Indy Humpday Report: Que up some Adoniran Barbosa*

Short column this week since I am about to start finals week, and the overwhelming subject still dominating discussions is Helio. (Will he punt someone yet again?)

Andre Penner/AP Photo 2011

I would just like to point out that Helio has plenty of eyes on him this week. Not only are the fans in America and the Series officials watching Helio closely—the fans in Brazil are really watching. Should Helio do anything to Tony Kanaan, be ready for a borderline riot in the streets of Brazil.

Also should Will Power be “shafted” due to contact again with Helio, it may be hard for the Aussie to keep it “Penske-PC”.

What to expect for this race; unlike last season where the track was configured at the last moment possible, we now have a year worth of planning. There is no Mario Moraes this season, although we have Helio & Marco still in the series. (So a turn one crash still very likely).

This race may show if Tony Kanaan and KV are for real or not in 2011. Obviously the race will be very important for the Brazilian native driver. Also it will be very important for Mike Conway to have a great follow-up to Long Beach. He has significantly leap frogged the points, a good solid race in Brazil may keep him in the Top Five.

Fantasy Picks:

Drivers to Pick

It is a street circuit and now with more preparation and field testing of how to secure his hand—Justin Wilson may be more ready for this event. No doubt had Wilson not had the issues with his special brace at Long Beach he would have yielded better results.

Will Power; hey do you want bonus points for a pole winner?

Scott Dixon; I suspect the number nine will be the winner for this event, winners are worth a decent amount of points. The math is simple to figure out. Dixon has gone this far without a win; you have to figure Ganassi is overdue for another win it has been two races since Dario won St. Pete.

Drivers to avoid

Helio—the guy just can’t stop “punting” and that is not good for fantasy points. Who wants -25 points for another poor start or re-start?

Graham Rahal; clearly the move to Ganassi & the Snake was nice for a steady job. However we clearly see a driver struggling to have a decent finish, and often complaining about his fellow drivers post race. I just don’t see a Top Ten result for the second generation Ohioan.

 

*Incase you are wondering, Adoniran Barbosa is a famous local musical performer from São Paulo in the early days of radio.

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