Riceless

Pair of Tickets: $74
Track Beer: $9.50
Danica Trinkets for the Kiddies: $29

Indycar Series: Riceless.

In a season full of good news about increased sponsorship, better TV coverage, and higher car counts, the most baffling question of all remains: Why is 2004 Indy 500 Champ Buddy Rice without a ride?

Maybe Paul Tracy's hamburgers and hot dogs don't cut it for him either, and he's holding out for steak. Maybe he doesn't bring a gift-wrapped sponsor. Maybe he smells funny, wears his lid too straight, or has funny facial hair.

Or maybe he's just a dang fine racer who's getting overlooked.

I've asked around to find out if there's a knock on this guy, but I'm not hearing anything but praise. So what gives, team owners? If you have a decent budget and you're tooling around in the back-half of the field, don't you want to get your sponsor some camera time near the front?

I'm not looking for Penske to hire Rice: Roger looks for drivers struck from a certain die. And I'm not sure that Andretti wants to reunite Danica and Rice again, that didn't work out too well the first time. But What about you, Jimmy Vasser, Carl Haas, John Barnes?

The Racemind Take: If Andretti loses Danica, hiring Rice is by far their best option (as it stands today). And if Panther loses Wheldon in the silly season shuffle, Buddy's the guy they need.