Team Penske Race Report - Belle Isle Dual 2

June 3, 2013


THE RESULTS

Chevrolet Indy Dual In Detroit Dual 2:
 
No. 2 Quicken Loans Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driven By: AJ Allmendinger
Starting Position: 12
Finishing Position: 25
Status: Contact
Current Series Position: 26

No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driven By: Helio Castroneves
Starting Position: 9
Finishing Position: 8
Status: Running
Current Series Position: 1

No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driven By: Will Power
Starting Position: 3
Finishing Position: 20
Status: Running
Current Series Position: 15
   

THE RACE REVIEW
   
No. 2 Quicken Loans Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driven By: AJ Allmendinger  @AJDinger
IZOD IndyCar Series Championship Point Standing: 24th (-141)

· Allmendinger started the second Dual in Detroit race in 12th after posting the sixth-fastest time in his qualifying group on Saturday.
· Entering Turn 2 after taking the green flag, Allmendinger was unable to get his car turned and made contact with the wall.
· Due to the extensive damage to the No. 2 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, Allmendinger was not able return to the race.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

WHAT HAPPENED ON THE FIRST LAP

“Obviously another frustrating day and I hate that I couldn’t give Quicken Loans and Team Penske more today. I got caught in the turn and just couldn’t make the car turn the way I needed it to. I really wanted to give everyone a great result today, the Quicken Loans crew worked so hard yesterday to even get me in a position to race today. These are the days that you hope to forget and eventually come back stronger.”– AJ Allmendinger


THE RACE REVIEW

No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driven By: Helio Castroneves  @h3lio   
IZOD IndyCar Series Championship Point Standing: 1st (206 Points)

· Castroneves started the second Chevy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans in fifth position and his Hitachi Team Penske Chevy ran inside the top 15 for the first 25 laps of the race. 
· During a multi-car accident on Lap 28, Castroneves experienced damage to his front wing, rear wing and left rear side pod. Over the course of four pit stops, his Hitachi crew was able to repair the damage and send him back onto the track.
· After losing almost a second a lap to the leaders, race strategist John Erickson called Castroneves down pit road on Lap 46 to change from Firestone alternate red tires to primary black tires. The No. 3 crew also filled the car full of fuel in order to make it to the end of the race.
· With less than 20 laps to go, Castroneves was able to make his way back through the field and fight to an eighth-place finish.
· With the result, Castroneves maintains the IZOD IndyCar Series Championship points lead.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING    

ON HIS EIGHTH-PLACE FINISH

“Wow, what an adventurous day we had in the Hitachi car – we crashed and somehow still had a great race. Credit the Hitachi crew for fixing the car and putting me in a position to turn some great laps at the end. It felt like we just won the lottery being able to finish in the top 10.” – Helio Castroneves
 
ON LEAVING BELLE ISLE TIED FOR THE POINTS LEAD

“We leave here tied for the top of the points standings, which is where we want to be, so overall it was a good weekend. Our goal all season has been consistency and this weekend we met the challenge once again.” – Helio Castroneves

 
THE RACE REVIEW
   
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driven By: Will Power  @12WillPower
IZOD IndyCar Series Championship Point Standing: 15th (-82)

· After starting the race in third, Power moved into the second position on Turn 1 and was in first by the time the yellow flag was displayed on Lap 1 for teammate Allmendinger’s contact.
· Power remained in the front pack until he pitted on Lap 20 to change from Firestone Alternate Red tires to the Firestone Primary black tires.
· While running in fifth place at the restart on Lap 27, Power was collected in a six-car accident which caused damage to his front wing and suspension.
· With the tremendous effort of his Verizon crew, Power was able to re-enter the race on Lap 42, 15 laps behind the leader.
· Power finished in 20th place as he was not able to close the two-lap lead that the 19th-place car had on him when he resumed the race.
· The frustrating finish dropped Power from 13th to 15th in the IZOD IndyCar Series Championship standings.
   
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

HIS PERSPECTIVE AFTER THE RACE

“I thought the Verizon car was good enough to win today, it’s a real shame that we didn’t get the opportunity to run the entire race. I hate it for the Verizon guys as they had given me such a fast car and really deserve to get a win. I feel the team is right on the cusp of really taking off and I look forward to getting to Texas to give it our best shot.”” – Will Power

ON THE VERIZON CREW GETTING THE CAR BACK ON THE TRACK

“They did an amazing job to get me back out there to finish the race and I can’t thank them enough for that. You never know if you are going to be able to get back out there but once again those guys did as good a job as possible to let us return.” – Will Power