IndyCar title to be decided tonight in South Florida (6 p.m. ET, Versus)
Today is one of those days that you live for as a race car driver — or as any athlete in any sport.
A championship represents the best — that much has been an eternal constant. But of course, it can also mean different things to those contending for it. Such is the case in the IZOD IndyCar Series.
For 29-year-old Will Power, a championship means the culmination of a journey that has seen him go through multiple obstacles: dealing with the painful merger of American open-wheel racing, the demise of the Team Australia initiative, and a vicious crash last season that left him with multiple injuries. But everything changed when Roger Penske made the call to make him his team’s third full-time driver.
This year, we’ve seen take full advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime. Five victories have netted him the Mario Andretti Trophy and the title of top road/street course driver in IndyCar. But despite all of his success, he’s still learning about the art of oval racing and how to consistently finish at the front in those events. With a championship on the line today at Homestead-Miami Speedway, it’s time for him to show what he’s learned.
Over the last four races, his “weakness” has slowly become a strength. The problem is that he simply hasn’t gotten the results to show for his improvement. The once-commanding 59-point edge he had after his August triumph at Infineon Raceway (site of the aforementioned crash) is down to 11 points. And as a result, the question has risen with the pressure: Does he have the ability to hang on?
So this championship also means vindication to Power — a chance to show his critics that he can stare down the best in the game and prove to them, once and for all, that he is indeed the total package.
His title rival, 37-year-old Dario Franchitti, need not worry about having to prove anything. When the time comes for him to hang up his helmet, he’ll do it as one of the greatest drivers in the history of American open-wheel racing. But a third series championship would still mean a lot for the Scotsman.
A third crown puts him with American driver Sam Hornish Jr. in a tie for most IZOD IndyCar Series titles. It would trigger a major argument as well: Who is the best driver in Indy Racing League history? Hornish won his titles (2001, 2002, 2006) when ovals were the dominant species. But Franchitti’s titles (2007, 2009) have come about with the growing influence of road racing in the series. Ironic that he won this year’s A.J. Foyt Trophy as IndyCar’s top oval driver.
But it just shows that Franchitti is the total package, a veteran that never gets complacent and a racer that constantly looks for the little things that can pay big dividends for him on the track. Regardless of where you come down on the argument, Franchitti is one of the sport’s standard-bearers and the future generation of drivers will be attempting to clear the bar that he continues to raise here in the present.
For him, this championship means making more history and adding to his legend.
Today, the title is going to one of these drivers. Whoever gets it will be a worthy winner. Both men have proven to be the class of the field this season across 16 races, across speedways big and small, across winding road courses and unforgiving street circuits.
What makes today even better is that both drivers are set to be in attack mode from the green flag. Neither driver has a choice.
“My priority is obviously, the championship,” said Franchitti, who can win the title by winning the race (50 points) and leading the most laps (two bonus points). “Probably the best way to do that is to win the race. So, again, I’m not going to be points racing tomorrow because I don’t see that working out for me.”
“It’s all about a championship,” said Power. “If that means winning the race — if Dario happens to have led the most laps — at that point, I’ll be doing everything I can to win it. Maybe take some more calculated risks.”
200 laps are all that remain for the both of them. In about nine hours or so, we’ll either see a dream realized or a legacy cemented.
Two drivers. One race. One championship.
What will it all mean in the end?
