http://youtube.com/watch?v=
bcI7pWb52OM[/youtube]
After stalling his No. 3 Team Penske machine on a mid-race pit stop, Helio Castroneves looked like he was going to be in no position to win last night at Kentucky Speedway.
But thanks to a superb call for conservation from team strategist Tim Cindric, as well as the fact that Castroneves had his final stop on Lap 147 (a few laps after the race’s front-runners had done theirs), the three-time Indianapolis 500 was the last man standing in a fuel mileage war and won his second race of the season.
As the race came down to the final ten laps, Dan Wheldon was up front with Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan giving chase. But Kanaan had to duck into the pits at Lap 192 to get his splash of fuel for the finish. On Lap 196, Wheldon, Franchitti, Scott Dixon and Will Power blinked as well, giving the lead to polesitter Ed Carpenter. But Carpenter only held the point for one lap before he too had to pit.
That handed the lead to Castroneves, who would go on to win by 13.1597 seconds over Carpenter. Wheldon wound up third after leading 93 laps.
“Unfortunately, we had an issue with our pit stop, but we started to make ground and head to the front,” Castroneves said in post-race. “I tried to stay steady. You have to remember, [the race] is 200 laps. We were loose in the beginning, but at the end, it was meant to be. I remember in 2008 here, I ran out of fuel and finished in second. When the team told me to save fuel, I was just trying to keep it up and stay in the draft. It was similar to what happened in 2008 and this time, it paid off for Team Penske.”
Speaking of Team Penske, Castroneves’ teammate and IZOD IndyCar Series championship leader Will Power still has the lead in his title fight with Dario Franchitti. But his edge slimmed for the second straight race, as Franchitti’s fifth-place effort knocked six points off his deficit. Power, who finished eighth, now holds a 17-point lead over Franchitti as the series prepares for its annual trip to Japan and Twin Ring Motegi (Sept. 18, Versus).
In post-race, Franchitti said that it “would have been nice to have finished a little further up” but acknowledged that he had met one of his goals for the night by finishing ahead of Power.
“From where we were after the first lap to where we finished the night, it was an exciting race,” said Franchitti. “We marched our way from 14th to third, I guess. We were hovering around the front. We were second, running behind [Wheldon] but [Castroneves] had the fuel to go to the end and we did not.”
Power came close to severely damaging his title hopes in the final stint of the race, when his car suddenly pushed toward the SAFER Barrier on the high groove at Turn 4. He was narrowly able to keep his No. 12 Verizon machine from hitting the SAFER but lost positions as a result of losing momentum.
“Really, my night was quite good, although after my last stop, I think I hit some oil from an earlier incident between Turns 3 and 4,” said Power in post-race. “I pushed up straight towards the wall – I was very close to hitting it…We have our work cut out for us for the championship, but we still have the lead and onward we go.”
Meanwhile, Panther Racing’s quest to end its five-year victory drought ended in another close call. Carpenter earned his second-straight runner-up at Kentucky while Wheldon claimed his third podium finish of the season.
Carpenter was toward the front in the first stint of the race but tumbled to 10th following a slow first pit stop. The American slowly worked his way up the pylon for the rest of the night but again came up one spot short of his first career victory.
“For Dan and I to finish second and third is a little disappointing, because we were so strong all weekend,” said Carpenter. “Dan had a dominant car today and it’s tough being in our position when you have a guy win on fuel mileage. I think we are very proud having two Panther cars on the podium. We made a pretty big wing change after we were loose and that slowed us down in the pits. We dropped back a few positions and then worked our way through the field.”
Wheldon was nothing but complimentary toward Carpenter and his team’s effort. He also admitted disappointment in the results, but said that it would give them a boost in the final rounds at Motegi and Homestead-Miami
“Having [Carpenter] on board is a fantastic addition and we have a great relationship,” he said. “The race went very well and the No. 4 boys did a fantastic job in the pits. The ending was unfortunate. I would like to have [Carpenter] race with us in Motegi as well.
“I am bummed that the race didn’t turn out different, but it will motivate us for the last two races.”
Following the first wave of stops, Power assumed the lead with Wheldon chasing him before a bizarre three-car accident ensued on Lap 80 involving Vitor Meira, the lapped car of Simona de Silvestro and Ryan Briscoe.
Meira tried to take the inside groove and pass De Silvestro in Turn 3 but instead made contact with her and sent both of them into the SAFER Barrier. De Silvestro collected Briscoe in the process and then slid down the track and into the inside retaining wall for a second hit. Fortunately, all three drivers were checked, cleared and released from the infield care center.
It was during this ensuing yellow that Castroneves had his problems on pit road, which forced him to come back down on Lap 92 for more fuel — a decision that would prove to be a fateful one for the Brazilian later on.
The next stint saw Power again holding off Wheldon until pit stops ensued again under green conditions at around Lap 140. Kanaan pitted at Lap 141, followed by Power one lap later, then Wheldon and Carpenter on Lap 144 and Dixon on Lap 145.
Castroneves held on for two more laps before pitting, setting the stage for the fuel game that played out in his favor at the end.
—–
All quotes were taken from last night’s trackside report. Video credit goes to the Indy Racing League.
