RACE: Even if you are not an oval fan, you gotta love Milwaukee which once again provided some great side-by-side racing duels. Too bad the positioning of the yellow flags caused the finish to be an economy run.

TRACK: Three quarters of the wall was replaced last winter except for the portion that Fittipaldi (and Papis in earlier testing) smacked. I am with Michael Andretti on this one -- this would be a perfect track for the new energy absorbing technology.

VASSER: A classic Jimmy Vasser race. And my take on him not lapping Rahal at the end was that Vasser was using Rahal's draft to conserve fuel.

GANASSI: This time, it's Vasser who gets his winning setup from Zanardi (something I never thought I'd see for a short oval), returning the favor from the previous week. I hate to say anything good about Chip Ganassi, but this is one great team.

CASTRO-NEVES: Helio is now the hot rookie taking over the role from his former Indy Lights teammate, Tony Kanaan. And this makes the Rookie-of-the- Year battle really heat up as Castro-Neves leapfrogs into first over Kanaan, 28-22, but don't count out Lehto now that the schedule heads to the road courses.

BETTENHAUSEN: I was sorta rooting for Castro-Neves, not because I wanted to see him win, but because I really wanted to see his owner, Tony Bettenhausen, win. If any team owner deserves a victory, it's Tony.

CARPENTIER: I think Patrick can use a lesson or two on how to provide racing room on a short oval from ...

FRANCHITTI: ... Dario, who was a thrill to watch in every battle he got into.

PENSKE: The critics who wrote off the new Penske chassis may have spoken too soon. Don't place an order for that Reynard or Swift just yet, Roger.

HEARN: Considering their sponsor's rivals were from down the road, it was probably a smart move to stagger their stops to get out in front and lead a few laps. However, Hearn looked strong in the lead, another testament to the Swift on short ovals.

NEWMAN-HAAS: This was a weekend to forget.

ESPN: What's with this pop-up video crap?

VITOLO: Well, Dennis spared us during the race by stuffing it in qualifying.

SCHEDULE: With the exception of Michigan and Fontana, it's all road and street circuits from here on in, and this could cause some shuffling in the standings. And we start off with ... ugh ... Detroit. Well, they did change the configuration which is supposed to make for better racing. So, we have to be fair, and give Detroit a chance. Albeit, a very small chance, but a chance nonetheless.

Deep Throttle

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