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INDY 500: Helio Wins Third Indy 500
Helio Castroneves turns pole position into his 3rd Indy 500 win, handing Roger Penske his 15th win at the Speedway while completing a storybook month. Indy is back.
Marshall Pruett  |  Posted May 24, 2009   Indianapolis, IN
The first half of the race belonged to Target Chip Ganassi as the two red and white Penske cars faded, but when it mattered most, Castroneves drove to the front and couldn't be touched. (LAT)
Had they gotten it all wrong?

The first three quarters of the 2009 Indianapolis 500 looked like Roger Penske’s team had turned Helio Castroneves’ pole position and Ryan Briscoe’s 2nd place start into a day of mid-pack misery.

But as the field closed in on the final 125 miles, Helio had something else in mind for the Target cars of Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, passing Dixon into turn one on a restart on lap 142. The Brazilian never looked back, leading the rest of the way to take a commanding win over Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick. Team owner Roger Penske also earned his 15th Indy win.

“This is incredible. I think my tears speak for everything. What a great team. I just have to thank, first of all, the Lord for giving me this opportunity, to be strong, to have a family that I have. I have to thank Roger (Penske), Tim (Cindric), my guys, Phillip Morris, all the associates (sponsors), Verizon, everybody because they gave my life back. I’m here today because of those guys. And obviously the fans. You guys don’t understand. You guys kept me strong. You guys are the best. I’m honored to have fans like you. Thank you so much. Let’s celebrate now. We were having all sorts of problems with the radio since the beginning of the race. And then, we had a little issue with the gearbox on the pit stops. I was getting neutral. I had to change for a mechanical. Finally, toward the end, we were just feeling the car. I didn’t touch anything on the car at all. Basically, it was a long race. We were just taking it easy. It was good, actually, because behind I knew what I needed to do. But once I got in the front, it was never look back. What a day. This place is magical. It was beginning of the season, but things are starting to fall into place. This is the best month of May ever. Wow. Three. I can’t believe it.”

Beyond Helio’s heartwarming win, Indy 2009 delivered a few major themes. First, Indy is back. Crowds were up on Carb Day and the track was jam packed on race day. Talk surrounding the 500 for some time has been negative -- of it’s relevance being permanently lost, but today, positivity reigned. The majority of the fans and the media were happy to deliver the message that America's fabled race is on an upswing.

If the overall sentiment regarding the event was warm, the feelings towards the cars hasn’t improved. Indy 2009 will be remembered as a “passless playground” where a collection of overly equal cars found it hard to pass anytime other than on restarts.

The majority of the passes for the lead (and there weren’t many) took place when the leader was overtaken by the second place car heading into turn one. Castroneves used the very same maneuver to ultimately claim his third win at the Brickyard.

The day will also be remembered for the eight crashes that brought out an equal number of yellow flags. A silly crash between Mario Moraes and Marco Andretti, a massive crash caused by mechanical failure on Tony Kanaan’s car, solo crashes by Nelson Philippe, Graham Rahal, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Robert Doornbos, Davey Hamilton, and Justin Wilson, and a spectacular, backwards and on-end crash by Vitor Meira and Raphael Matos frequently paused the action.

Kanaan and Matos were banged up, but their countryman Meira was injured most heavily, complaining of lower back pain before being air lifted to the hospital. IMS officials later reported Meira as having suffering a pair of fractured vertebra. The crash was a cruel end to Vitor’s day after overcoming a pit lane fire that found Meira sitting in the car, on fire, for a few seconds before he was doused with water. If Indy awarded an “Iron Man” award, it would belong to Vitor.

