Team Penske’s Will Power took largely advantage of part strategy and chance to take his first victory of the 2012 IZOD Indycar season at the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
The Australian, who did not make a great impression in qualifying yesterday by finishing ninth, won by being aggressive on the track and also by taking advantage of Ganassi’s Scott Dixon misfortune.
Dixon and Power battled it out after the last restart of the race until the latter was able to pull some distance and crossed the finish with a margin of more than 3.3 seconds.
Until the final pitstop, Dixon had the advantage but he suffered some setbacks, which was compounded by having to then wait for EJ Viso's KV car to get out of the way before he could be released back into the pitlane.
The time lost was enough for Power to take the lead and get away with the victory in the end.
Power’s teammate Helio Castroneves was third followed closely by Ganassi's Graham Rahal and Schmidt-Hamilton Simon Pagenaud.
Right from the start, the race was exciting with plenty of overtaking. Due in part by a combination of passing and strategies, there were constant position changes.
Dragon Racing's Sebastien Bourdais delivered the Lotus engine's first top 10 finish when he crossed the line in ninth.
Rubens Barrichello (KV) took a step forward in his adaptation to IndyCar by finishing eighth, capping his afternoon with a passing move on Andretti in the final laps.
Results - 90 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Will Power Penske DW12-Chevrolet 2h01m40.1127s
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi DW12-Honda + 3.3709s
3. Helio Castroneves Penske DW12-Chevrolet + 19.1150s
4. Graham Rahal Ganassi DW12-Honda + 19.3395s
5. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt-Hamilton DW12-Honda + 20.1050s
6. James Hinchcliffe Andretti DW12-Chevrolet + 23.3093s
7. Mike Conway Foyt DW12-Honda + 24.5552s
8. Rubens Barrichello KV DW12-Chevrolet + 25.4023s
9. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon DW12-Lotus + 27.1815s
10. Dario Franchitti Ganassi DW12-Honda + 32.7377s
11. Marco Andretti Andretti DW12-Chevrolet + 33.5038s
12. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti DW12-Chevrolet + 35.8730s
13. Oriol Servia Dreyer & Reinbold DW12-Lotus + 37.8944s
14. Ryan Briscoe Penske DW12-Chevrolet + 41.6742s
15. JR Hildebrand Panther DW12-Chevrolet + 44.5059s
16. James Jakes Coyne DW12-Honda + 54.5343s
17. Josef Newgarden Fisher DW12-Honda + 1m00.6182s
18. EJ Viso KV DW12-Chevrolet + 1 lap
19. Justin Wilson Coyne DW12-Honda + 1 lap
20. Simona de Silvestro HVM DW12-Lotus + 1 lap
21. Tony Kanaan KV DW12-Chevrolet + 1 lap
22. Ed Carpenter Carpenter DW12-Chevrolet + 2 laps
23. Katherine Legge Dragon DW12-Lotus + 5 laps
Did not finish:
Takuma Sato Rahal DW12-Honda 52 laps
Charlie Kimball Ganassi DW12-Honda 45 laps
Alex Tagliani BHA DW12-Lotus 0 lap
The Australian, who did not make a great impression in qualifying yesterday by finishing ninth, won by being aggressive on the track and also by taking advantage of Ganassi’s Scott Dixon misfortune.
Dixon and Power battled it out after the last restart of the race until the latter was able to pull some distance and crossed the finish with a margin of more than 3.3 seconds.
Until the final pitstop, Dixon had the advantage but he suffered some setbacks, which was compounded by having to then wait for EJ Viso's KV car to get out of the way before he could be released back into the pitlane.
The time lost was enough for Power to take the lead and get away with the victory in the end.
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| Will Power, Penske. (Photo: IndyCar) |
Power’s teammate Helio Castroneves was third followed closely by Ganassi's Graham Rahal and Schmidt-Hamilton Simon Pagenaud.
Right from the start, the race was exciting with plenty of overtaking. Due in part by a combination of passing and strategies, there were constant position changes.
Dragon Racing's Sebastien Bourdais delivered the Lotus engine's first top 10 finish when he crossed the line in ninth.
Rubens Barrichello (KV) took a step forward in his adaptation to IndyCar by finishing eighth, capping his afternoon with a passing move on Andretti in the final laps.
Results - 90 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. Will Power Penske DW12-Chevrolet 2h01m40.1127s
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi DW12-Honda + 3.3709s
3. Helio Castroneves Penske DW12-Chevrolet + 19.1150s
4. Graham Rahal Ganassi DW12-Honda + 19.3395s
5. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt-Hamilton DW12-Honda + 20.1050s
6. James Hinchcliffe Andretti DW12-Chevrolet + 23.3093s
7. Mike Conway Foyt DW12-Honda + 24.5552s
8. Rubens Barrichello KV DW12-Chevrolet + 25.4023s
9. Sebastien Bourdais Dragon DW12-Lotus + 27.1815s
10. Dario Franchitti Ganassi DW12-Honda + 32.7377s
11. Marco Andretti Andretti DW12-Chevrolet + 33.5038s
12. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti DW12-Chevrolet + 35.8730s
13. Oriol Servia Dreyer & Reinbold DW12-Lotus + 37.8944s
14. Ryan Briscoe Penske DW12-Chevrolet + 41.6742s
15. JR Hildebrand Panther DW12-Chevrolet + 44.5059s
16. James Jakes Coyne DW12-Honda + 54.5343s
17. Josef Newgarden Fisher DW12-Honda + 1m00.6182s
18. EJ Viso KV DW12-Chevrolet + 1 lap
19. Justin Wilson Coyne DW12-Honda + 1 lap
20. Simona de Silvestro HVM DW12-Lotus + 1 lap
21. Tony Kanaan KV DW12-Chevrolet + 1 lap
22. Ed Carpenter Carpenter DW12-Chevrolet + 2 laps
23. Katherine Legge Dragon DW12-Lotus + 5 laps
Did not finish:
Takuma Sato Rahal DW12-Honda 52 laps
Charlie Kimball Ganassi DW12-Honda 45 laps
Alex Tagliani BHA DW12-Lotus 0 lap