First of all, let me explain something about the Chicagoland Speedway. Unlike most similarly-configured ovals, the backstretch is not a strait peice of track; there is a slight curve to it. Like like all ovals, there is a white line painted along the interior side of the asphalt which the drivers are not supposed to cross. It is tempting for a driver at Chicagoland to "flatten out" the apex of the backstretch curve by violating the rules & dipping their left-side wheels below the line.

IRL competetion president Brian Barnhardt reportedly made it very clear in the pre-qualifying driver's meeting that he would not tollerate any infractions of that rule. The first twenty-six drivers to qualifying headed his warning and qualified without incident. Helio, who was the next to last driver to make a run, was in gross violation of the rule on every lap, sometimes getting half of his car below the line. His time, which would have been good enough for the 4th starting spot, has been thrown out & he must start shotgun on the field for Sunday's race.

Here is where it gets interesting. Prior to heading out for his run, Helio was overheard asking his crew chief "Are we sticking to the plan?", to which the reply was "Yes."

As you may remember, Castroneves was penalized by the IRL during last week's race at Belle Isle & forced to yield his track position to eventual winner Justin Wilson for blocking. Helio, who is the only only driver left with a shot at the season championship title, was upset with that ruling, complaining that other drivers only recieved warnings for their first infraction.

So the question on everyone's minds right now is: Were his actions at qualifications all a big "hissy fit", showing that he is still mad at the league & daring them to penalize him again?

To this point, I have not been able to find any comments from Helio, Team Penske or the IRL posted online to shed further light on this situation.

Here is the starting grid for Sunday's race, which starts at 3:30pm ET

http://www.indycar.com/news/2008/chicago/2008_ics_chicago_starting_grid.pdf

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