Castroneves Finishes Second In Wild Richmond Race
June 28, 2008
RICHMOND, Va. (June 28, 2008) – Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves finished in the runner-up spot at a caution-filled Saturday night race at Richmond International Raceway with an impressive on-track performance. Castroneves went from an 18th place starting spot to second in the 300-lap SunTrust Indy Challenge, eventually finishing one position ahead of Scott Dixon, the only driver ahead of Castroneves in the 2008 IndyCar Series championship standings.
“I was driving the wheels off it,” Castroneves said about his run in the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda. “I was trying everything I could to make up spots and we were able to have a good showing today.”
This race marks Castroneves’ fourth runner-up finish of the season.
Ryan Briscoe, driver of the No. 6 Dallara/Honda, encountered trouble after a promising start to Saturday’s race. Briscoe was struck on a restart on the 79th lap that eventually became a four-car pileup. The Team Penske crew worked quickly to get the No. 6 machine back on the track and Briscoe was able to finish 15th.
“It was pretty crazy out there tonight,” said Briscoe. “We were able to hold our position through the first stint, but the restart after our first stop was a complete mess. I heard green, and then I glanced in my mirrors. The next thing I know is that the guys in front of me were on their brakes, and I was into the back of the No. 14 car. It was just a chain reaction from there, and I got hit from behind.”
”I’ve got to hand it to my guys for working so hard and getting us back out there tonight, I’m just sorry we couldn’t do more,” Briscoe added.
The 2008 IndyCar Series season continues on Sunday, July 6 with the Camping World Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International. The race will be telecast live at 3:30 p.m. EDT by ABC-TV and will air live on the IMS Radio Network.
Results Saturday of the SunTrust Indy Challenge IndyCar Series event June 28 at the .75-mile Richmond International Raceway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (1) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
2. (18) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
3. (4) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
4. (6) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
5. (10) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
6. (14) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
7. (23) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
8. (21) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
9. (2) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 299, Running
10. (19) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 298, Running
11. (13) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 238, Running
12. (22) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 235, Running
13. (7) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 220, Mechanical
14. (24) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 217, Contact
15. (11) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 158, Pits
16. (25) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 143, Contact
17. (20) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 143, Contact
18. (3) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 131, Contact
19. (15) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 117, Handling
20. (17) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 91, Contact
21. (12) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 91, Contact
22. (5) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 80, Contact
23. (9) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 78, Contact
24. (8) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 29, Contact
25. (16) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 8, Contact
26. (26) Enrique Bernoldi, Dallara-Honda, 6, Handling
Race Statistics:
Winner's average speed: 108.790 mph
Time of race: 2:04:05.5111
Margin of victory: 4.7691 seconds
Cautions: 9 caution flags for 102 laps
Lead changes: 3 among 3 drivers
Lap leaders: Kanaan 1-71, Camara 72-115, M. Andretti 116-205, Kanaan 206-300.
Point standings: Dixon 351, Castroneves 308, Wheldon 299, Kanaan 269, Patrick 220, Mutoh 216, M. Andretti 211, Briscoe 210, Servia 194, Carpenter 185.