THE GRAND PRIX OF HOUSTON WAS A CRASH COURSE THAT RSPORTS GOT IN THE MIDDLE OF RESULTING IN A DISAPPOINTING 9TH AND 10TH PLACE RESULT source: rocketsportsracing.com RSPORTS experienced the highs and lows of racing this afternoon in Houston, seeing both Alex Tagliani and Justin Wilson bounce up and down in the race order. Tagliani reached as high as fifth; while teammate Wilson took the lead early on, but obstacles throughout the 93-lap Grand Prix of Houston saw them salvage a ninth and tenth place finish, respectively. Tagliani started in the 11th spot and by Lap 6 he had made his way into the top ten and sat eighth on a race track that so many drivers say is a hard one to overtake on. When he came in for his first pit stop of the day he sat P6 and things seemed to be going well for the French-Canadian. However, it was during that stop when things went wrong. Fueling issues would cause the #8 LXN2/RSPORTS car to stay in the pits longer then usual and drop Tagliani down to the 13th spot. Tagliani charged hard once again to move up into the ninth position before making another pit stop. He came out of the pits in 12th and was planning on using strategy and future position to make his way back to the sixth spot. Then on Lap 51, Wilson and Will Power touched and the field bunched up. Tagliani spun after Katherine Legge hit him from behind, but was able to continue. His highest position in the race of fifth occurred on Lap 72 when he headed in for his final pit stop of the day. He came out of that stop in 10th, was passed by Wilson, but regained the position and obtained one more to cross the finish line ninth overall. Starting from the inside of row two in the third spot, Wilson charged hard at the drop of the green flag that kicked off Round Three of the 2007 Champ Car World Series. After Sebastien Bourdais cut through the first chicane to take the lead from pole sitter Will Power, Wilson was able to get his own momentum going to get around Power and move into second. Two laps later, Champ Car forced Bourdais to give up one position (the one position he gained after taking the short cut) which put the Englishman in the lead. Wilson paced the 17-car field for 12 laps before the eventual race winner Bourdais reclaimed the lead. After coming in for his first pit stop of the day on Lap 29, Wilson sat fourth after taking a full load of fuel and new tires. He would run there until Lap 51, when an unfortunate incident happened between Wilson and fifth-place runner Will Power which put him down to the 13th spot. A punctured rear tire would force Wilson into the pits earlier then they had planned, costing him a better result this afternoon.
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