Simon Pagenaud scores first IndyCar victory in the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit Race 2
At the end the second race of the weekend in Detroit, it’d be Simon Pagenaud picking up his first career victory. The victory for Pagenaud in the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans Race 2 marks the sixth different winner in seven races this season.
Pagenaud would win the race through a series of pit strategy, slightly going down a different route than yesterday’s race winner and dominate car Mike Conway.
Conway would pit shortly after lap 46 after being based by Charlie Kimball for the lead. When Kimball pitted on lap 50, Pagenaud inherited the lead. Pagenaud would pit on lap 56, handing the lead to James Jakes. When Jakes pitted with 13 laps to go, that would hand the lead back to Pagenaud.
From there, Pagenaud would lead the final 13 laps to pick up the win.
“There were a lot of things going on in the cockpit those last few laps,” Pagenaud noted. “It’s just feels amazing. The car was awesome. Had more horsepower out there than anybody else right now. Honda had great engines. It’s a great feeling. I hope there are more to come.”
It also marks the first IndyCar Series win for Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
James Jakes would finish second for his best career finish, topping an eighth at Toronto in 2012.
“It’s huge for a lot of people,” Jakes said. “Three Hondas on the podium in Detroit – it’s awesome. They’ve really worked their butts off since Indy and we’re proud of them.”
After winning yesterday in a one-off start for Dale Coyne Racing, Mike Conway would finish third today.
“Just driving flat out,” Conway said. “As fast as it would go. I pushed really hard at the beginning and that may have taken a little bit out of the tires but it was still good towards the end. I was catching James [Jakes], I could see he was on reds, so he started to pull away to start with when he came out to start with from that last pit stop. I thought they may go out until the end, and they were, and I used my overtake, the one I had left, maybe a lap to early. And that was enough. I couldn’t quite get close enough.”
Ganassi teammates Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti would round out the top five. It marks a highlight to a less than stellar year for Franchitti as he is not in the top 10 in poins thus far this year.
Marco Andretti would finish sixth to take back the points lead, which he lost last year. He is now tied for the lead with Helio Castroneves, while last year’s champion Ryan Hunter-Reay sits third, 15 points back.
“We were missing a little bit to the top guys, but I think we got about as good as we can get from starting 14th,” Andretti said afterwards. All the RC Cola guys did their part in the pits and with strategy, and I was able to hang on and gain a little ground. But, like I said we were still a little bit off. It’s good to get back up there in the points and we’ll keep marching forward at Texas next weekend.”
Kimball would finish seventh, followed by Castroneves, Graham Rahal and Sebastian Saavedra.
While yesterday’s race was clean, this race had a number of cautions.
After being involved in a first lap incident yesterday, A.J. Allmendinger’s weekend wouldn’t get any better as he would make contact with the wall on lap one.
On the restart, there’d be another caution when Simona de Silvestro would hit the wall with a flat tire.
The second restart would bring another caution with Alex Tagliani making contact with another car, and then ending up in the turn 11 runoff.
“That was just Carpenter nailing me from the back on the restart,” Taglani said after being involved in a later wreck. “It’s just a shame for our team. We have pace, we just can’t get a break. I don’t know what voodoo stuff that we’re going to need to do to get things going our way.”
Meanwhile, Josef Newgarden would have problems the same lap.
Hunter-Reay would run into problems on the third restart and hit the turn 11 wall; the caution would fly for debris. He would go behind the wall for repairs, before returning back on track to finish 17th.
The cautions would continue as Takuma Sato would get into the tires in turn three. Sato bounced off of Tristan Vautier, and then got into the wall.
On the fifth attempt to restart the race, there’d be a big pile-up on the restart as Sebastian Bourdais would get into Will Power, triggering a pile-up.
“Double file restarts and Bourdais got into the back of me,” Power commented. “Just disappointing because the Verizon guys were having such a good day and we had moved out there. hopefully the guys can get it back out there and we can get some points, not that it matters anymore. Bourdais once was a champ, but now he is a chump.”
All in all, the following drivers collected damage: Justin Wilson, Ryan Briscoe, EJ Viso, Ed Carpenter, Tagliani, James Hinchcliffe, Castroneves and Saavedra. Several teams would end up being unable to finish the event, while other teams either made repairs on pit road or in the paddock.
Bourdais would receive a penalty for avoidable contact and have a make pass through. He would finish 11th.
