News

FORT WORTH, Tex. (June 7, 2008) - Both Team Penske drivers recovered from early mistakes to finish among the top three Saturday night in the Bombardier Learjet 550k at Texas Motor Speedway.  The finishes kept both drivers – Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe - in the thick of the championship race as the season nears the midway point.

Castroneves recovered from a pit speed violation that resulted in a drive-through penalty to finish second and keep the championship pressure on race winner Scott Dixon, who he trails by a mere 35 points. “We had a great car, a winning car,” Castroneves said. “I’m upset because I feel like we had a great chance, but second place is a great finish. It’s great points, and that’s what we need to focus on.”

Briscoe also kept pace in the championship, holding fifth place in the standings with a podium finish that earlier in the race wouldn’t have been expected. 

He missed his pit box on his first stop and the ensuing drive-through penalty under green dropped the No. 6 Team Penske Honda/Dallara a lap behind the leaders, but Briscoe and his team battled back.  “It was tough, let me tell you, but it was also fun coming through the field,” Briscoe said.

The series takes a week off before resuming June 22 at Iowa Speedway, kicking off a string of six races in six consecutive weekends.

Results Saturday of the Bombardier Learjet 550k IndyCar Series event June 7 at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (1) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 228, Running

2. (2) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 228, Running

3. (3) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 228, Running

4. (11) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 228, Running

5. (13) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 228, Running

6. (4) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 228, Running

7. (9) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 227, Running

8. (25) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 227, Running

9. (12) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 227, Running

10. (5) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 227, Running

11. (18) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 227, Running

12. (15) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 226, Running

13. (8) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 226, Running

14. (28) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 226, Running

15. (26) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 226, Running

16. (7) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 226, Running

17. (27) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 226, Running

18. (22) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 223, Running

19. (14) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 222, Contact

20. (10) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 222, Contact

21. (24) Mario Dominguez, Dallara-Honda, 222, Running

22. (19) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 221, Running

23. (20) Enrique Bernoldi, Dallara-Honda, 210, Contact

24. (21) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 210, Running

25. (6) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 56, Contact

26. (16) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 47, Contact

27. (23) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 39, Contact

28. (17) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 19, Mechanical

Race Statistics

Winner's average speed: 159.740 mph

Time of race: 2:04:36.3153

Margin of victory: Under caution

Cautions: 8 caution flags for 52 laps

Lead changes: 21 changes among 6 drivers

Lap leaders: Castroneves 1-12, Junqueira 13-17, Castroneves 18-41, Junqueira 42-46, Castroneves 47-66, Dixon 67, Castroneves 68-69, Dixon 70, Castroneves 71-72, Dixon 73, Castroneves 74-97, M. Andretti 98-100, Castroneves 101, Dixon 102, Briscoe 103-108, M. Andretti 109-115, Dixon 116-153, Briscoe 154-159, Dixon 160-168, Meira 169-206, Andretti 207-221, Dixon 222

Point standings: Dixon 284, Castroneves 249, Wheldon 217, Kanaan 204, Briscoe 169, Patrick 164, Mutoh 159, M. Andretti 154, Carpenter 154, Servia 150.