Team PenskeWill Power earned his second consecutive victory in the second round of the IZOD IndyCar series run today in St. Petersburg after the event was postponed because of rain Sunday.
In this incident packed race, Justin Wilson denied Team Penske a top three by finishing runner-up for his new team Dreyer & Reinbold.
Since the track was still wet this morning, the race was delayed slightly to allow the track to fully dry out. But still conditions were slippery enough for Milka Duno (Dale Coyne) to spin on the formation laps while both Mike Conway and Dario Franchitti experienced the same problem on lap one.
At the restart, Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport) had surged to third behind Power and Scott Dixon (Ganassi) and overtook them both on consecutive laps to take the lead. But it was for a short stint as Dixon repassed him into Turn 1, with Castroneves following.
Power then overtook Andretti and Castroneves to return to second place by lap 19.
Then a series of incidents began to take its toll on some of the participants starting with Takuma Sato who put his KV Racing car in the wall on lap 22. Then Scott Dixon smashed his front wing by tagging KV's Mario Moraes, while Tony Kanaan and teammate Andretti had to pit for repairs after hitting debris from the incident.
But the most frightening crash came on lap 46, when Dan Wheldon's right rear suspension appeared to break on the approach to Turn 1. He bounced off Mario Moraes and speared into the tyres, but was unhurt.
At the restart, Power, Wilson and EJ Viso (KV Racing) broke away but then Viso became the first to make his final stop on lap 64. This turned out to be the perfect timing, as moments later Dreyer & Reinbold's Mike Conway bounced into the tyres after a tangle with Matos and caused another yellow.
After another brief yellow, the race came down to a final sprint with Power narrowly leading Wilson, and Briscoe and Castroneves giving chase.
Eventually, Wilson was never able to get close enough, finishing behind the victorious Australian, with battling teammates Briscoe and Castroneves completing the top four.
Having been further delayed by a mid-race puncture, Franchitti mounted a searing late charge to take fifth, as Alex Tagliani gave the FAZZT team an excellent sixth place finish in only its second ever race.
IndyCar St. Petersburg Top-10 Results – Round #2
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Will Power Penske 2h07m05.7900s
2. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 0.8244s
3. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 4.7290s
4. Helio Castroneves Penske + 5.1699s
5. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 22.2172s
6. Alex Tagliani Fazzt + 29.3224s
7. Danica Patrick Andretti + 30.3360s
8. Raphael Matos de Ferran Luczo Dragon + 30.6695s
9. Graham Rahal Sarah Fisher + 30.8426s
10. Tony Kanaan Andretti + 31.3508s
Etc…
IndyCar Standings – After Round #2
Pos. Driver Points
1. Will Power 103
2. Ryan Hunter-Reay 59
3. Darion Franchitti 59
4. Justin Wilson 59
5. Raphael Matos 56
In this incident packed race, Justin Wilson denied Team Penske a top three by finishing runner-up for his new team Dreyer & Reinbold.
Since the track was still wet this morning, the race was delayed slightly to allow the track to fully dry out. But still conditions were slippery enough for Milka Duno (Dale Coyne) to spin on the formation laps while both Mike Conway and Dario Franchitti experienced the same problem on lap one.
At the restart, Marco Andretti (Andretti Autosport) had surged to third behind Power and Scott Dixon (Ganassi) and overtook them both on consecutive laps to take the lead. But it was for a short stint as Dixon repassed him into Turn 1, with Castroneves following.
Power then overtook Andretti and Castroneves to return to second place by lap 19.
Then a series of incidents began to take its toll on some of the participants starting with Takuma Sato who put his KV Racing car in the wall on lap 22. Then Scott Dixon smashed his front wing by tagging KV's Mario Moraes, while Tony Kanaan and teammate Andretti had to pit for repairs after hitting debris from the incident.
But the most frightening crash came on lap 46, when Dan Wheldon's right rear suspension appeared to break on the approach to Turn 1. He bounced off Mario Moraes and speared into the tyres, but was unhurt.
At the restart, Power, Wilson and EJ Viso (KV Racing) broke away but then Viso became the first to make his final stop on lap 64. This turned out to be the perfect timing, as moments later Dreyer & Reinbold's Mike Conway bounced into the tyres after a tangle with Matos and caused another yellow.
After another brief yellow, the race came down to a final sprint with Power narrowly leading Wilson, and Briscoe and Castroneves giving chase.
Eventually, Wilson was never able to get close enough, finishing behind the victorious Australian, with battling teammates Briscoe and Castroneves completing the top four.
Having been further delayed by a mid-race puncture, Franchitti mounted a searing late charge to take fifth, as Alex Tagliani gave the FAZZT team an excellent sixth place finish in only its second ever race.
IndyCar St. Petersburg Top-10 Results – Round #2
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Will Power Penske 2h07m05.7900s
2. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 0.8244s
3. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 4.7290s
4. Helio Castroneves Penske + 5.1699s
5. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 22.2172s
6. Alex Tagliani Fazzt + 29.3224s
7. Danica Patrick Andretti + 30.3360s
8. Raphael Matos de Ferran Luczo Dragon + 30.6695s
9. Graham Rahal Sarah Fisher + 30.8426s
10. Tony Kanaan Andretti + 31.3508s
Etc…
IndyCar Standings – After Round #2
Pos. Driver Points
1. Will Power 103
2. Ryan Hunter-Reay 59
3. Darion Franchitti 59
4. Justin Wilson 59
5. Raphael Matos 56