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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Briscoe Scores Surprise Sonoma Win
Ryan Briscoe looked ready to take second behind teammate Will Power, but a late yellow and delay in the pits left Power pouting and Briscoe victorious.
No one has needed an IndyCar win more than Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe, who made the most of Will Power's long pit stop and on-track delay under caution. (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe had to wait 813 days to claim his seventh IZOD IndyCar Series victory, and even though it took a bit if bad luck from his teammate to land in Victory Lane, the 30-year-old Aussie was thankful to get the monkey off his back.
Briscoe crossed the line .44 seconds ahead of Penske stablemate Will Power who led from the pole and dominated the first 65 laps of the 85-lap race. Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti was third.
Power romped to a lead as large as 8.6 seconds over Briscoe during the first 65 laps, pulling out a half-second gap on numerous laps, but a massive crash by Sebastien Bourdais (on cold tires) in Turn 8a that also involved rookie Josef Newgarden brought out the first caution since the Toronto race in early July.
That crash would cause the field to slow as emergency vehicles tended to the tattered cars of Bourdais and Newgarden, but Power, who happened to pit just as the accident was taking place, lost approximately four seconds as his pit crew struggled to change his right rear tire.
After a year of flawless stops, the slow tire change halved Power's eight-second advantage over Briscoe, and after returning to the track behind a gaggle of cars that circulated slowly under the yellow, the rest of his lead evaporated.
Briscoe pitted the following lap and emerged free and clear, taking a lead he wouldn't surrender.
"I was holding ground with Will at the start of the race," said Briscoe. "We went to blacks for the next two stints. The car just wasn't quite as good. I was struggling to maintain speed on the black tire. Then we got a timely yellow. The [No.] 12 car guys made a little mistake in the pits. We got the lead and finished the race on the [Firestone] Reds.
"The car was awesome again. It was the best it had been all day. Just put my head down and held the guys off behind me for the win."
As simple as it sounds, that was the story of the race.
A frustrated Power, who hasn't won since Brazil in April, was critical of the slow drivers ahead of him once he left the pits on his final stop.
"It started well all the way to the last stop," he said. "I had the quickest car, quite easily keeping a handy lead. [It] went yellow, we had a slow stop, probably lost four seconds there, then came across a bunch of guys on the track who just doddled all the way back. I don't know who those guys were. That's when I was using the word 'wanker'. Cost me the race."
Power had Briscoe covered on outright pace on Sunday, but with passing close to impossible, he could do little more than hound his teammate to the finish and offer praise once the checkered flag flew.
"I couldn't be happier for Ryan," he continued. "He really needed that win. He's been strong all weekend. But, yeah, I can't help but be a little bit disappointed but happy because I got a good points buffer. Yeah, I think it was a good race. Don't know what else to say. We led heaps and then we didn't."
Franchitti was surprisingly quick on Blacks while others were on Reds, but was no match for the Penske duo across the entire span of the event.
"I was third behind the Penskes on that last restart," he said. "We've definitely been giving something up to them all weekend. I was not only able to hang with them. We definitely have some work to do, the Target team and Honda, to close the gap. It was good to follow those guys so closely, because I think I have a good idea of where that advantage is."
Other than a jubilant Briscoe, the happiest driver at Sonoma was 19-year Formula One veteran Rubens Barrichello, who took fourth after a fairly uncomplicated run.
The Brazilian credited his knowledge of the Sonoma track--a circuit he'd tested on twice prior to the race--rather than a perfect chassis setup for his best result of the season.
"Not bad for an 'old' rookie," he said with a laugh. "I think that it's more to the fact that it's more familiar with the track more than the car itself. I mean, on an Indy weekend, the car evolves a lot, the track evolves a lot, it changes a lot. When you start the race, at least this year, I didn't know if we made the good choices or not. By the end of the day, the track grips up, sometimes it doesn't. So it moves a lot.
"But I still haven't got the balance that I wish to have. I think I had a good car today, solid, but there was a little bit of understeer. I was able to just push, push, push. But I think it's more to do with the fact that I knew the track a bit more."
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Sonoma 2012
Beyond Briscoe's long overdue win, Sonoma will be remembered for the big shakeup in points that shuffled the deck among the four drivers with a realistic shot at the title.
