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IndyCar
BRISCOE: Almost There
The most important thing for me, is that I was able to prove, if to nobody else but myself, that I can vie for a Championship.
Ryan Briscoe  | http://www.penskeracing.com  |  Posted October 16, 2009   Mooresville, NC
Ryan will have a long break to contemplate the 2010 IndyCar championship. While he just missed out on the 2009 title, the Aussie proved he's ready to take the next step. (LAT)
Well, I have to say that the 2009 IndyCar Series season finale this past weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway lived up to all the hype. It was definitely an exciting way to end a fantastic season. Of course, things didn’t work out the way Team Penske was hoping, but we certainly provided a great show for the fans.

As you know, the Championship battle came down to me, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti – I came into the weekend eight points behind Dixon and his teammate, Dario, was just five points behind. We all knew it would be a “winner take all” scenario out there – I knew if I didn’t win the race, one of the Ganassi guys would. So we headed to Homestead with the goal of winning the race for sure – there was no playing it safe at that point.

The weekend started out as expected – there was a lot of attention on the three of us. On Thursday of race week, we went to the Miami Dolphins training camp for a Championship contender photo shoot. It was actually pretty cool to see their training facility; I always enjoy seeing how other professional athletes train and prepare, so it was fun to be there at their field.

We spent the afternoon talking with journalists about the Championship, so when the day ended I was excited to get away from it all for a bit and head down to the Florida Keys, where I was staying for the weekend.

Both my parents and my fiancée Nicole’s parents were in town for the race, so that extra element of support was really great. We got to spend a bit of time together during the weekend, which I enjoyed.

As far as the on-track action goes, the weekend certainly lived up to what a season finale should be. The three of us were quickest after the two practice sessions and we all ended up qualifying in the top-three. Dario won the pole and Dixon qualified second. I qualified third, which was a little disappointing, but we just didn’t have the speed to keep up with the Ganassi guys in qualifying trim.

The good news was that I knew we’d be competitive on Saturday. We had a solid test in Miami a few weeks before and we’d been working really hard preparing for the race in the weeks leading up to the finale. The conditions were really difficult to prepare for. We had sweltering heat, which threw everybody a bit of a curveball. But I headed into the race confident that we’d have one of the cars to beat.

Once the race started, it became clear pretty early on that it was going to be between Scott and myself. We pulled a bit away from the field and it was shaping up to be a battle between he and I - we knew we had the best handling cars out there. Plus, Dario was falling back a bit.

I was focused on leading the most laps, because as the points stood, Scott could finish second and still win the Championship unless I won and led the most laps. He knew that and I knew that, so we kept fighting it out to see which one of us would lead the most laps. I had a fantastic run – the Team Penske car was performing strong all day. We made a few adjustments during the race, which worked out well and improved the handling of our machine.

As the race came to a close, I was happy with where I was. I had led the most laps and definitely outdueled Dixon. I had accomplished my goal and put myself in a position to win it at the end.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, I had to come in late in the race for a splash of fuel. Scott had to come in as well – however, Dario did not need to come in. He’d been saving fuel and could make it to the end. His strategy played out for him as he sat back and watched Scott and I battle to lead the most laps and he ended up taking the win and the Championship.

It was definitely a bit frustrating to lose it at the end that way after I’d run such a strong race. I wish the race was a bit longer so that we could all have fought it out until the end and not have fuel strategy come into play.

Clearly, both Scott and I were hoping for a yellow, but for the first time in the history of the IndyCar Series we ran an entire race without one yellow flag! With two cars competing for the Championship, Ganassi had the advantage of running two different fuel strategies and it paid off in the end.
The Ganassi boys led early and when it mattered most -- during the final laps, pushing Briscoe to the brink and coming within just a few laps of his first championship. (LAT)

Now that the season is over, we just have to look to next year. The off-season will be painfully long - I’m ready to start again right now! I’m pretty happy with our 2009 season – we achieved some amazing things. The most important thing for me, is that I was able to prove, if to nobody else but myself, that I can vie for a Championship.

That gives me a lot of confidence moving forward. Hopefully next year we can achieve the same sort of success and I can have another run at the Championship as well as the Indianapolis 500.

Thanks for checking in all season, I had a lot of fun reporting to you all. We’ll see you next year.

~Ryan

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, SPEED, FOX, or NewsCorp.

Briscoe began his racing career in 1993 at the age of 11 by competing in the Junior Yamaha Australian Championship, and he would go on to earn a Championship in the Series the following year. In 1997, Briscoe moved to Italy, providing a true turning point in his career. Over the course of the next several years, he competed in Europe in a variety of series' including Formula A, Formula 3, Formula 3000 and Formula Renault 2000. In 2002, he landed a role as a test and back-up driver for Panasonic Toyota Racing in Formula 1, which brought him the worldwide attention that eventually landed him his ride with Ganassi Racing in 2005.

After a horrific season-ending accident jeopardized his racing career, Ryan Briscoe made a triumphant return to racing full-time in the IndyCar Series in 2008. Driving for one of motorsports most legendary teams, Team Penske, the 27-year-old Australian proved himself a winner as he embraced the challenge and had a breakout season. In his first season with the Team, Briscoe earned three wins and three poles. Starting off the new season in style with a win at St. Petersburg, Ryan demonstrating that he is the latest threat to make a run at the 2009 IndyCar Series Championship.

In his spare time, Briscoe is an avid fan of watersports. He enjoys waterskiing, wake boarding and wake surfing. He works out seven days a week employing a triathlete’s regimen of running, biking, swimming and weight training. He also enjoys golf and tennis. In addition to his native English language, Briscoe is also fluent in Italian. He is single and currently lives in Mooresville, NC.

Learn more about Ryan and the Team Penske organization at PenskeRacing.com
The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEED.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or SPEED
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Ryan Briscoe

Penske Racing

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