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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Hunter-Reay, Chevy Win Unpredictable Iowa 250
Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay scored his second win in a span of seven days, sealing a Chevy 1-2-3 as almost half the field failed to finish.
Ryan Hunter-Reay won his second race in the span of a week, moving to second in points, just three back from Will Power. (Photo: LAT)
If the IZOD IndyCar Series had a script to follow for Saturday night’s Iowa Corn 250, it was torn up, shredded and lit on fire before the green flag waved.
After the race started 40 minutes late due to rain, Alex Tagliani stalled during the parade laps, and if that wasn't enough of a delay, pole-sitter Dario Franchitti pulled off after experiencing an engine failure as the field was coming around to take the green flag.
And that was before we got to Lap 1.
Once the race got going, JR Hildebrand had two bouts of contact—the second one being terminal, points leader Will Power crashed out when his spotter failed to inform him E.J. Viso was diving beneath him, James Hinchcliffe spun on his own during a restart, Ryan Briscoe was sent into the wall by Josef Newgarden and Katherine Legge ensured the race ended under caution after becoming the 10th car to exit the event on Lap 247.
Between the stalls, engine failures and multitude of crashes, Ryan Hunter-Reay chased down a slipping and sliding Scott Dixon, passing the Kiwi on Lap 236 to eventually score his second win after claiming the Milwaukee race victory last weekend.
“That was very challenging,” said an elated Hunter-Reay. “We were sliding around a little more today. We got another win for Chevy, DHL and SunDrop. We’re so happy to be in victory lane two races in a row. Love it. A bit testament to this team. I can’t believe two in a row. I’m so excited.”
“That was very challenging,” said an elated Hunter-Reay. “We were sliding around a little bit more today. I have to thank Marco [Andretti]. They came here and tested. Marco put the set up on the car. When we came here, we tweaked it just a little. From there, we basically raced with what he tested with. We got another win for Chevy, DHL and Sun Drop.
"Marco and I raced really hard out there, really clean. It’s great to have a teammate like that and we’re just so happy to be in Victory Lane twice in a row.”
The Andretti Autosport team was the class of the field once again, with Hunter-Reay and teammates Andretti and Hinchcliffe also taking turns leading. Hunter-Reay saved his turn to lead for the very end, passing Andretti before going after Dixon, which left the third-generation driver, who earned his best finish of the season, with mixed feelings.
"First of all, great team effort,” said a somewhat frustrated Andretti. "It’s definitely a credit to the team. It’s definitely a statement as well that Andretti Autosport is now the one to beat. Two-in-a-row for the team, two-in-a-row at Iowa. It’s a good day but for me I’m a little disappointed to come up short.”
After serving a 10-spot penalty for an unapproved engine change, Tony Kanaan motored from 19th to third, but the former Iowa race winner wasn’t overly impressed with his accomplishment.
“It’s a podium," said Kanaan. "When you start back there, it’s tough. We have to improve our starting position, so we’ll work on that.”
Dixon plummeted from first to fourth as the race drew to a close, but didn’t appear to be surprised that he was shuffled back before the checkered flag waved.
“I don’t think the car was that great all night,” said Dixon. “I had to push it quite hard. Burned the front tires off and started to slide back. A bit of a long night. We did the best we could with strategies.”
The drive of the night went to Simon Pagenaud who went from 25th and last to fifth after dealing with an ill-handling car during the heat race. Pagenaud, who raced just days after his girlfriend’s father died, dedicated the race in his memory.
“I’ve never started last before!" said the Frenchman. "When I saw everyone in front of me at the start, I couldn’t believe I was back there. I was sitting in the car before the race and thinking about my girlfriend’s father who passed away this week. We were very close. He watched every race of mine, and I felt like he was watching me still tonight. My thought process starting the race was ‘just to move forward.’ It was really difficult at the beginning.
"We were already a lap down before I got confident with the car. Something just clicked, and everything unlocked and we started moving forward. I'm really starting to enjoy the ovals. It's close racing and it's fun."