Pole sitter Castroneves jumped the start of the race, forcing a wave-off, and held the lead on lap 2, only to have a yellow flag thrown due to an unnecessary between Mario Moraes and Marco Andretti. With Moraes unaware Andretti was attempting an ill-advised pass on the outside between turns one and two, contact ended the days for the young Brazilian, and kept Andretti behind pit wall for a quarter of the race. Moraes could be seen weeping openly in pit lane long after the crash. Andretti would later retire after his repaired Venom Energy Drink car became too treacherous to drive.
A full field of 33 cars starred at Indy today, but only 20 were running at the finish. (LAT)

“I don’t know. I’m really upset with what happened,” said Moraes. “I don’t know what Marco was doing there. That lap was the first. Just the first corner he was outside. I don’t know if he knew, but this was the 500 miles race. I don’t know if there was any point in what he did. Unfortunately, my spotter didn’t tell me that he was looking outside, and I was just driving my line and when I realized, I was in the wall.”

“It’s totally disappointing,” Marco offered. “I should have been smarter than that. That kid (Moraes) is in way over his head with where he is now. I’m sitting next to him, and he just drives up into me. There was no one in sight of him. I should have known better.”

The first portion of lap 2 would be the only time Castroneves led the race until he took command on lap 142. Target Chip Ganassi drivers Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti owned the race in-between, with Franchitti passing Helio on the lap 7 restart into turn one.

Dario’s lead would last until lap 54 when a slow run off of turn four allowed a charging Ryan Briscoe to blow by the Scot into turn one. Graham Rahal’s crash brought out a yellow on lap 57, and the first of multiple pit lane errors by Franchitti’s team allowed teammate Scott Dixon to leave in second place. Dixon would pass Briscoe into turn one on the restart, holding the point until lap 142.

Another gaffe during a pit stop under yellow caused by Nelson Philippe would seal Dario’s day, as a miscommunication – what Franchitti thought was the signal to leave the pits – saw the #10 Target machine attempt to pull away with the fuel hose still connected. The resultant pause to roll the car back and remove the wedged hose dropped the 2007 Indy 500 winner to 8th place.

Scott Dixon would lose four spots in the pits on lap 162 during the yellow for Justin Wilson’s 360 degree spin and crash in turn one. The two Target cars would spend the rest of the race circulating close to one another, with Dixon coming 6th and Franchitti 7th. If not for their dramas in the pits, either car could have won today.

“It was a pretty uneventful day until the last 60 laps," the Kiwi said. "We had great stops all day with the Target team. Toward the end there; that last stop, we fumbled. I'm not sure which tire it was. That's the problem now with the competition being so tight. You give up a few seconds here and there, and that's nearly your day. You lose six or seven spots. It's just too tough when everybody at the end is full fuel and trying to go flat out. It's too tough to pass. It's a tough day; pretty unfortunate. I was looking pretty good there for a while."

Franchitti rued the errors that relegated him to a 7th place finish. “Everybody has to be flawless, and we had problem in the pits. The Target guys are fantastic on pit lane, normally. They do a great job. But one mistake, unfortunately, is very, very costly. We'll go back, regroup and try to get ourselves a championship. The Target car was pretty bloody good today. When you get too far back in the pack like we did with that problem with the pit stop, it's tough to get back to the front again.

“When I managed to take the lead and was running away, I had a big smile on my face, I can assure you. That was cool. But, it was a tough deal. It was tough in traffic. When we got back in the pack, it was really difficult. But that's the Speedway. Helio did a fantastic job, and he deserves it. The Penske team deserves it. Believe me, we'll be back next year to try to take it back from them.”

If Helio’s day ended perfectly, the same couldn’t be said for his teammate. Ryan Briscoe’s Team Penske entry had mixed fortunes on Sunday, briefly leading and looking like a contender for the win, but a handling imbalance detected by Briscoe just after the lap 64 restart would see him make a call to the pits under green flag conditions, losing a lap in the process. Pitting out of sequence would later get that lap back, and a short-fill during one stop promoted Ryan to the lead pack. But with his tank nearly empty, he’d be forced to make another quick stop for fuel, dropping him back down the running order. He’d end the day in 15th.

