Bombardier Learjet 550k
Bombardier Learjet 550k
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Castoneves Pinches Self
by
Esteban Morales
June 6, 2009
Scott Dixon spoke out for plenty of frustrated fans after spending a night at the Texas Motor Speedway trying to catch Roger Penske’s Dallaras on a track that routinely produced three-wide racing a few years ago. “The racing needs to get better. . . . They need to open up the rules,” said Dixon. Ed Carpenter shared similar sentiments. “I’m disappointed for the fans in particular because Texas is supposed to be exciting racing, and unfortunately, the cars are too similar now and it weakened the product.” Though the product on the track could have been improved, Castroneves’ second win of the year added to his storybook season.
After starting on pole for the Bombardier Learjet 550k, Dario Franchitti briefly led the early stages of the race. The second lap saw Graham Rahal lose his Dallara’s back end while exiting Turn 2. Rahal slid to the inside of the track, collecting E.J. Viso and Milka Duno in the process. After climbing out of the cockpit, Rahal described how he tried to hang on to his loose car before “something snapped” while entering the first turn. When the race was restarted, Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe challenged Franchitti and took the lead in Turn 1. The move marked the start of a dominating performance that nearly led to Briscoe’s second win of the season.
By lap 50, Briscoe built a one-second lead over Franchitti. Briscoe comfortably kept the lead following the first set of pit stops and emerged with a dominating five-second lead after clearing lapped traffic. By lap 90, Briscoe padded his lead with an additional two seconds. Following the second set of green flag pit stops, Briscoe smashed the competition by opening a nearly insurmountable nine-second lead. Briscoe would have continued to open his lead but for a yellow due to debris on the track. The yellow setup a series of events that ultimately gave Castroneves a shot at the win.
With the field bunched together, Castroneves challenged Marco Andretti for second following the restart and took the position one lap later. Within a few laps, Castroneves caught Briscoe. Before Castroneves had the opportunity to challenge for the lead, A.J. Foyt IV made contact in the second turn. The leaders opportunistically used the caution to make their final stops of the night. Castroneves and his crew blew out of the pits with a six second stop; half a second quicker than Briscoe’s stop and fast enough to give Castroneves the lead. At the drop of the green Briscoe momentarily challenged Castroneves for the lead before settling in behind his teammate. A few laps later Scott Dixon challenged Briscoe for second but was unable to take the position.
Further in the pack Danica Patrick, Dan Wheldon, and Marco Andretti fought for the fifth position in the closing stages of the race. The battle elicited strong reactions from Andretti. “I think three out of four of us get what the camaraderie of Andretti Green Racing is,” said Andretti while discussing his late-race scrap with Patrick. At the front, Castroneves kept about a half-second lead over Briscoe throughout the final fifteen laps and crossed the line .3904 of a second ahead of his teammate. Castroneves treated fans to his signature fence-climbing antics before discussing his dream-like season. “It certainly feels like it’s a dream, but I understand that it’s not. And that’s good news.”
Results: