Detroit Indy Grand Prix Race Report
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Detroit Indy Grand Prix Race Report
Detroit, MI - Aug 31 — Circuit: The Raceway at Belle Isle (2.07-mile temporary street circuit) Detroit, MI
2007 Winner: Tony Kanaan (Andretti Green Racing Honda) 83.841 mph average
Weather: Sunny, warm, 87 degrees F
Race Results:
Fn. St. Driver Team Chassis Laps Average Speed/Notes 1. 4. Justin Wilson-R Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 87 89.911 mph average, led 15 laps 2. 2. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Honda Dallara 87 -4.4058 seconds, led 53 laps 3. 8. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 87 -17.6815 seconds 4. 3. Oriol Servia KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 87 -26.5468 seconds, led 1 lap 5. 1. Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 87 -27.7185 seconds, led 18 laps 6. 7. Ryan Hunter Reay Rahal Letterman Racing Honda Dallara 87 -28.2688 seconds 7. 24. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 87 -28.6815 seconds 8. 12. Will Power-R KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 87 -28.8776 seconds 9. 5. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Honda Dallara 87 -35.5244 seconds 10. 17. A.J. Foyt IV Vision Racing Honda Dallara 87 -38.1040 seconds 11. 16. Hideki Mutoh-R Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 87 -38.3811 seconds 12. 15. Darren Manning A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 87 -44.6662 seconds 13. 6. Graham Rahal-R Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 87 -47.8028 seconds 14. 20. Ed Carpenter Vision Racing Honda Dallara 87 -61.2771 seconds 15. 19. Mario Moraes-R Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 86 Running 16. 10. Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 86 Running 17. 14. Vitor Meira Panther Racing Honda Dallara 83 Running 18. 13. Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 81 Running 19. 18. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold Honda Dallara 76 Running 20. 11. Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 64 Did not finish - crash 21. 26. Tomas Scheckter Luczo Dragon Racing Honda Dallara 56 Running [delayed] 22. 21. Alex Tagliani Conquest Racing Honda Dallara 54 Did not finish - transmission 23. 23. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold Honda Dallara 46 Did not finish - handling 24. 9. E.J. Viso-R HVM Racing Honda Dallara 32 Did not finish - crash 25. 22. Jaime Camara-R Conquest Racing Honda Dallara 16 Did not finish - contact 26. 25. Marty Roth Roth Racing Honda Dallara DNS Did not start [withdrawn] R - Series Rookie
Wilson Stands Tall in Detroit
At nearly 6'4", Justin Wilson towers above most of the other drivers in the IndyCar Series, and at The Raceway at Belle Isle on Sunday, the Newman Haas Lanigan driver once again stood head and shoulders above the field, setting the two fastest laps of the race in the closing minutes of the two-hour contest to win the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.
Starting on the outside of the second row in fourth, Wilson gained one position when pole qualifier and early race leader Scott Dixon's Target Chip Ganassi Racing team made the unusual call to pit the championship points leader during an early, Lap 18, caution. That dropped Dixon deep in the field, and he did well to recover to fifth by the finish. Wilson then moved up to second during the first scheduled round of pit stops on Lap 32.
Helio Castroneves, who had taken over the lead with Dixon's early stop, dominated the middle stages of the race, pulling out a lead of up to 12 seconds at one point. But after the final caution period of the race, from Laps 66-68, it was clear Wilson had the fastest Honda Dallara on the circuit. On Lap 70, Wilson made a move for the lead, which was firmly blocked by Castroneves.
Upon reviewing video of the incident, IndyCar Series officials penalized Castroneves for blocking, and ordered him to surrender the lead, which he did on Lap 73. Once in front, Wilson promptly extended his advantage by setting the fastest two laps of the race, and a half-dozen more that were nearly as quick, to take his career first IndyCar victory and the second street-course win of the season for his Newman Haas Lanigan team. Teammate Graham Rahal won the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in April.
On a hot day on a tight and twisting city-park circuit, 26 drivers and teams completed 8,350 miles this weekend at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix without a single failure for the Honda Indy V-8 engine used by all competitors in the IndyCar Series. So far this season, the IndyCar field has completed 217,699 miles without a single race-day failure, extending a record-setting season for Honda, dating to when the manufacturer started supplying the entire IndyCar field in 2006.
Today's results sets up a championship-deciding finale at Chicagoland Speedway on September 7 between Dixon and Castroneves, with 30 points separating the pair and a race victory worth 50 points. Dixon can clinch his second IndyCar Series title [his first was in 2003] with a finish of 8th or better, but problems for the points leader combined with a strong finish by Castroneves could still lead to an upset in the championship battle.
IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship Standings (after 17 of 18 races):
1. Scott Dixon 608 points (6 wins) 7. Oriol Servia 345 points 2. Helio Castroneves 576 (1 win) 8. Marco Andretti 339 3. Tony Kanaan 481 (1 win) 9. Ryan Hunter-Reay 338 (1 win) 4. Dan Wheldon 464 (2 wins) 10. Hideki Mutoh-R 334 5. Ryan Briscoe 412 (2 wins) 11. Justin Wilson-R 321 (1 win) 6. Danica Patrick 359 (1 win) 12. Vitor Meira 314 Justin Wilson (#02 Newman Haas Lanigan Racing Honda) (Started 4th, finished 1st, first career IndyCar win, also has four Champ Car victories; closes to within three points of Hideki Mutoh in battle for IndyCar Rookie of the Year award: "This is the most important win of my career. A lot of things have happened with the team this year [including the late change from Champ Car to the IndyCar Series, and the death of long-time team member Davie Evans]; and a lot of things are still going on [the health issues of team co-owner Paul Newman]. It's been a long, difficult year and it's just great to repay the team with a win near the end of the season."
Helio Castroneves (#3 Team Penske Honda) Started 2nd, finished 2nd, led a race-high 53 laps, closed to 30 points behind championship points leader Scott Dixon: "I don't have anything smart to say right now [about the call from race control to cede the lead to Justin Wilson]. I had a fantastic car. The good news is we've made the championship [race] tighter. Let's go to Chicago. For sure, we're going to push as hard as we can, just as we do at every race."
Scott Dixon (#9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 1st, finished 5th, led first 18 laps; can clinch his second IndyCar Series championship with a finish of 8th or better at Chicagoland Speedway next Sunday: "It was a tough day. The car was fantastic. But once again we got out of sequence on our pit stops and stuck in traffic. It's very hard to try and dive underneath people here, while saving fuel and not getting caught up in a crash. We had the quickest car all weekend, and should have won but didn't. That's disappointing."
Erik Berkman (President, Honda Performance Development) on today's race: "It's exciting to see the season championship once again going down to the final race in Chicago. Congratulations to Justin Wilson and the entire Newman Haas Lanigan Racing team on their rise through adversity this season and a hard-fought victory today. Congratulations as well to our friends at Firestone for their 150th IndyCar Series victory today. We're looking forward to an exciting season-championship finish next week."
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2007 Winner: Tony Kanaan (Andretti Green Racing Honda) 83.841 mph average
Weather: Sunny, warm, 87 degrees F
Race Results:
Fn. St. Driver Team Chassis Laps Average Speed/Notes 1. 4. Justin Wilson-R Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 87 89.911 mph average, led 15 laps 2. 2. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Honda Dallara 87 -4.4058 seconds, led 53 laps 3. 8. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 87 -17.6815 seconds 4. 3. Oriol Servia KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 87 -26.5468 seconds, led 1 lap 5. 1. Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 87 -27.7185 seconds, led 18 laps 6. 7. Ryan Hunter Reay Rahal Letterman Racing Honda Dallara 87 -28.2688 seconds 7. 24. Bruno Junqueira Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 87 -28.6815 seconds 8. 12. Will Power-R KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 87 -28.8776 seconds 9. 5. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Honda Dallara 87 -35.5244 seconds 10. 17. A.J. Foyt IV Vision Racing Honda Dallara 87 -38.1040 seconds 11. 16. Hideki Mutoh-R Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 87 -38.3811 seconds 12. 15. Darren Manning A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 87 -44.6662 seconds 13. 6. Graham Rahal-R Newman Haas Lanigan Honda Dallara 87 -47.8028 seconds 14. 20. Ed Carpenter Vision Racing Honda Dallara 87 -61.2771 seconds 15. 19. Mario Moraes-R Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 86 Running 16. 10. Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 86 Running 17. 14. Vitor Meira Panther Racing Honda Dallara 83 Running 18. 13. Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing Honda Dallara 81 Running 19. 18. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold Honda Dallara 76 Running 20. 11. Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 64 Did not finish - crash 21. 26. Tomas Scheckter Luczo Dragon Racing Honda Dallara 56 Running [delayed] 22. 21. Alex Tagliani Conquest Racing Honda Dallara 54 Did not finish - transmission 23. 23. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold Honda Dallara 46 Did not finish - handling 24. 9. E.J. Viso-R HVM Racing Honda Dallara 32 Did not finish - crash 25. 22. Jaime Camara-R Conquest Racing Honda Dallara 16 Did not finish - contact 26. 25. Marty Roth Roth Racing Honda Dallara DNS Did not start [withdrawn] R - Series Rookie
Wilson Stands Tall in Detroit
At nearly 6'4", Justin Wilson towers above most of the other drivers in the IndyCar Series, and at The Raceway at Belle Isle on Sunday, the Newman Haas Lanigan driver once again stood head and shoulders above the field, setting the two fastest laps of the race in the closing minutes of the two-hour contest to win the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.
