TRACK: Not a passing grade for the new low downforce Handford MKII device. At least on the one and a half ovals.

RACE: The race no engine manufacturer seemingly wanted to win. Odd that of all the drivers that suffered engine maladies, no two were from the same team.

PAPIS: You knew when Mad Max finally won a race, the celebration would be wild. He didn't disappoint us.

MORENO: Time to call him Super Driver.

TRACY: A sterling drive with a car that didn't deserve a podium finish. Though he may occasionally fall off the wagon, this is no longer the Paul Tracy of old.

VASSER: A typical Vasser drive.

DE FERRAN: Too often Gil gets mislabeled as a conservative, laid back driver. Balderdash! This is a racer, and with the resurrection of Penske, de Ferran will be a title contender.

PENSKE: Whether Ganassi changed equipment or not, with Team Penske back, Chip now has the master as his competition.

NAKANO: Not a Hiro. In fact, he leads the rookie standings...

TAGLIANI: A fantastic debut soiled by two bad rookie mistakes -- the first practice pit lane crash and passing the pace car before the pit entry.

CARPENTIER: Will he start getting antsy if his rookie teammate ends up being consistently faster?

KANAAN: Forget the "that's racing" bad luck they ran into. This team clicked the first weekend out. And that's scary when it's run by Mo Nunn.

BRACK: Thank God the IRL was formed to help train the foreign road racers for the major leagues.

FORSYTHE: Hey Gerry, have you ever heard the expression, "You don't have a leg to stand on?" Look at the videotape, and quit your bellyaching.

ANDRETTI: This is not the way to make us prognosticators look smart.

GARCIA: Horribly slow, but we'll give him a break. To put together this team in just 27 days is yeoman work for an SCCA club effort, never mind a full fledged CART campaign.

TOYOTA: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

ESPN: Major, major kudos. Big time major kudos. ESPN and ABC have been blasted left and right (sometimes well deserved), and nothing raises the wrath of race fans then a tape delayed broadcast (though we never could understand that as long as it's not more than a few hours), but today they get a zillion praises. This is what tape delay is supposed to take advantage of -- the ability to not miss any action when commercials air. I'll vote for tape delay every race if we get a virtual commercial free broadcast.

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND: Dario Franchitti after qualifying when asked how he feels after his big Spring Training crash, "Physically, I feel fine. The only time I feel any pain is when I look at the time sheets."

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND RUNNERUP: Max Papis after his wild qualifying run, "To be a champion, you need to go for the edge. You can't leave anything on the track.

SCHEDULE: Lots of concern for Nazareth. The Handford device doesn't seem to be doing it's thing, and the weather in eastern Pennsylvania the first weekend in April could be downright lousy.

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