ryan Hunter-Reay on the lack of oval races on the season, "I wasn't disappointed before the season to see just one on the schedule. Now I am."

SCHEDULE: Will it or will it not be the last time at Portland?

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