An Indy car record 80 lead changes among 14 drivers culminated in a dramatic victory for American Graham Rahal in the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway. The victory was the second of Rahal’s career and ended a 124-race winless drought dating to 2008 in St. Petersburg – the longest gap between race wins for a driver in Indy car history.
The 80 lead changes during the 250-lap event surpassed the previous Indy car record of 73 set at Auto Club Speedway in November 2001.
Rahal, driving the No. 15 Mi-Jack Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, won under caution as the cars driven by Ryan Briscoe and Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact battling for position coming to the white flag. The final restart was set up after a red flag was displayed on Lap 245 of 250 on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway oval after contact between the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet driven by Will Power and the No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda of Takuma Sato on the frontstretch.
All drivers were checked at the infield medical center and cleared.
“Our weakness has been these ovals and I told the guys this morning that the next three races will define our year,” said Rahal, who qualified 19th. “It’s been so long coming. It’s awesome. I think the combination of downforce and tires made for multiple lanes of racing that was nerve-racking but exciting. (With) the width of this place, the guys were able to stay in their lanes.”
Tony Kanaan finished second in the No. 10 NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet and Marco Andretti placed third in the No. 27 Snapple Andretti Autosport Honda.
Juan Pablo Montoya finished fourth to extend his championship points lead to 46 over Power, and rookie Sage Karam earned his highest finish of fifth in his nine-race Verizon IndyCar Series career at the track where he wrapped up the 2013 Indy Lights championship.
The first yellow came out on Lap 136 when the cars driven by Helio Castroneves and Briscoe made light contact on the backstretch. Five other caution periods followed, including two for debris.
“The Verizon Chevy team did a great job today, despite how tough of a day it was,” said Power, who led a field-high 62 laps but finished 19th. “When you have a pack race like what we had today, you have to take a lot of risks to gain track position. As exciting as it is, it’s intense at the same time.”
Rahal was 19 years, 93 days old when he won at St. Petersburg and is still the youngest Indy car winner.
“It feels good, and is a big day for us. It shows that our rebound this season is legit,” said Rahal, who moved into fourth place in the season standings. “The team is why all of this has come together. Hopefully I can move on from here and not make it seven years until I win again.”
MAVTV 500 Results
1. (19) Graham Rahal, Honda, 250, Running
2. (6) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 250, Running
3. (3) Marco Andretti, Honda, 250, Running
4. (5) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 250, Running
5. (10) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 250, Running
6. (7) Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, 250, Running
7. (23) James Jakes, Honda, 250, Running
8. (13) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 250, Running
9. (1) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 250, Running
10. (17) Jack Hawksworth, Honda, 250, Running
11. (11) Carlos Munoz, Honda, 250, Running
12. (21) Stefano Coletti, Chevrolet, 250, Running
13. (22) Pippa Mann, Honda, 250, Running
14. (15) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 250, Running
15. (14) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 249, Contact
16. (16) Ryan Briscoe, Honda, 249, Contact
17. (20) Tristan Vautier, Honda, 246, Running
18. (9) Takuma Sato, Honda, 241, Contact
19. (8) Will Power, Chevrolet, 241, Contact
20. (18) Gabby Chaves, Honda, 237, Running
21. (12) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 161, Contact
22. (4) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 157, Contact
23. (2) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 136, Contact
Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 168.846
Time of Race: 02:57:40.6179
Margin of victory: Under caution
Cautions: 6 for 46 laps
Lead changes: 80 among 14 drivers
Verizon IndyCar Series point standings: Montoya 407, Power 361, Dixon 358, Rahal 334, Castroneves 330, Andretti 308, Bourdais 290, Kanaan 285, Newgarden 277, Pagenaud 256.
SOURCE: INDYCAR