“It was really hard today. I just got a bad set of tires. After we got the lead, under the yellow, we put a new set of tires on. After the restart, I just had nothing there. I had no grip in the front. I thought a tire was going flat. We had to pit, and we went a lap down. From there, it was just catch-up. And at the end, I was really excited again. We had gotten up to the top 10. I guess we short-fueled. Roger got me up to second, behind Helio, and the car felt awesome. I really thought I had a car to win with, but we just didn’t have enough fuel. What a story Helio is. It’s just incredible. It’s just unbelievable for him. I’m so happy for Helio. It’s just a Cinderella story. He’s like a newborn kid and on top of the world.”
Unlike other years where the race was settled on the track, this year's Indy 500 was won and lost in the pits. (LAT)

Second place finisher Dan Wheldon saved his best performance for the latter stages of the race, using a cool head to capitalize on the high attrition before making a charge to the front. The 2005 Indy 500 winner’s month had been a long series of unrepresentative performances as he and the team worked out the kinds in their National Guard Dallara.

While he didn’t have the speed to threaten Castroneves in the final laps, Wheldon's camouflaged car had more than enough to fend off the advances of Danica Patrick.

“I'm incredibly excited. Unfortunately we didn't have quite enough for Helio (Castroneves) and the whole Penske organization. They should be very proud. I have to say, there's not many races that I've done in my career where I can honestly say that the team executed 100 percent. And I have to say they did today. The National Guard Panther Racing pit crew were phenomenal. They made my job incredibly easy all day because they made me spot after spot in the pits. It's one of those days where we just didn't have quite enough for Helio (Castroneves), but I think everyone on the team should be incredibly proud. We've had a difficult month, but the soldiers I've met here and even the stories I've heard from the soldiers overseas have that never-say-die attitude. And that was fully in force this month with the race team. I think we got the best out of everything, so they should be very proud. Honda gave us a good engine, as always. It's so competitive now with everybody having the same engines and the same tires. Firestone did a good job. It would be more frustrating if I had something for Helio (Castroneves), but I have to say I don't think we did. But it's not for a lack of effort."

Patrick’s performance was refreshing – fast, calm, and always in the hunt. Like Wheldon, her car didn’t have the legs to battle for the win, but a nearly flawless day helped to prove a point to many of her detractors. But for slightly overshooting her pits on one occasion, Danica delivered a veteran performance in what was Andretti-Green’s highest placed car.

“The Boost Mobile/Motorola guys did a great job in the pits today, and we had great stops all day. I had a really strong car for the last few stints and would have loved to see the last 35 laps raced green. I know we would have had no issues making it to the end without stopping. I was happy to keep the #7 car up front toward the end of the day. It was a great race for the fans, and I’m happy for Helio (Castroneves); he was super fast all day.”

Her teammate Tony Kanaan was on pace to a top-5 finish when a rear suspension failure turned the 2004 IndyCar Series champion hard right into the turn three wall at top speed. The resulting ricochet off the SAFER barrier sent Kanaan head first into the adjacent wall, destroying the right side of his 7-Eleven car. Visibly shaken, TK would emerge from the infield care center limping and bruised.

“I don’t know. Something broke in the middle of the straightaway. I hit head-on on the wall. I don’t think the cameras caught that on the first hit, and then I went for a wild ride. I rest my head on the headrest and closed my eyes. I knew it was going to be a big one. I’m pretty much beat up. I have to thank my guys and the championship people who have kept me in shape. And thank you to the safety team. I hit the wall at 190 mph, and I’m standing here talking to you. I’m a little sore, and I'm going to be sore tomorrow. Something broke in the rear suspension at 190 miles an hour, and I have to thank the safety crew that I can walk back to my motorhome.”

AGR’s final runner, Hideki Mutoh, had a mostly anonymous journey to 10th place. His pulse rate skyrocketed when he was forced onto the grass on the backstretch on lap 184, ad while he survived that scare to soldier home, the sophomore Indy driver’s finishing position was more a result of attrition than performance.

