For some of the drivers involved in the Indianapolis 500, the end-result left them quite puzzled as they had to face their own problems as it was in the case for Alex Tagliani, J.R. Hilderbrand and Dario Franchitti.
For one, pole sitter Alex Tagliani (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) admitted he was puzzled by the loss of pace he experienced after his third pit stop after he had maintained his practice and qualifying form at first to fight for the lead with Ganassi's Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti.
"We had a really good, balanced car early on. It was nice to drive it," Tagliani said.
"Then, all of the sudden, it became very loose. We tried to fix the problem but we kind of lost the car at some point; very curious"
Until the handling problem struck, Tagliani was confident he could have stayed in the lead battle until the finish.
It could have been a very special day for rookie J.R. Hildebrand who could have won the classic event but lost control of his car in the last corner before the straight to the finish line.
As he came through the final corner, he ran wide lapping Ganassi's Charlie Kimball and slid into the wall.
"I'm okay, but this is not really about me at this point," said Hildebrand. "You always show up to try to win. My disappointment is for the team and for National Guard as a sponsor. I guess just with the tires as worn as they were, the run being as long, that sort of stint of the race being as long as it was, there were a bunch of marbles on the outside. Once I got up there, there wasn't a lot I could do."
Dario Franchitti refused to lay criticism over his team’s strategy in the Indianapolis 500, while admitting that he did not fully understand how he had ended up 12th in a race he had looked set to dominate.
The team called for Franchitti to pit from the lead under yellow on lap 163. The intention had been for that to be his final pit stop, but he had to come in for another splash of fuel right at the end.
"And we're leading the race, and we came in to do that stop. But I don't know. I don't understand right now. They're going to have to explain that one to me," Franchitti declared.
He said he could not criticise the team's pit calls as Ganassi's strategy had so often paid off for him in the past.
"I definitely leave here thinking that I should have won the 500," he added.
For one, pole sitter Alex Tagliani (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) admitted he was puzzled by the loss of pace he experienced after his third pit stop after he had maintained his practice and qualifying form at first to fight for the lead with Ganassi's Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti.
"We had a really good, balanced car early on. It was nice to drive it," Tagliani said.
"Then, all of the sudden, it became very loose. We tried to fix the problem but we kind of lost the car at some point; very curious"
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| (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway) |
Until the handling problem struck, Tagliani was confident he could have stayed in the lead battle until the finish.
It could have been a very special day for rookie J.R. Hildebrand who could have won the classic event but lost control of his car in the last corner before the straight to the finish line.
As he came through the final corner, he ran wide lapping Ganassi's Charlie Kimball and slid into the wall.
"I'm okay, but this is not really about me at this point," said Hildebrand. "You always show up to try to win. My disappointment is for the team and for National Guard as a sponsor. I guess just with the tires as worn as they were, the run being as long, that sort of stint of the race being as long as it was, there were a bunch of marbles on the outside. Once I got up there, there wasn't a lot I could do."
Dario Franchitti refused to lay criticism over his team’s strategy in the Indianapolis 500, while admitting that he did not fully understand how he had ended up 12th in a race he had looked set to dominate.
The team called for Franchitti to pit from the lead under yellow on lap 163. The intention had been for that to be his final pit stop, but he had to come in for another splash of fuel right at the end.
"And we're leading the race, and we came in to do that stop. But I don't know. I don't understand right now. They're going to have to explain that one to me," Franchitti declared.
He said he could not criticise the team's pit calls as Ganassi's strategy had so often paid off for him in the past.
"I definitely leave here thinking that I should have won the 500," he added.
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