[valkyry1]

IRL season started Sunday 04-05-2009 at St. Petersburg. Danica grabs most of the media attention again.

She starts out back in the pack, and while at 9nth place & lap 31 rookie Raphael Matos tries to pass her while coming into a fast chicane and they both crash into the tires, putting her and Matos out of the race.

[valkyry1]

Here is the vid

http://larrybrownsports.com/car-racing/video-danica-patrick-rafael-matos-crash-honda-grand-prix/6383

[valkyry1]

Ryan Briscoe, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Justin Wilson take the 1st 2nd and 3d places.

Ryan Hunter-Reay might be a guy to watch this season.

[Big_Monkey]

Never in the history of motor sports has so much been made of someone who's accomplished so little, all in the name of diversity.

[GreatDaggar]

[llevrok]

Ok, before some one gets killed, get her off the track.

[valkyry1]

Briscoe holds off Hunter-Reay, takes IRL opener in St. Pete The top three finishers in Sunday's IndyCar season opener were two drivers who didn't have rides a week ago, and a third who unexpectedly was thrust into leading IndyCar's winningest team.

Ryan Briscoe seized the lead from Justin Wilson on a restart with 14 laps left and held off Ryan Hunter-Reay to capture his third IndyCar victory

It's been a much sharper transition for Hunter-Reay and Wilson, who delivered career-best results for their respective teams despite still learning their crewmembers' names.