KV Racing was expected to have a strong day with the impressive Mario Moraes, the retuning Paul Tracy and talented American Townsend Bell in the field. By the end of the race, it wasn’t Tracy taking home the spoils of a 4th place finish, it was was Bell in his Herbalife car. If Castroneves had a fairytale ending today, Bell’s accomplishment was close behind.

“We said all month we wanted to take one step at a time. I can’t think this team enough. I had an awesome car. The pit stops were strong. I have to thank my sponsor Herbalife for keeping me strong all race. I’m so happy to finish in the top five for this great race team. It’s a real pleasure working with these guys. I had a hundred scary moments out there. We knew we had to be aggressive right away to move up. We tried to walk that fine line between aggression and balance and keeping the thing in one piece. I’m just thrilled for this Herbalife race team, KV Racing, Jimmy (Vasser) and Kevin (Kalkhoven). What an opportunity for me to come here and do one race and drive a rocket ship. It was awesome. The last couple of laps everybody started to fall off, and I thought I might be able to pick of Danica (Patrick) and another car in front of me. We’re just happy to have this strong a result.”

Tracy did just as he promised he would on Sunday, driving his GEICO-sponsored car "like I stole it." With Indy as one of only three races the 2003 ChampCar champion is scheduled to compete in, he wasn’t concerned with earning points or saving his equipment. As the rest of the field struggled to pass each other, PT was the only driver willing to try high risk passes on the outside of the turns. His gambles didn’t always result in gaining a position, but the show he put on for the fans made his efforts well worth the try. The Canadian would come home in 9th place.

“The car was understeering the whole day, and I could never really get close to guys in traffic. You know, I got to thank GEICO and Monster and all the sponsors we had on board, Whipple’s Superchargers, everybody, Hard Rock Hotel. You know, it’s great to be back out there. Great to run with the top-10 guys all day, but you know, I just wish we did a little bit better. Yeah, it was fun. The end result was not what we wanted, but it was good to be back out there. This was a good tune-up race for me. Obviously, I had been out of the car for a year and off of an oval like this for a long time, so it’s good to be back out there. You know, it’s not what I wanted. I wanted to hopefully get a top five. You know, we got ourselves up there on a pit stop, but the car just wasn’t good enough to stay there. It was a 10th-place car all day, and we ended up ninth. I hope I’ll be back. I mean, I hope I showed everybody that I’m capable of doing this, and we’ve got two more races in Canada, and hopefully I get another chance at it.”

Will Power, driving Roger Penske’s third entry, nearly passed Castroneves on lap 158 as he found a serious burst of speed in the race’s final chapter. He’d lose four spots in the pits on lap 162 – just as Dixon did – and persevered to a 5th place finish.
Dan Wheldon used every ounce of his talent and great pit stops by his team to claim 2nd place. (LAT)

Vision Racing’s day was filled with highs and lows. Ryan hunter-Reay’s early, self-induced crash left teammate Ed Carpenter to race on his own for the remainder of the day, but the Indy native saved his best for the home crowd, following up his 5th place in 2008 with an 8th place today.

“It’s a top 10, but after finishing here fifth last year, nothing less than that would really be satisfying because you always want more. It was a tough day because it was pretty slick out there and my car wasn’t great to start the day, but we worked on the No.20 Menards car all day, added some downforce and got to where I was happy with the way it was handling. But the problem was were just weren’t quite fast enough to get up front and challenge. We battled our way to eighth, but I was just hoping for a little more coming into the day after a great run here last year, but it just wasn’t meant to be We really didn't have the car to win today. The handling wasn't all that great, and we had to put a bunch of downforce on it during the race to get it to handle better. That slowed my pace down, and I was limited on how racy I could get. The month will end of a high note, however, with a new baby coming into our lives in the next couple of days. Until I win the Indy 500, bringing a child into the world will still be the best thing to ever happen to me.”

