IndyCar Race Preview: Iowa Corn Indy 250

First of all, a huge thank you to George Phillips over at Oil Pressure for the shout-out in his preview of this weekend's race. George's blog is one of the best and most insightful IndyCar blogs out there, and one of my personal favorites. Check out "Are Engine Failures Always a Bad Thing?" for an example of the high quality posts on the site.

Getting to the event at hand this weekend, the Iowa Corn Indy 250 will mark the fourth IZOD IndyCar Series event at the 7/8 mile Iowa Speedway. Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 10 Dallara-Honda has won the past two events, with Dan Wheldon taking the checkers in 2008 and Dario Franchitti last year. Points leader Franchitti, who also won the event in 2007, can use the weekend to open up a gap in points over second-place Will Power, whose only Iowa experience yielded a ninth-place finish. Meanwhile, teammate Scott Dixon has a solid average finish of 6.3 at the track with two top five finishes.

But Iowa has the potential to produce a surprise winner, even if it hasn't happened yet in the race's three-year history. In two races at the track, Hideki Mutoh has finishes of second and third place, respectively. His prowess at the track could lead to a bump for his Newman/Haas Racing team, as they are mired at 18th in points. But a strong finish for Mutoh, combined with some bad luck for his immediate leaders in points, could mathematically elevate him to as high as 12th.

While Ganassi usually takes the checkers, Andretti Autosport also knows its way around Iowa. Andretti cars finished 1-2 in 2007, had three drivers in the top six in 2008, and a best finish of third last year with Mutoh. Tony Kanaan led 48 laps last year before a crash took him out of the event, and Marco Andretti has challenged for the win at Iowa multiple times in the past. An Andretti car could feasibly end Ganassi's streak of wins at the track come Sunday.

It will also be interesting to see how a handful of drivers will approach the Iowa event this weekend. What will Ryan Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal do with their one-week reprieves to get back in the series? Hunter-Reay has sponsorship from the American ethanol industry once again, a partnership that paid dividends in the past, and Rahal will replace the injured Mike Conway at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. Both drivers will want solid finishes to secure rides as early as possible for Watkins Glen.

How will Simona de Silvestro handle her first race after the Texas wreck? This has nothing to do with the fact that de Silvestro was cleared to drive just a couple of days after the incident. A bad crash like that can alter a driver's psyche, and make them less willing to engage in daring maneuvers on the track. If de Silvestro begins to fear another fiery wreck - as most of us would - she might be slow on this, one of the trickier tracks in the IZOD IndyCar Series. It will be interesting to see how she runs this weekend.

Finally, will there be a breakout rookie at Iowa? Mutoh sure was in 2008, finishing second, but more often than not, rookies populate the bottom of the results. Iowa's unconventional length and layout prove tricky for the series' less experienced drivers and veterans alike, but the added caveat of Iowa being the only short track on the schedule could cause plenty of headaches for inexperienced drivers who haven't handled the Dallaras on smaller tracks. Expect about half of this year's rookie class to tear up some equipment.

Rahal Back With NHLR At Long Beach?

The panic within the front office of the IZOD IndyCar Series can begin to subside now, as American Graham Rahal may finally have lined up a full-time ride for the rest of this year.

Multiple sources have reported that Rahal will return to Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, the only team he has ever driven for in IndyCar, beginning at Long Beach. He will first fulfill his obligations to Sarah Fisher Racing for the next two races, at St. Petersburg and Barber Motorsports Park.

NHLR currently fields one car for Hideki Mutoh, down from two last year and a planned three for this season. Unfortunately, sponsorship for Rahal and Alex Lloyd fell through over the offseason, putting Lloyd in a car with another team and leaving Rahal's prospects totally up in the air.

One of the more widespread rumors was that Rahal Letterman Racing, the former Indianapolis 500 winning team owned by Rahal's father Bobby, would return to fund Graham out of pocket. Other top owners were scrambling to assemble sponsorship packages to at least field the young driver at Indianapolis.

Originally, it appeared that Rahal would only drive these next two races, as team owner/driver Sarah Fisher decided to remove herself from the car on road courses after disappointing preseason test results. Rahal tested sports cars at Sebring recently for Corvette Racing, and was rumored to meet with NASCAR representatives, but has said all along that open-wheel racing is his home and where he wants to continue his career.

Rahal will likely return to the No. 02 Dallara-Honda that he piloted last year, though it is unclear whether or not the sponsor will again be McDonald's. NHLR left the number open in case they could secure sponsorship for Rahal, putting Mutoh in their second car, the No. 06. Mutoh came to the team with Formula Dream and Panasonic backing, as has followed him for the past two years.

Last season, Rahal finished eighth in points with two poles, five top five finishes, and nine top-10s. His best finish was third, which occurred twice, at Motegi and Richmond. His poles came at St. Petersburg and Kansas.

IndyCar Season Preview: Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing

For a team that once looked to field three cars in the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season, Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing is beginning to look a little gaunt.

During last year's season finale at Homestead, reporters suggested that Alex Lloyd would drive the team's second car in 2010. Nothing suggested that Graham Rahal would move on from his seat in the No. 02 car, and November reports even claimed that Hideki Mutoh would join the team in an unprecedented third car.

Mutoh signed with the team in February, but sponsorship fell through for both Rahal and Lloyd, requiring both to move on. This means that the team will likely focus all of its efforts on Mutoh for 2010, instead of running a second car with shaky sponsorship as it did last year.

Mutoh was, for his part, decent during Barber testing in February, consistently putting the car in the top 10. But the loss of one of the best American drivers in the series is definitely being felt, both in the NHL garage and around the paddock. Rahal was one of the series' most marketable drivers, and failing to retain him will hurt both the team and the series.

Rahal led NHL last season, finishing seventh in points after scoring two poles and podium finishes at Richmond and Motegi. He improved over his 2008 rookie standing by ten positions and 97 points, although he failed to win a race, as he had in his first career IndyCar start at St. Petersburg. Oriol Servia scored the best finish for the team in its other car, a fourth place run at Motegi. Robert Doornbos also ran a dozen races for the team, with four ninth place finishes to show for it.

NHL is one of the teams considered the "best of the rest" in IndyCar - that is, the teams that won't win a championship, but should fight for a race win or two. Focusing all of their efforts on Mutoh may only strengthen their program, but Mutoh needs to step up his driving efforts. He has two podium finishes in two Iowa starts, his four top fives in 2009 were a personal best, and he had fewer DNFs in 2009 than his 2008 rookie year. If he continues his upward progress, the team may contend in 2010.