“I am really ashamed for the guys because they have worked so hard to give me a fast car,” Bourdais said. “We got robbed and that is not right. Yesterday my teammate was taken out by Marco (Andretti) and there was no penalty given. We have had at least 15 contacts throughout the weekend and maybe 2 or 3 guys were penalized, including me today. I hardly touched Will Power at that restart and was penalized. This is just not right because my team works so hard and we deserve so much better than this.”
The next IZOD IndyCar Series race is the Firestone 550 on June 8 at Texas Motor Speedway. The race will be telecast live at 8:30 p.m. (ET) by ABC. The IMS Radio Network will also carry the race live on Sirius and XM channels 211.
Tony Stewart Outsmoked Juan Pablo Montoya for Monster Mile Win
Tony Stewart defied all odds, coming from a 22nd starting position at the Monster Mile, to battle Juan Pablo Montoya to win the 44th Annual FedEx benefiting Autism Speaks race. This was Smoke’s first victory of the season and only his third top-10 finish in 2013.
“This was not a car that could have won the race,” Stewart said. “Just great pit strategy at the end.”
“Steve Addington (crew chief) made a great call there that last caution and gave us the opportunity to race for it up there.”
“Just really proud of the Code 3 Associates Chevy,” Stewart continued. “Code 3 has done such an awesome job of getting everybody in Oklahoma back on their feet.”
“I couldn’t think of a better wayto celebrate their work.”
Stewart acknowledged that this has been a tough season, however, the win will certainly prove that the team is headed in the right direction, thanks to their perseverance.
“Our guys at our shop have been digging,” Smoke said. “None of these guys get down.”
“That is what carries you to days like today at the end of the day.”
Juan Pablo Montoya, finishing second in the No. 42 Energizer Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, benefitted from a black flag of the strongest car in the race when NASCAR ruled on lap 381 that Jimmie Johnson jumped the restart. The penalty sent Johnson through the pits for a pass through penalty and Montoya to the race lead.
Montoya, however, could not hold off Tony Stewart and had to settle for the runner up race finish instead. And he admitted that it was a struggle in spite of testing earlier at the Monster Mile.
“Our car was OK,” Juan Pablo said in the media center after the race. “We came here and did a test before the race.”
“It was a lot cooler, so when we unloaded we had to do quite a bit of work on the car,” Montoya continued. “We struggled with loose all day.”
“We were really, really loose and the longer we would run, the looser we would get,” Montoya said. “It was a bit of a hit and miss.”
“On one of the runs under green, we decided to make a couple changes on the car and it just came to life,” Montoya continued. “It came to life at the right time.”
“It was a shame to lose but I just couldn’t hold Tony off.”
While Juan Pablo Montoya thought that Johnson was trying to time the restart just right, he admitted that he would have done the exact same thing given the circumstances.
“Jimmie was letting off and I knew he was trying to jump the start,” Montoya said. “And I backed up a little bit for him and when we got to the line, he wanted to time it and he timed it too well.”
“He wanted to get the jump on me and he just jumped it too much,” JPM continued. “I would have tried to do the same thing.”
Runner up Montoya also traded paint with Kurt Busch, in the No. 78 Furniture Row/Sealy Chevrolet, who finished 12th.
“It’s weird, I got to his bumper – I don’t think I touched him, got him loose, got into turn three and he gave me a tap and I’m like, I don’t think I hit you,” Montoya said. “But it’s OK.”
“It’s racing hard.”
Montoya also credited his good finish to the growing chemistry with his crew chief Chris Heroy. But that relationship has been a struggle as they found ways to work together to get the car to Montoya’s liking.
“When we started, we sucked and it was hard,” Montoya said. “He had a certain mentality as to how the car should be set up.”
“He didn’t get that if he set it up that way, I couldn’t drive it,” Montoya continued. “You have to give me something that I can drive and be comfortable.”
“It took a little time but now we’re clicking real well,” Montoya said. “And we’ve been getting good results every week.”
Although the car was a handful, Montoya was pleased with the race finish and acknowledged that it bodes well for their continuing success.
“It was a hell of a finish,” Montoya said. “It’s been awhile since we finished this good.”
“We’ve had near misses but I think the wins are coming.”Montoya continued. “I’ve said this before, you’ve got to get top-5s and top-10s to be able to add wins.”
“Today we gave ourselves a good chance but the car was a little too much of a handful there at the end,” Montoya said. “We tried.”
This was Montoya’s third top-10 finish in 13 races at Dover and his third top-10 finish of the season.
Jeff Gordon, driving the No. 24 AARP Credit Cards from Chase Chevrolet, finished a strong third, ahead of all of his other Hendrick Motorsports teammates. This was Gordon’s 23rd top-10 finish at Dover.
