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INDYCAR: Hunter-Reay Triumphs at The Glen
Written by: Jeff Olson
SPEEDtv.com   http://www.speedtv.com
07/06/2008
Watkins Glen, N.Y.
 
Ryan Hunter-Reay sprays the bubbly while celebrating his first IndyCar Series win. (LAT photo) ยป More Photos

Ryan Hunter-Reay took advantage of a rare mistake by Scott Dixon to score his first IndyCar Series victory.

Dixon was in second place and poised to win at Watkins Glen International for a fourth consecutive time when he spun under caution, collecting third-place Ryan Briscoe and putting Hunter-Reay and the No. 17 Rahal Letterman Racing Dallara-Honda in position to win.

Hunter-Reay, who narrowly missed the wreckage from Dixon’s spin, passed leader Darren Manning on the restart with nine laps remaining and went on to score Rahal Letterman Racing’s first win since Buddy Rice won at Michigan in 2004.

“For something to finally go our way is great,” Hunter-Reay said. “It didn’t land in our lap; we had to go out there and earn it. Then we just checked out at the end, which was the best. We put an exclamation on the end of that one. It was a beautiful deal.”

As thrilling as the win was for Hunter-Reay, it may have been just as unexpected. Dixon was sitting in second place and preparing to pass Manning for the lead when the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda spun under caution while Dixon was attempting to warm his tires. With no escape, Briscoe ran into the back of Dixon’s car, taking out the second- and third-place runners and opening the door for Hunter-Reay.

“Tell Briscoe I‘m sorry,” Dixon said over the radio after the incident. “Bloody stupid.”

Hunter-Reay said he couldn’t see anything, just chose a spot and made it work.

“It was like a scene out of Days of Thunder,” Hunter-Reay said. “I couldn’t see where they were or where the opening was. I couldn’t see any cars, just a dirt cloud.
I picked left, and luckily it was open. I got through there, and then I immediately thought, ‘This is the point where I get paid back for all the bad luck.’”

His team also got some payback, ending a miserable winless streak that lasted more than four years and nine drivers.

“This is vindication,” team co-owner Bobby Rahal said. “Some guys who have driven for us in the past said this team doesn’t have the will to win. It’s all about having the right driver.”

Manning held off Tony Kanaan for second place, scoring the best finish since he joined A.J. Foyt’s team two years ago.

“We’re a small team,” Manning said. “My only teammate is A.J., and he’s a tough taskmaster. He sets a high standard. It’s extremely difficult by ourselves, but with the resources we have, we’re doing pretty well. We validated ourselves with this drive.”

Kanaan, who also narrowly avoided the Dixon-Briscoe incident by driving between the stranded cars, says he was as surprised as Dixon to see the embarrassing spin.

“I guess he’s human, isn’t he?” Kanaan said. “You’d think the guy had super-powers. We kept wondering, ‘When is he going to have a bad day?’”

The results benefited Kanaan most, moving him to within 66 points of Dixon in the standings after 10 of 17 races. The other two drivers in the championship battle, Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon, also encountered trouble, with Castroneves falling behind early because of an electrical problem and finishing 16th, and Wheldon getting clipped by Manning on the first lap and breaking his rear suspension for a 24th-place finish.
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