Helio Castroneves was the most dominant driver at Iowa, leading twice for 133 laps, but the Team Penske driver never looked like he had the outright speed to stay up front as the race drew to a close.
“The Penske Truck Rental car ran out front it seems like the entire night," said the three-time Indy 500 winner. "The positive is that we are moving up in the championship points and getting closer to my teammate. The downside is losing a race that we could have won. A lot of credit goes to my guys, they did a phenomenal job on pit stops all night long. Now it is on to Toronto and hopefully we can keep moving to the top.”
The championship points table was shaken up considerably at Iowa, with Power and Hinchcliffe suffering due to crashes. Power's lead of 286 points is just three ahead of Hunter-Reay, whose success since Milwaukee has catapulted the American forward in the standings. Hinchcliffe, who entered Iowa second in points, left in fifth.
For Franchitti, whose Honda expired before he was able to lead away from pole, his efforts to climb back into the championship fight took a second consecutive hit after he ended Milwaukee against the wall.
"It was making a very strange noise,” said the Scot. “I’d actually just come on the radio to say 'is this thing making an odd noise?' And then it let go. We're disappointed. I believe this was our Indy 500 winning engine. A real shame that it let go, but it’s just one of those things. We’ll move on."
Franchitti's Honda engine was reportedly within 100 miles of the 2000-mile replacement threshold when it suffered a catastrophic bottom-end failure. Alex Tagliani, whose Honda engine lasted until Lap 207, was at a similar mileage threshold with his Indy 500 engine before it experienced a similar failure.
For Power, a breakdown in communication left the Aussie 23rd in the race and apologizing profusely to E.J. Viso.
“I just lost it,” said Power. “I just lost it. I feel bad for E.J. I did not even get the call he was beneath me. I feel bad for him. Man, I didn’t even know he was there. That’s not good.”
Now the series heads to Toronto where the power of the Honda should play a factor on the long straights, the intensity of Power, who won the last street race in Brazil, should come to the fore, the impressive Pagenaud should continue riding a wave of momentum and Andretti Autosport, which seems to be peaking at just the right time, could be ready to go for three-in-a-row on Hinchcliffe's home soil.
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Iowa 250 2012
After the race started 40 minutes late due to rain, Alex Tagliani stalled during the parade laps, and if that wasn't enough of a delay, pole-sitter Dario Franchitti pulled off after experiencing an engine failure as the field was coming around to take the green flag.
And that was before we got to Lap 1.
Once the race got going, JR Hildebrand had two bouts of contact—the second one being terminal, points leader Will Power crashed out when his spotter failed to inform him E.J. Viso was diving beneath him, James Hinchcliffe spun on his own during a restart, Ryan Briscoe was sent into the wall by Josef Newgarden and Katherine Legge ensured the race ended under caution after becoming the 10th car to exit the event on Lap 247.
Between the stalls, engine failures and multitude of crashes, Ryan Hunter-Reay chased down a slipping and sliding Scott Dixon, passing the Kiwi on Lap 236 to eventually score his second win after claiming the Milwaukee race victory last weekend.
“That was very challenging,” said an elated Hunter-Reay. “We were sliding around a little more today. We got another win for Chevy, DHL and SunDrop. We’re so happy to be in victory lane two races in a row. Love it. A bit testament to this team. I can’t believe two in a row. I’m so excited.”
“That was very challenging,” said an elated Hunter-Reay. “We were sliding around a little bit more today. I have to thank Marco [Andretti]. They came here and tested. Marco put the set up on the car. When we came here, we tweaked it just a little. From there, we basically raced with what he tested with. We got another win for Chevy, DHL and Sun Drop.
"Marco and I raced really hard out there, really clean. It’s great to have a teammate like that and we’re just so happy to be in Victory Lane twice in a row.”
The Andretti Autosport team was the class of the field once again, with Hunter-Reay and teammates Andretti and Hinchcliffe also taking turns leading. Hunter-Reay saved his turn to lead for the very end, passing Andretti before going after Dixon, which left the third-generation driver, who earned his best finish of the season, with mixed feelings.
