Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Global

Team Penske Belle Isle Race Two report

Helio Castroneves: "I wanted to win this race so bad, as bad as anybody."

Helio Castroneves

Helio Castroneves

Art Fleischmann

Helio Castroneves - No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet

· Castroneves started the race in the third position after a lap of 1:16:3624 seconds in the morning qualifying session. This marked his seventh top-10 start in seven races of the 2014 season.

· After waving off the initial start, Castroneves quickly moved into the second position after a battle with James Hinchcliff.

· When the caution flag flew at lap six, Castroneves made his way down pit road to switch his “red” Firestone tires for blacks while topping the car off with fuel. The Hitachi crew also removed a small piece of carbon debris from the front wing.

· Castroneves moved into the top spot at lap 28, building a 10-second lead over the field. He came down pit road again at lap 50 for four black tires and fuel.

· After briefly relinquishing the lead during a pit stop cycle, Castroneves regained control of the race. He would eventually take the checkered flag over Team Penske teammate, Will Power.

· This marks Castroneves’ third win at Detroit and the first of the 2014 Verizon IndyCar Series season. He now has a total of 29th career victories and ties Rick Mears for 11th place in career wins.

· Castroneves is the fifth different winner of the season and currently sits second in the championship standings, 19 points behind Power.

· With the victory, Castroneves moves up one spot to second in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings, 18 markers behind Power.

WHAT WAS THE KEY TO PICKING UP YOUR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON TODAY?

Helio Castroneves: "For me, coming out of what was a tough but good weekend in Indianapolis, we were ready to turn the page. Jonathan (Diuguid) who is my engineer, worked extremely hard after Indianapolis to get ready for Detroit, and you can tell that paid off. I wanted to win this race so bad, as bad as anybody. As soon as we unloaded off the truck the Hitachi car was absolutely outstanding. We worked on the car just a tiny bit but other than that it was perfect. Race one didn’t play out in our favor. We had the car; we had the strategy, but it didn’t work out our way. Today, I knew we had the car. I knew we had to keep going and couldn’t give up. We pushed as hard as we could, and we had pure racing, no fuel strategy or playing games. I knew exactly what I needed to do and to end up in victory lane with this Hitachi car was just that.”

Will Power - No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet

· After a victorious run in Saturday’s first race of the Dual in Detroit, Will Power began Race Two from the eighth position after posting a lap of 1:17:0297 seconds during the Sunday morning time trials.

· Like his Team Penske teammates, Power and the No. 12 Verizon Chevy team elected to start the race on scuffed “red” Firestone alternate tires.

· As the race went green, Power made contact with the No. 67 car of Josef Newgarden, bringing out the caution flag. Race strategist, Tim Cindric, brought Power to pit road for black Firestone primary tires and fuel, placing him on a similar strategy to the previous day.

· After a review from the INDYCAR officials, Power was ordered to serve a “pass through” penalty at lap six for the contact with Newgarden. He would return to the track in the 20th position.

· Having already received service earlier in the event, Power moved into the top five at lap 21 when the race leaders began to make their way down pit lane.

· At lap 25, Power was able to make his way into the top spot for two circuits.

· Over the last half of the race, Power stayed right behind his teammate and race leader, Helio Castroneves, but was unable to make his way around for the lead. He crossed the finish line in the second place to put a cap on an impressive weekend.

· With his second-place finish, Power now leads Castroneves by 18 points in the Verizon IndyCar Series standings.

A GREAT WEEKEND FOR YOU IN DETROIT. HOW BAD DID YOU WANT TO MAKE IT A CLEAN SWEEP?

Will Power: “Because of Roger (Penske), I definitely wasn’t going to race (Helio) really hard. Unless he made a mistake, I wasn’t going to go for a move unless I was close. A great day for Chevy, Verizon, Roger at his home track and Chevy’s backyard. Just fantastic. When you come out of a doubleheader weekend with a win, a second-place finish and the points lead, you can’t ask for much more than that.”

Juan Pablo Montoya No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet

· Montoya started Sunday’s 70-lap event from the 16th position after a lap of 1:17:2979 seconds around the picturesque Belle Isle circuit

· As is in yesterday’s first race in the Dual in Detroit, Montoya and the No. 2 Verizon Chevy team began the race on scuffed “red” Firestone alternate tires.

· After the initial start was waved off, Montoya began to make his way toward the top 10, eventually moving briefly into the ninth position before making his first pit stop of the day under the caution flag at lap 11.

· Race strategist Clive Howell chose to apply “black” primary Firestones on the pit stop. After several of the leaders elected to stay out under the caution period, Montoya restarted the race in the 18th position at lap 14.

· As the leaders began to make their pit stops at lap 22, Montoya was able to move back towards the top 10 once again.

· Over the second half of the race, Montoya routinely matched the speed of the lead cars, but could not overcome the lack of track position and crossed the finish line in the 13th position.

· With the result, Montoya remained in the seventh position in the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings, 139 points behind leader and Team Penske teammate, Will Power.

DESCRIBE YOU DAY ON SUNDAY...

Juan Pablo Montoya: “We had good speed in the No. 2 Verizon Chevy today. We just got bitten on strategy a little. I think we were a top-five car, speed-wise, so that's encouraging. I'm really looking forward to Texas."

INDYCAR

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Pole winner Takuma Sato gets punted in Detroit race -- twice
Next article Dual in Detroit rookie recap

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Global