One driver in the field crossed the start/finish line with an incredible weight lifted from his shoulders. Alex Tagliani, starting last after his team made the controversial move to replace his teammate Bruno Junqueira in favor of the French-Canadian Indy rookie, improved 22 spots to take 11th at the checkered flag. As the highest finishing rookie, Tags is expected to earn the Rookie of the Year award.

“It’s unbelievable. The guys did an awesome job in the pits. The guys gave me a great car. We were pretty stuck on downforce, and it would show on restarts with every fuel load. I wish I had a little less downforce, but the car was so good on old tires. I was catching up, and everybody was coming toward me on the long runs. The whole team worked well. The engineers made some changes between Carb Day and the race. What great teamwork. I’m very happy for ALL SPORT, Big Red, Rexall Edmonton Indy, King Tut and everybody that helped us this month. To finish this month in front of all of these people is what it’s all about. To the sponsors, Eric (Bachelart) and the team, it’s a very big deal. The day started when I walked into Gasoline Alley and saw the grandstands. It was my first time here on Race Day, and it was quite unbelievable. I’m very, very happy that I had a chance to participate in this race. For the team, they did a fantastic job. Obviously from where we started, we pretty much had no choice but to go for a little more downforce on the car, and I think that’s why at the end of some runs some guys were struggling with their tires and they were coming back to us, which allowed us to make up some ground.

His fellow rookie, Brazilian Raphael Matos, knows the ROY award was his for the taking, but the lap 174 error that put he and Vitor Meira into the wall ended what had been a superb run up to that point. A fixture in the top-10, Rafa’s rookie mistake halted what was the strongest performance by a freshman in a number of years.

“"I feel OK. I hope Vitor is OK. It was just an unfortunate incident. We had a good car, and the team had worked so hard. It was just unfortunate to end like that. It's disappointing and frustrating. We just need to regroup and get ready for Milwaukee."

Of the other notables, Tomas Scheckter had a quiet but mature drive to 12th. Known for his inconsistency, the South African showed the fans a new side of him, and drove within the car’s capabilities all day.

Alex “Pink” Lloyd recovered after losing a lap early in the race to finish 13th, on the lead lap. Like Scheckter, Scott Sharp also had a quiet day, bringing his Panther Racing Patron Tequila entry home in 14th. AJ Foyt IV improved three positions from his qualifying spot, taking 16th, and Sarah Fisher earned her career best Indy result, taking 17th.
A frightening crash by Vitor Meira and Rafa Matos would land Meira in the hospital with two broken bones in his lower back. (LAT)

The final three runners, all from the Dreyer & Reinbold stable, had rookie Mike Conway in 18th, John Andretti in 19th, and Milka Duno a lap down in 20th. The oft-maligned Duno, while trying to keep out of the way, was still at the center of a few hair raising moment for the leaders and other drivers attempting to pass the pace-deprived Venezuelan. Graham Rahal was less than impressed.

“We all caught traffic, basically. Milka (Duno) got in front of me, and she was absolutely clueless. She would go low like she was going to let everybody by, but then she’d go fast enough where you can’t get by her. She come out on track and run you real tight. I tried to go half a car width up in (Turn) 4, and it just went straight (into the wall).”

Although he missed the first race of the year due to his tax evasion hearings, Helio’s win today catapulted him to second in the points standings, just 5 markers behind Dario Franchitti.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing dominated the Indy 375, but Team Penske took the reigns for the final portion of the race as Dario and Dixon were powerless to respond.

Helio’s performance today mirrored the events of his real life in 2009. Late to start the season, it took him a while to find his feet but once he got up to speed, there was no stopping him. His win today was a classic “drive to redemption” that will have fans talking about this victory for decades to come.