"First of all, great team effort,” said a somewhat frustrated Andretti. "It’s definitely a credit to the team. It’s definitely a statement as well that Andretti Autosport is now the one to beat. Two-in-a-row for the team, two-in-a-row at Iowa. It’s a good day but for me I’m a little disappointed to come up short.”
After serving a 10-spot penalty for an unapproved engine change, Tony Kanaan motored from 19th to third, but the former Iowa race winner wasn’t overly impressed with his accomplishment.
“It’s a podium," said Kanaan. "When you start back there, it’s tough. We have to improve our starting position, so we’ll work on that.”
Dixon plummeted from first to fourth as the race drew to a close, but didn’t appear to be surprised that he was shuffled back before the checkered flag waved.
“I don’t think the car was that great all night,” said Dixon. “I had to push it quite hard. Burned the front tires off and started to slide back. A bit of a long night. We did the best we could with strategies.”
The drive of the night went to Simon Pagenaud who went from 25th and last to fifth after dealing with an ill-handling car during the heat race. Pagenaud, who raced just days after his girlfriend’s father died, dedicated the race in his memory.
“I’ve never started last before!" said the Frenchman. "When I saw everyone in front of me at the start, I couldn’t believe I was back there. I was sitting in the car before the race and thinking about my girlfriend’s father who passed away this week. We were very close. He watched every race of mine, and I felt like he was watching me still tonight. My thought process starting the race was ‘just to move forward.’ It was really difficult at the beginning.
"We were already a lap down before I got confident with the car. Something just clicked, and everything unlocked and we started moving forward. I'm really starting to enjoy the ovals. It's close racing and it's fun."
Helio Castroneves was the most dominant driver at Iowa, leading twice for 133 laps, but the Team Penske driver never looked like he had the outright speed to stay up front as the race drew to a close.
“The Penske Truck Rental car ran out front it seems like the entire night," said the three-time Indy 500 winner. "The positive is that we are moving up in the championship points and getting closer to my teammate. The downside is losing a race that we could have won. A lot of credit goes to my guys, they did a phenomenal job on pit stops all night long. Now it is on to Toronto and hopefully we can keep moving to the top.”
The championship points table was shaken up considerably at Iowa, with Power and Hinchcliffe suffering due to crashes. Power's lead of 286 points is just three ahead of Hunter-Reay, whose success since Milwaukee has catapulted the American forward in the standings. Hinchcliffe, who entered Iowa second in points, left in fifth.
For Franchitti, whose Honda expired before he was able to lead away from pole, his efforts to climb back into the championship fight took a second consecutive hit after he ended Milwaukee against the wall.
"It was making a very strange noise,” said the Scot. “I’d actually just come on the radio to say 'is this thing making an odd noise?' And then it let go. We're disappointed. I believe this was our Indy 500 winning engine. A real shame that it let go, but it’s just one of those things. We’ll move on."
Franchitti's Honda engine was reportedly within 100 miles of the 2000-mile replacement threshold when it suffered a catastrophic bottom-end failure. Alex Tagliani, whose Honda engine lasted until Lap 207, was at a similar mileage threshold with his Indy 500 engine before it experienced a similar failure.
For Power, a breakdown in communication left the Aussie 23rd in the race and apologizing profusely to E.J. Viso.
“I just lost it,” said Power. “I just lost it. I feel bad for E.J. I did not even get the call he was beneath me. I feel bad for him. Man, I didn’t even know he was there. That’s not good.”
Now the series heads to Toronto where the power of the Honda should play a factor on the long straights, the intensity of Power, who won the last street race in Brazil, should come to the fore, the impressive Pagenaud should continue riding a wave of momentum and Andretti Autosport, which seems to be peaking at just the right time, could be ready to go for three-in-a-row on Hinchcliffe's home soil.
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: Iowa 250 2012
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