Power came in with five points over Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay, 17 points over teammate Helio Castroneves and 28 over Ganassi's Scott Dixon.
In addition to his second-place points, the championship leader added three points to his tally for earning pole and leading the most laps, but behind him, his three title rivals fell apart through various means.
Briscoe crossed the line .44 seconds ahead of Penske stablemate Will Power who led from the pole and dominated the first 65 laps of the 85-lap race. Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti was third.
Power romped to a lead as large as 8.6 seconds over Briscoe during the first 65 laps, pulling out a half-second gap on numerous laps, but a massive crash by Sebastien Bourdais (on cold tires) in Turn 8a that also involved rookie Josef Newgarden brought out the first caution since the Toronto race in early July.
That crash would cause the field to slow as emergency vehicles tended to the tattered cars of Bourdais and Newgarden, but Power, who happened to pit just as the accident was taking place, lost approximately four seconds as his pit crew struggled to change his right rear tire.
After a year of flawless stops, the slow tire change halved Power's eight-second advantage over Briscoe, and after returning to the track behind a gaggle of cars that circulated slowly under the yellow, the rest of his lead evaporated.
Briscoe pitted the following lap and emerged free and clear, taking a lead he wouldn't surrender.
"I was holding ground with Will at the start of the race," said Briscoe. "We went to blacks for the next two stints. The car just wasn't quite as good. I was struggling to maintain speed on the black tire. Then we got a timely yellow. The [No.] 12 car guys made a little mistake in the pits. We got the lead and finished the race on the [Firestone] Reds.
"The car was awesome again. It was the best it had been all day. Just put my head down and held the guys off behind me for the win."
As simple as it sounds, that was the story of the race.
A frustrated Power, who hasn't won since Brazil in April, was critical of the slow drivers ahead of him once he left the pits on his final stop.
"It started well all the way to the last stop," he said. "I had the quickest car, quite easily keeping a handy lead. [It] went yellow, we had a slow stop, probably lost four seconds there, then came across a bunch of guys on the track who just doddled all the way back. I don't know who those guys were. That's when I was using the word 'wanker'. Cost me the race."
Power had Briscoe covered on outright pace on Sunday, but with passing close to impossible, he could do little more than hound his teammate to the finish and offer praise once the checkered flag flew.
"I couldn't be happier for Ryan," he continued. "He really needed that win. He's been strong all weekend. But, yeah, I can't help but be a little bit disappointed but happy because I got a good points buffer. Yeah, I think it was a good race. Don't know what else to say. We led heaps and then we didn't."
Franchitti was surprisingly quick on Blacks while others were on Reds, but was no match for the Penske duo across the entire span of the event.
"I was third behind the Penskes on that last restart," he said. "We've definitely been giving something up to them all weekend. I was not only able to hang with them. We definitely have some work to do, the Target team and Honda, to close the gap. It was good to follow those guys so closely, because I think I have a good idea of where that advantage is."
Other than a jubilant Briscoe, the happiest driver at Sonoma was 19-year Formula One veteran Rubens Barrichello, who took fourth after a fairly uncomplicated run.
The Brazilian credited his knowledge of the Sonoma track--a circuit he'd tested on twice prior to the race--rather than a perfect chassis setup for his best result of the season.
"Not bad for an 'old' rookie," he said with a laugh. "I think that it's more to the fact that it's more familiar with the track more than the car itself. I mean, on an Indy weekend, the car evolves a lot, the track evolves a lot, it changes a lot. When you start the race, at least this year, I didn't know if we made the good choices or not. By the end of the day, the track grips up, sometimes it doesn't. So it moves a lot.
"But I still haven't got the balance that I wish to have. I think I had a good car today, solid, but there was a little bit of understeer. I was able to just push, push, push. But I think it's more to do with the fact that I knew the track a bit more."
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Sonoma 2012
Beyond Briscoe's long overdue win, Sonoma will be remembered for the big shakeup in points that shuffled the deck among the four drivers with a realistic shot at the title.
Power came in with five points over Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay, 17 points over teammate Helio Castroneves and 28 over Ganassi's Scott Dixon.
In addition to his second-place points, the championship leader added three points to his tally for earning pole and leading the most laps, but behind him, his three title rivals fell apart through various means.
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