News

THE RESULTS

Verizon IndyCar Series
Chevrolet Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans – Race 1
Detroit, MI
May 31, 2014

THE RESULTS

The No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driver: Juan Pablo Montoya
Starting Position: 6
Finish Position: 12
Driver's Points Position: 7

No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driver: Helio Castroneves
Starting Position: 1
Finish Position: 5
Driver's Points Position: 3

The No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
Driver: Will Power
Starting Position: 16
Finish Position: 1
Driver's Points Position: 2

THE RACE REVIEW    

Juan Pablo Montoya
No. 2 Verizon Team Penske  Dallara/Chevrolet
    
• Montoya advanced to his first-ever Firestone Fast Six round of qualifying during the morning time trials. He began the race from the sixth position with a lap of 1:19:7296 seconds around the Belle Isle circuit.
• The former CART Series champion began the 70-lap race on scuffed “red” Firestone tires. Over the beginning laps of the race, he had trouble with forward drive on the older tires.
• Race strategist Clive Howell brought Montoya down pit road early at lap 15 for fresh Firestone reds to help his drive. Despite falling to the 19th position after the green-flag pit stop, Montoya was the beneficiary of a lap 17 caution period that propelled him up to the seventh position after many of the lead lap cars visited pit lane.
• While battling with low grip on corner exit, Montoya was still able to keep his Verizon Chevrolet in the top 10 throughout the first half of the race.
• Montoya made his final pit stop of the day at lap 49, returning to the track in the 16th position. With the car not completely to his liking, the former Formula 1 race winner was able only to advance to the 12th position before the checkered flag fell.
• With the result, Montoya remains in the seventh position in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings, 118 points behind leader, Ryan Hunter-Reay.    

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

AFTER THE FIRST CAUTION PERIOD, YOU LOOKED TO BE IN GOOD SHAPE. WHAT HAPPENED FROM THERE?

“The race was fun, but since qualifying we kind of struggled with getting the power down in the car. But to be honest, the Verizon Chevy had good speed and it was fun. Track position and the tire strategy will be hard tomorrow. Everybody knows red tires are going to go off fast. It is going to make it very tricky.” – Juan Pablo Montoya

    
THE RACE REVIEW    

Helio Castroneves
No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
    
• Castroneves earned his first pole of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season – and his third at Detroit – during the morning qualifying session. He has now earned his 39th career pole and remains the active leader in the series.
• Starting from the front row, Castroneves was able to pull away quickly from the rest of the field. Relinquishing his lead, Castroneves came down pit road for the first of two pit stops on lap 21. The Hitachi team change his red Firestone tires for black tires and filled the car with fuel. Due to race strategy of other cars, Castroneves returned to the track in the eighth position.
• Constantly saving fuel, Castroneves radioed to his crew that the balance of the car was to his liking. He was able to work his way back to the lead on lap 33.
• During his second and last stop of the afternoon, Castroneves received four new Firestones and enough fuel to make it the scheduled 70 laps. Castroneves rejoined the field in the 13th position, hoping that the field would cycle due to green flag stops.
• As the laps wound down, Castroneves found himself in the top-10, battling for position. Unable to move forward, Castroneves finished in the fifth position behind winner and teammate Will Power.
• This marks Castroneves’ seventh top-five finish at Detroit. He has two wins at this course, his career first in 2000 and another the following year in 2001.
• With his fifth-place finish, Castroneves remains in the third position in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings, 34 markers behind Hunter-Reay     

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

ON FINISHING FIFTH ON SUNDAY

"We had the fastest car out there but unfortunately that wasn’t the way that it played out for our Hitachi team. Thankfully someone from Team Penske was able to capture the win. Roger did the best job with the fuel strategy, and it gave us a fifth-place finish. I’m really happy to see the crowd here in Detroit and can’t wait to do this again tomorrow in Race Two.” – Helio Castroneves

    
THE RACE REVIEW    

Will Power
No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet
    
• Power began Saturday’s race from the 16th position based on his morning qualifying effort. .
• Starting on scuffed “red” Firestone soft compound tires, Power began to methodically work his way towards the front of the field despite contact with the No. 77 of Simon Pagenaud at lap five.  
• A lap seven caution period gave race strategist, Tim Cindric, an opportunity to bring Power down pit road for four fresh Firestone tires and fuel. As a result, Power and the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet team found themselves on a different pit cycle than most of the field.
• Due to his early pit stop, Power was able to stay on the racing surface under a subsequent caution period at lap 16. He restarted the race from the third position at lap 20.
• Power radioed that his car was really competitive at the end of the run. As a result, he moved into the lead for the first time at lap 27.
• While maintaining his lead, Power made his final pit stop of the day at lap 53, setting him up for a run to the end. He returned to the track in the second position, but quickly made his way back to the top spot at lap 60.
• The winner of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg earlier this year, Power engaged in a fierce battle with Graham Rahal over the waning laps, but was able to hold him off to score his second victory of the season.  
• Sunday’s win represented Power’s 23rd in Verizon IndyCar Series competition. He has won five of the last Power has won 17 races on road or temporary street courses since joining Team Penske in 2009.
• With the win, Power now trails Hunter-Reay by just three points in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings.     

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

ON SUNDAY’S WIN

“The key was getting clear track for the Verizon Chevy to use its speed.  As soon as Marco (Andretti) and a couple of guys, I think (Scott) Dixon might have been one of them pitted it helped us gain a lot of track position which it did.  That was key again when all those guys pitted again to pump out some serious laps. So it was very good strategy by the team.”

HOW MUCH MORE DIFFICUT DID GRAHAM RAHAL MAKE IT AT THE END?

“Graham made it very difficult and made me drive harder.  Every time I would get a gap; he would drive right back on me. It’s a tough race to run because you don’t save fuel, and you just go hard.  It’s a great day for the Verizon guys, great for Roger to win here at Belle Isle and a great day for Chevrolet.” - Will Power