“Yeah it was a fantastic finish for us,” Gordon said. “We battled hard all day long, hovering 13th, 14th, I think we got to maybe 10th at one time.”
“I knew that clean air was making a huge difference,” Gordon continued. “So, we were fortunate there where we only had a few laps on the tires and we decided to stay out.”
Gordon acknowledged that this run was exactly what he was hoping for to turn his season around.
“It’s certainly a great feeling,” Gordon said. “We just have to fight.”
“We fought hard today, very hard and this is a tough place,” Gordon continued. “It was not an easy race but this team never gave up.”
Gordon jumped four spots in the point standings, from 15th to 11th, now within striking distance of Chase contention.
Kyle Busch, driving the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, finished in the fourth position, in spite of yet again some sort of parts failure.
“We must have broken a right front bump stop or something,” Busch said. “Just another parts failure for us.”
“It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to capitalize on getting a win today,” Busch continued. “I felt like we had something for the 48 but it didn’t come down to having to race the 48.”
“Just seems to be our two years continuing today.”
Brad Keselowski in the Blue Deuce, with his crew chief Paul Wolfe back at his side, finished in the fifth position. But the reigning champ was most complimentary of past champ Stewart after the race.
“We drove hard all day but didn’t have the speed to win the race,” Keselowski said. “It’s good to see Tony win.”
“That was a good race,” Keselowski said. “I was having fun watching him.”
After the race, however, NASCAR reported that Keselowski’s No. 2 was found to be too low in the front in post-race inspection, with potential penalties to be announced later in the week.
Certainly, one of the most dramatic moments of the race was the black flag of Jimmie Johnson, who had worked his way through the pack and looked to be the car to beat. Understandably, Johnson saw the restart just a bit differently fromJuan Pablo Montoya.
“No, I was half throttle,” Johnson said of the restart. “At some point you have to go.”
“I’m waiting for him and he never comes,” Johnson said of Montoya. “Chad (Knaus, crew chief) told me to take off and not worry about it.”
“Not a good way to lose the race,” Johnson lamented. “We had the strongest car.”
There were also several engine issues in the race as well, including Matt Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr., both with Toyota engines.
“Something let go in the motor,” Truex said. “Just dropped a cylinder and started smoking all at once.”
“Same thing happened to the 20 it looked like,” Truex continued. “Pretty disappointing.”
Truex Jr. finished 38th while Kenseth finished 40th.
“Something broke in the engine,” Kenseth said, sounding eerily similar to Truex’s report. “You have to finish these things.”
“Man, it’s disappointing.”
The other dramatic moment in the race occurred between Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet, and David Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 Long John Silver’s Ford, who traded paint and then wrecked each other.
“We just got wrecked,” Gilliland said. “It is a shame.”
“We had a fast race car and a great run going and unfortunately someone lost their patience a little bit and we got wrecked.”
“It is too bad but that is just the way it goes I guess.”
Ryan Newman declined to comment after the incident.
Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top ten finishers in the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway.
For Joey Logano, Monster Mile Nationwide Win Feels Like the First Time
While Joey Logano’s victory in the Nationwide race at Dover was his third straight Dover win, the driver of the No. 22 Hertz Ford for Penske Racing was fixated on firsts instead.
“There were a lot of firsts for me today,” Logano said in the media center after the race. “Winning for Hertz, winning for the No. 22 Nationwide team, and winning for Ford were all firsts.”
“And finally and most importantly, winning for Roger (Penske, team owner) was a first,” Logano continued. “That’s the coolest part of this win.”
“There is a huge list of great race car drivers that have won for Roger Penske,” Logano said. “It’s cool to have my name put on that list too.”
In spite of battling Cup drivers Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne, both of whom had cars good enough to contend for the win, Logano was confident that he had Miles the Monster under his control.
“This is one of those race tracks that I feel like I know what it takes to win and what I need in a race car,” Logano said. “I was able to get Jeremy (Bullins, crew chief) the feedback he needed to give that car to me.”
Logano admitted that he didn’t quite have that confidence, however, the night before the race.
“Last night, I felt like we still weren’t there,” Logano said. “We had decent speed in our car but I felt like we were a second place car and not quite good enough to win.”
“Jeremy and all the 22 team did a great job changing about everything on it,” Logano continued. “They got the car a little bit better.”
In the end, the race was won in the pits by a gutsy call from the crew chief according to Logano.
“Really the winning call was on that last pit stop,” Logano said. “Jeremy made an audible and decided to do two tires to beat out a lot of those guys.”
