Honda Racing Report
Saturday, August 28, 2010
PEAK Indy 300 Race Report
Circuit: Chicagoland Speedway (1.5-mile oval) Joliet, IL
2009 Winner: Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske Honda) 177.827 mph average
Weather: Clear, mild, 82 degrees F
Race Results:
Fn. St. Driver Team Engine/Chassis Laps Average Speed/Notes
1. 2. Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 200 169.161 mph avg.; led 28 laps
2. 7. Dan Wheldon Panther Racing Honda Dallara 200 -0.0423 seconds; led 14 laps
3. 5. Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda Dallara 200 -0.1051 seconds; led 3 laps
4. 9. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda Dallara 200 -0.1631 seconds; led 2 laps
5. 13. Tony Kanaan Andretti Autosport Honda Dallara 200 -0.3408 seconds
6. 4. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Honda Dallara 200 -0.4868 seconds
7. 23. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Honda Dallara 200 -0.5953 seconds
8. 15. Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 200 -0.9137 seconds
9. 24. Vitor Meira A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 200 -0.9588 seconds; led 6 laps
10. 6. Graham Rahal Newman Haas Racing Honda Dallara 200 -0.9841 seconds
11. 1. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske Honda Dallara 200 -1.0185 seconds; led 113 laps
12. 20. Bertrand Baguette-R Conquest Racing Honda Dallara 200 -1.0833 seconds
13. 8. Hideki Mutoh Newman Haas Racing Honda Dallara 200 -1.3042 seconds
14. 12. Danica Patrick Andretti Autosport Honda Dallara 200 -1.5658 seconds
15. 25. Sarah Fisher Sarah Fisher Racing Honda Dallara 199 Running; led 10 laps
16. 3. Will Power Team Penske Honda Dallara 199 Running; led 17 laps
17. 21. Mario Moraes KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 199 Running
18. 28. Davey Hamilton De Ferran Dragon Racing Honda Dallara 199 Running
19. 26. Milka Duno Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 197 Running
20. 11. Ed Carpenter Panther Racing Honda Dallara 179 Did not finish - fuel; led 3 laps
21. 29. Jay Howard Sarah Fisher Racing Honda Dallara 162 Did not finish - handling
22. 14. Alex Lloyd-R Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 162 Running [delayed]; led 3 laps
23. 27. Simona de Silvestro-R HVM Racing Honda Dallara 150 Did not finish - driveline
24. 22. Ana Beatriz-R Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Honda Dallara 88 Did not finish - contact
25. 19. Alex Tagliani FAZZT Race Team Honda Dallara 85 Did not finish - contact; led 1 lap
26. 10. Takuma Sato-R KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 80 Did not finish - contact
27. 16. E.J. Viso KV Racing Technology Honda Dallara 80 Did not finish - contact
28. 17. Tomas Scheckter Conquest Racing Honda Dallara 4 Did not finish - crash
29. 18. Raphael Matos De Ferran Dragon Racing Honda Dallara 4 Did not finish - crash
R - IndyCar Rookie
Gambler Franchitti Wins Big in Chicago
In a night filled with sudden changes of fortune, Dario Franchitti's Target Chip Ganassi Racing team rolled
the dice during the final round of pit stops, electing to make a fuel-only stop to move to the head of the
lead pack, and came up with "double sixes" as Franchitti went on to score his third IZOD IndyCar Series
race victory of 2010 Saturday night at Chicagoland Speedway.
The victory - Franchitti's 26th in CART and IndyCar competition, tying him with the great Roger Ward for
11th on the all-time win list - also more than halved his deficit to championship leader Will Power, moving
him within 23 points of the lead with three races remaining. All of Franchitti's major open-wheel racing
victories have been scored using Honda power, with tonight's extending his record as Honda's most
successful North American open-wheel racer.
Meanwhile Power, who had been in the thick of the lead battle for most of tonight's 300-mile contest, was
forced to pit for additional fuel with just a handful of laps remaining, dropping him to a 16th-place finish.
Honda Racing Report - 2
Much of the first half of the 200-lap race was dominated by Ryan Briscoe, who led a race-high 113 laps
before being forced high and out of the racing groove during the frenetic final laps, dropping him to 11th at
the checkers.
But problems for Briscoe and Power were offset by dramatic drives from the likes of Dan Wheldon, who
served as Franchitti's "drafting partner" in the closing laps and finished second, his best result since
May's Indianapolis 500. Marco Andretti also equaled his Indy 500 finish with a strong third-place result;
while Vitor Meira recovered from two separate on-track incidents - both requiring unscheduled pit stops
for nose wing replacement - to finish ninth, his best result since Iowa in June.
Next week, the IZOD IndyCar Series continues its run of season-closing oval races as the championship
fight heads south to the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway oval for the Kentucky Indy 300 on Saturday,
September 4.
IZOD IndyCar Series Championship (after 14 of 17 races):
1. Will Power 528 (5 wins) 6. Ryan Hunter-Reay 392 (1 win)
2. Dario Franchitti 505 (3 wins) 7. Tony Kanaan 360 (1 win)
3. Scott Dixon 443 (2 wins) 8. Marco Andretti 319
4. Ryan Briscoe 406 (1 win) 9. Justin Wilson 316
5. Helio Castroneves 398 (1 win) 10. Dan Wheldon 309
Dario Franchitti (#10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) started 2nd, finished 1st, 3rd IndyCar win of
2010, closes to within 23 points of championship leader Will Power with three races remaining:
"I'm delighted right now, [engineer] Chris Simmons made a brilliant call at our last pit stop. Our car was
great in clean air, but we really struggled in traffic. After Chris made the call [for fuel only], I got a lot of
help from Dan Wheldon, he worked with me as a drafting partner right up until the end. We made up a lot
of ground [in the championship] tonight, but we have to keep going. This team never gives up, that's
what makes it great."
Dan Wheldon (#4 Panther Racing Honda) started 7th, finished 2nd: "To be honest, the reason I worked
so hard with Dario and just tried to stay with him was because he was so clean and professional. Our
guys did an excellent job and it was a great performance tonight. I have to thank my team and the fans,
who were definitely on their feet at the end of the race tonight. It was an exciting race."
Marc Sours (General Manager, Honda Performance Development) on tonight's race: "I think it was an
exciting race, remarkably clean, and the record-11 different race leaders just demonstrates the level of
competition throughout the field. With three races remaining, the championship is coming down to the
wire yet again, so we're looking forward to an exciting run to the title."