One Star Rises While Another Sets

As Simona De Silvestro takes seventh in qualifying at Edmonton, Milka Duno gets a finger-wagging rebuke from the league.

The cynical take: The series *needs* a female driver, preferably a good one. Prior to 2010, Milka Duno was the "backup gal" in case Danica bolted for NASCAR. Now that Simona looks like a solid female competitor who's here to stay, Milka is yesterday's fish wrapped in newspaper.

And to clarify for other readers out there like me: the 14th word in that Simona article is "throng", with an "r". Because that's not how I read it the first 3 times.

Wrapping Up 2008

The 2008 Indycar season was probably the most important season since the first IRL race back in 1996. Loaded with firsts -- first Long Beach GP, first win by a female, first win for Graham Rahal in his first race -- this season will always be remembered for The Merge of the Indycar Series and the CCWS series.

My personal feelings are mixed. It was great to see Danica make headlines, although I'd prefer if she won with competitive passing (as I detailed here). And while the races up to Texas set the table for nail-biting competition, the second half of the season was a bit of a yawn -- not unusal when one driver takes an early points lead.

Predictions for 2009? At the moment, I don't have any. The recession is really the only topic of conversation in Indycar garages this winter, and my usual sources of info are giving me little more than a shrug.

We can all hope for another Danica v. Milka showdown, as there's nothing like a catfight to keep the motors running. And I *do* hope for a series return to Australia, if for no other reason than to support the traditions shown in this photo.

So now my attention turns almost exclusively to sportscars as we gear up for the Rolex 24 in February.