Starting on the outside of the second row in fourth, Wilson gained one position when pole qualifier and early race leader Scott Dixon's Target Chip Ganassi Racing team made the unusual call to pit the championship points leader during an early, Lap 18, caution. That dropped Dixon deep in the field, and he did well to recover to fifth by the finish. Wilson then moved up to second during the first scheduled round of pit stops on Lap 32.
Helio Castroneves, who had taken over the lead with Dixon's early stop, dominated the middle stages of the race, pulling out a lead of up to 12 seconds at one point. But after the final caution period of the race, from Laps 66-68, it was clear Wilson had the fastest Honda Dallara on the circuit. On Lap 70, Wilson made a move for the lead, which was firmly blocked by Castroneves.
Upon reviewing video of the incident, IndyCar Series officials penalized Castroneves for blocking, and ordered him to surrender the lead, which he did on Lap 73. Once in front, Wilson promptly extended his advantage by setting the fastest two laps of the race, and a half-dozen more that were nearly as quick, to take his career first IndyCar victory and the second street-course win of the season for his Newman Haas Lanigan team. Teammate Graham Rahal won the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in April.
On a hot day on a tight and twisting city-park circuit, 26 drivers and teams completed 8,350 miles this weekend at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix without a single failure for the Honda Indy V-8 engine used by all competitors in the IndyCar Series. So far this season, the IndyCar field has completed 217,699 miles without a single race-day failure, extending a record-setting season for Honda, dating to when the manufacturer started supplying the entire IndyCar field in 2006.
Today's results sets up a championship-deciding finale at Chicagoland Speedway on September 7 between Dixon and Castroneves, with 30 points separating the pair and a race victory worth 50 points. Dixon can clinch his second IndyCar Series title [his first was in 2003] with a finish of 8th or better, but problems for the points leader combined with a strong finish by Castroneves could still lead to an upset in the championship battle.
IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship Standings (after 17 of 18 races):
1. Scott Dixon 608 points (6 wins) 7. Oriol Servia 345 points 2. Helio Castroneves 576 (1 win) 8. Marco Andretti 339 3. Tony Kanaan 481 (1 win) 9. Ryan Hunter-Reay 338 (1 win) 4. Dan Wheldon 464 (2 wins) 10. Hideki Mutoh-R 334 5. Ryan Briscoe 412 (2 wins) 11. Justin Wilson-R 321 (1 win) 6. Danica Patrick 359 (1 win) 12. Vitor Meira 314 Justin Wilson (#02 Newman Haas Lanigan Racing Honda) (Started 4th, finished 1st, first career IndyCar win, also has four Champ Car victories; closes to within three points of Hideki Mutoh in battle for IndyCar Rookie of the Year award: "This is the most important win of my career. A lot of things have happened with the team this year [including the late change from Champ Car to the IndyCar Series, and the death of long-time team member Davie Evans]; and a lot of things are still going on [the health issues of team co-owner Paul Newman]. It's been a long, difficult year and it's just great to repay the team with a win near the end of the season."
Helio Castroneves (#3 Team Penske Honda) Started 2nd, finished 2nd, led a race-high 53 laps, closed to 30 points behind championship points leader Scott Dixon: "I don't have anything smart to say right now [about the call from race control to cede the lead to Justin Wilson]. I had a fantastic car. The good news is we've made the championship [race] tighter. Let's go to Chicago. For sure, we're going to push as hard as we can, just as we do at every race."
Scott Dixon (#9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 1st, finished 5th, led first 18 laps; can clinch his second IndyCar Series championship with a finish of 8th or better at Chicagoland Speedway next Sunday: "It was a tough day. The car was fantastic. But once again we got out of sequence on our pit stops and stuck in traffic. It's very hard to try and dive underneath people here, while saving fuel and not getting caught up in a crash. We had the quickest car all weekend, and should have won but didn't. That's disappointing."
Erik Berkman (President, Honda Performance Development) on today's race: "It's exciting to see the season championship once again going down to the final race in Chicago. Congratulations to Justin Wilson and the entire Newman Haas Lanigan Racing team on their rise through adversity this season and a hard-fought victory today. Congratulations as well to our friends at Firestone for their 150th IndyCar Series victory today. We're looking forward to an exciting season-championship finish next week."
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