Results from the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500:

Pos, Driver, Laps
1 Helio Castroneves 200
2 Dan Wheldon 200
3 Danica Patrick 200
4 Townsend Bell 200
5 Will Power 200
6 Scott Dixon 200
7 Dario Franchitti 200
8 Ed Carpenter 200
9 Paul Tracy 200
10 Hideki Mutoh 200
11 Alex Tagliani 200
12 Tomas Scheckter 200
13 Alex Lloyd 200
14 Scott Sharp 200
15 Ryan Briscoe 200
16 AJ Foyt IV 200
17 Sarah Fisher 200
18 Mike Conway 200
19 John Andretti 200
20 Milka Duno 199
21 Vitor Meira 173 Contact
22 Raphael Matos 173 Contact
23 Justin Wilson 160 Contact
24 EJ Viso 139 Mechanical
25 Nelson Philippe 130 Contact
26 Oriol Servia 98 Mechanical
27 Tony Kanaan 97 Contact
28 Robert Doornbos 85 Contact
29 Davey Hamilton 79 Contact
30 Marco Andretti 56 Handling
31 Graham Rahal 55 Contact
32 Ryan Hunter-Reay 19 Contact
33 Mario Moraes 0 Contact

Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 150.318 mph
Time of race: 3:19:34.6427
Margin of victory: 1.9819 seconds
Cautions: 8 caution flags for 61 laps
Lead changes: 6 among 4 drivers
Lap leaders: Castroneves 1-7, Franchitti 8-52, Briscoe 53-63, Dixon 64-85, Franchitti 86-90, Dixon 91-141, Castroneves 142-200.
Point standings: Franchitti 122, Castroneves 117, Briscoe 114, Dixon 111, Kanaan 110, Patrick 109, Wheldon 106, Power 99, Hunter-Reay 84, Andretti 83.


Race Blog:

