Only a couple months after Baltimore's inaugural Grand Prix, problems started to surface. The race's economic impact wasn't nearly as much as originally planned, according to a report done for Visit Baltimore, and the organization behind the event hit some major financial potholes. It looked like a one-off -- until a group including retired pro Michael Andretti took over, and started turning things around.

With only months to spare, they picked up a few key sponsors such as Giant and, most importantly, Chrysler Group's Street and Racing Technology. Tickets went on sale at a cheaper price than last year (score!). And, since most of the roadwork was finished last year, traffic wasn't nearly as catastrophic downtown in the weeks leading up to the race.

Sure, the race will cut off a huge swath of the Inner Harbor for a couple days. But IndyCars will be zipping around hairpin turns and burning through downtown at more than 100 miles an hour. How cool is that?

There's plenty of good karma to go around -- last week, there was even a bit of good news from the beleaguered organizers of last year's race: They finally paid the last of their overdue city tax bill.

We can only hope that this weekend's Grand Prix of Baltimore comes back for the next few years. From the way things have been going, it just might.