Helio Castroneves (Penske) won the first ever IndyCar race at the Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama today thanks to a fuel strategy scheme, ending team-mate Will Power’s run of wins.
Both Ganassi drivers, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti seemed to have followed Castroneves’ plan and finished respectively second and third. For the Brazilian,it was his first victory since June 2009.
As expected, with passing extremely difficult at the Alabama track, the race soon became a tale of pit tactics and soon enough some drivers choose to make their first of three stops at the earliest opportunity.
Both Power and Mike Conway (Dreyer & Reinbold) pitted when the first yellow came out on lap 11 when Takuma Sato was forced to stop due to a throttle problem. But Castroneves, Andretti and the Ganassi duo decided to stay out and stretch their fuel mileage as long as possible in the hope of making just two pit stops during the race, a strategy that turned out to be ideal.
When Marco Andretti made his second and final pit stop with 34 laps to go, it was obvious that American's only hope of winning was for a yellow to come out, which, unfortunately, never came.
That dropped Andretti to fifth behind Castroneves, Dixon, Franchitti and Power. Even though Will Power did not win, Team Penske remains undefeated in the 2010 IndyCar season.
A nice day of work for Alex Tagliani who's early first stop helped him to come through from 21st to 10th for FAZZT Racing.
"We made up 11 spots so I take my hat off to the team. They did a good job. We stuck together all weekend and we made some ground and learned a lot. Until the very end of the weekend, we improved the car and I'm very proud of the boys. Even on a tough weekend, we did another top-10 so I'm very happy and very proud of our team," said Tagliani.
IRL Alabama Grand Prix Results – 3rd round
Pos Driver Team Gap
1. Helio Castroneves Penske
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 0.5703s
3. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 8.1590s
4. Will Power Penske + 8.6639s
5. Marco Andretti Andretti + 9.7410s
6. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 10.9611s
7. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 11.5478s
8. Tony Kanaan Andretti + 12.8533s
9. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold + 13.3162s
10. Alex Tagliani Fazzt + 14.8450s
11. Etc.
IRL Standings – After 3 of 17 rounds
Pos. Driver Points
1. Will Power 136
2. Helio Castroneves 104
3. Dario Franchitti 94
4. Justin Wilson 85
5. Scott Dixon 80
Both Ganassi drivers, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti seemed to have followed Castroneves’ plan and finished respectively second and third. For the Brazilian,it was his first victory since June 2009.
As expected, with passing extremely difficult at the Alabama track, the race soon became a tale of pit tactics and soon enough some drivers choose to make their first of three stops at the earliest opportunity.
Both Power and Mike Conway (Dreyer & Reinbold) pitted when the first yellow came out on lap 11 when Takuma Sato was forced to stop due to a throttle problem. But Castroneves, Andretti and the Ganassi duo decided to stay out and stretch their fuel mileage as long as possible in the hope of making just two pit stops during the race, a strategy that turned out to be ideal.
When Marco Andretti made his second and final pit stop with 34 laps to go, it was obvious that American's only hope of winning was for a yellow to come out, which, unfortunately, never came.
That dropped Andretti to fifth behind Castroneves, Dixon, Franchitti and Power. Even though Will Power did not win, Team Penske remains undefeated in the 2010 IndyCar season.
A nice day of work for Alex Tagliani who's early first stop helped him to come through from 21st to 10th for FAZZT Racing.
"We made up 11 spots so I take my hat off to the team. They did a good job. We stuck together all weekend and we made some ground and learned a lot. Until the very end of the weekend, we improved the car and I'm very proud of the boys. Even on a tough weekend, we did another top-10 so I'm very happy and very proud of our team," said Tagliani.
IRL Alabama Grand Prix Results – 3rd round
Pos Driver Team Gap
1. Helio Castroneves Penske
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 0.5703s
3. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 8.1590s
4. Will Power Penske + 8.6639s
5. Marco Andretti Andretti + 9.7410s
6. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 10.9611s
7. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 11.5478s
8. Tony Kanaan Andretti + 12.8533s
9. Mike Conway Dreyer & Reinbold + 13.3162s
10. Alex Tagliani Fazzt + 14.8450s
11. Etc.
IRL Standings – After 3 of 17 rounds
Pos. Driver Points
1. Will Power 136
2. Helio Castroneves 104
3. Dario Franchitti 94
4. Justin Wilson 85
5. Scott Dixon 80