L200: Helio Castroneves is now a 3-time winner (2001, 2002, 2009). Amazing.
L195: No one has the legs to catch Castroneves.
L190: Order unchanged. Helio in complete control.
L185: Helio in a different area code. Wheldon P2, Danica P3, Bell P4, Power P5, Dixon P6 and Dario P7.
L184: Green. Mutoh in the grass, Dario pushing.
L180: Briscoe pits to top up. Too short of a previous fill. Drops from 2nd to last.
L174: Big crash with Meira and Matos. Meira on his side, sliding backwards against the wall through turn 1. Meira still in the car being attended to, stretcher on the way. Matos is out, but is visibly shaken.
The rookie turned in early while being passed by Meira into T1, clipping Vitor’s right rear and turning the #14 AJ Foyt car hard into the wall. Meira’s perfect finishing record comes to an end through no fault of his own. 8th yellow of the day.
L167: Green flag.
L166: Matos topped up again at the end of the yellow.
L162: Pits open. Could be final stop of the race. Power and Dixon drop like a rock, falling 4 spots each. Briscoe up to P2. Wheldon P3.
L160: Justin Wilson into the T1 wall. 360 spin in dirty air.
L158: Power’s menacing Helio.
L157: Power past Dixon for P2.
L156: Wheldon hanging tight in 4th.
L150: Helio, Dixon, Power.
L147: Franchitti, hosed on the restart, back in 10th. Mike Conway and Townsend Bell impressing.
L142: Green flag. Helio gets past Dixon into T1.
L140: Matos stops to top up once more under yellow.
L134: Pits open. Dario back to 8th after being sent early. A fuel spill lights up Vitor Meira’s car. Meira sat in the car with flames burning inside and around him for 2-3 seconds before water was thrown on the car. Doused the car and sent him out without losing a lap. Incredible.
L132: Yellow. Nelson Philippe brushes the exit of T4.
L120: Target holds the lead. Cruising until the latter stages.
L112: Tagliani blocking Conway on entry to T3. Very risky.
L111: Conway’s looking strong.
L110: Green flag. Dixon and Dario out to another early lead. Working in tandem. Very smart.
L100: Pits open. Fuel only for Power moves him up two and Danica falls back to 10th. Servia loses fuel pressure, out.
L98: BIG crash for Tony Kanaan. Something broke on the back of the car at top speed heading into T3. He’s OK, but the right side of the car is flattened.
L94: Not sure what the issue was, but Dario’s back on the pace.
L92: Dario’s not looking strong. Falling back into Kanaan’s clutches.
L90: Green flag, Dixon jumps Dario into T1.
L85: Pits are open. Viso and Briscoe stay out to get a lap back. Dario out first. Clear shot with Briscoe out of the way.
L83: Davey Hamilton in T4, up into the marbles on corner entry.
L82: Viso lets Dixon by, no luck for Dario. Dixie gets some breathing room.
L79: Will Power’s looking smart in P7, on Helio’s tail.
L71: Dixon looking comfortable in the lead. Top-3 is a mile ahead of Matos in the next pack – a half-straight.
L65: Briscoe pits for tires. Will lose a lap. A crazy battle behind the lead pack. TK up to 3rd. Rafa in P4. Danica P5. Helio P6.
L64: Dixon blows by Briscoe into turn one. Falling like a rock. Something’s seriously amiss.
L60: Dario loses a spot on pit lane – slow to depart. Dixon up to P2. Justin Wilson spins on entry to his pit box. Matos P6. The kid’s really impressing so far.
L59: Meira makes a pit for a splash of fuel under yellow while pits are closed, dropping him to the back.
L57: Graham Rahal into the wall. Was dealing with oversteer for a few laps. Trying to go around Milka in turn 4 and understeered up into the wall like RHR’s impact. Duno is a danger at this point. Almost put Dario in the wall on lap 56 and was wandering in T3 and T4 with Rahal approaching.
L56: Milka doesn’t see Dario into T1, closes the door. Sketchy.
L54: Briscoe gets by Dario into T1. Franchtitti almost kissed the wall on exit of T4.
L51: Robert Doornbos kisses the wall – massive catch on his part. Right front and right rear corner damaged.
L50: Dario commands the first 50 laps.
L46: Huge gap behind Matos to Power. Two distinct packs running right now – lapping won’t be far away.
L44: Philippe in 23trd and Tagliani in 24th. An impressive improvement for both drivers.
L41: Briscoe’s creeping forward into T1 and T3. Low downforce setup for the Penske cars, it appears.
L34: Dario holding a steady lead. We know his car is good in clean air. Will be interesting to see how it handles in dirty air once he starts lapping cars.
L29: Restart. PT makes a ballsy pass on Will Power on the outside of T3.
L23: First round of pit stops. Dario out first in a close call with an accelerating Briscoe. Helio comes out 3rd, Rahal leaps ahead of TK. Danica the big winner, grabbing 2 spots to take 9th. Matos holding his own in 7th.
L21: RHR into the wall hard in turn 4. Aero understeer into the corner exit. Whacked all four corners of the IZOD car. Slid down pit lane. Out of the car and uninjured. What a horrible month for the 2008 ROY.
L20: Tracy looking strong in P10, but lacking the final pace to bridge the gap to the top-6.
L19: Matos is swashbuckling a little bit too much for my liking.
L15: Dario, Helio, Ryan, Dixon, TK, Rahal, Power, Matos. Helio looks satisfied to sit behind the Scot and save fuel.
L14: Helio looks to have a bit of corner exit understeer.
L13: Dario settling in. How many expected to see HIS red and white car at the front? Helio, Ryan follow.
Lap 8: Dario leaps past Helio on the restart. Wicked fast on cold tires. Alex Lloyd pits to have rain light fixed. Goes down 1 lap.
L7:Yellow from the end of lap 2 through lap 7
L2: Moraes and Marco come together in the short chute between T1 and T2. Marco puts himself in an unwise position, Moraes doesn’t see him or get the note from his spotter. Both out on the spot.
L1: Helio starts the race without anyone else knowing it. Start waved off…
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