“To give us that track position was the biggest thing.”
Crew chief Jeremy Bullins could not agree more with his driver and race winner.
“Obviously he’s really good here to win three in a row at any track,” Bullins said. “He obviously knows how to get around here.”
“And he’s right,” Bullins continued. “We changed just about everything.”
“I thought we were better today but wasn’t sure if we were good enough to win,” Bullins said. “We went back and forth in track position.”
“In the end we were racing the 5 and the 54, who had been up front all day,” Bullins continued. “As soon as we saw they were taking four, we called it off and took two.”
“The guys did a good job.”
Logano may have had another first in mind, that of beating that 54 car, driven by fellow Cup competitor Kyle Busch.
“It feels good, especially since this year he (Kyle Busch) has been winning everything,” Logano said. “To finally beat that 54 car, that was the team I worked with for the last seven years or so since my Nationwide debut really felt good.”
“To beat them means a lot to me after they have been winning so much this year,” Logano continued. “I wanted to beat them really bad and to get here in Victory Lane, you have to beat everyone.”
“They had a strong car again today but my man Jeremy made the right call for us.”
The victory was also Logano’s 19th in 114 NASCAR Nationwide Series races and his fourth top-10 finish for the season.
Following closely behind Logano was Brian Vickers in the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. Vickers finished second and had the best finish of his season to date.
“The guys did a good job,” Vickers said. “But we just needed a little bit more right, one spot more right.”
“Obviously we wanted to get a win and get this Dollar General in Victory Lane,” Vickers continued. “But we were able to give $1.63 million dollars to Autism Speaks from the customers and Dollar General.”
“It’s phenomenal for them,” Vickers said. “And to show their generosity for a top-10 finish today, all Dollar General customers get 10 percent off on Monday.”
Vickers also credited his crew chief with gutsy calls on the pit box, just as Logano had done with his crew chief.
“That was a great call on Kevin’s (Kidd, crew chief) part,” Vickers said. “It was a last minute call and it was one thousand percent the right call to keep track position.”
“We were close to even with Logano there at the end of the race,” Vickers continued. “He was probably a little better on the short run and we were a little bit better on the long run.”
Vickers admitted that he was “pleased but not satisfied” with his runner up status.
“On one hand, I’m very excited – it was a great points day for the Dollar General team,” Vickers said. “But on the other hand – we wanted to win.”
“We were so close.”
This was Vickers fifth top-10 finish in six races at the Monster Mile. It was his sixth top-10 finish of the season.
Another Cup regular, Matt Kenseth, rounded out the top three in the 32nd annual 5-Hour Energy 200. Kenseth posted his 11th top-10 finish in 19 races at Dover International Speedway.
“We had a decent GameStop Toyota and made it better there at the end,” Kenseth said. “Got two tires and was able to make up some ground.”
“I stalled it one time coming out of the pits and so we got ourselves behind,” Kenseth continued. “So, it was just hard to come back from that.”
Even though he was disappointed, Kenseth did have some fun at the Monster Mile.
“It was fun to go out and get 200 laps,” Kenseth said. “We were ten laps away from getting a win.”
“So that was fun.”
Trevor Bayne also had a decent day behind the wheel of the No. 6 Ford Ecoboost Mustang, finishing fourth. And he too accomplished that top-5 finish with a gutsy call in the pits.
“Yeah, that two-tire stop got us in the game there,” Bayne said. “We needed that to get some track position.”
“I was really proud of these guys and the car that they gave me,” Bayne continued. “We have had some bad runs but now we got a couple good ones in a row and we need to keep it going.”
“Top-fives are what we gotta knock out every weekend and eventually that will lead to Victory Lane.”
Kyle Busch, who had been so strong in his No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing for much of the race, did pull off a fifth place finish. Unfortunately for him, pit strategy did not play to his favor, ruining a possible Dover sweep.
“It was a great race car,” Busch said simply. “Just real unfortunate that I messed up pit strategy there, you know.”
“Got us too far back,” Busch continued. “I tried to make some big moves there and a couple of them worked.”
“But a couple of them didn’t,” Busch said. “It is what it is.”
Kyle Larson, driver of the No. 32 Vizio/Hulu Chevrolet, was the top finishing rookie, scoring the tenth spot.
“We started out the first half of the race good through one and two,” Larson said. “We were really good there at the end but we lost a spot or two on every pit stop.”
“Track position was key today,” Larson continued. “Three top-10s in a row is great and I’m looking forward to Iowa.”
