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Kanaan takes advantage of friend's mishap for win
By Mike Harris, AP Auto Racing Writer
Monday, June 04, 2007 | No comments posted.
WEST ALLIS, Wis. - Tony Kanaan was cruising along, ready to settle for second place, when he drove off turn four on the Milwaukee Mile and saw leader Helio Castroneves spinning down the track with just 25 laps left in Sunday's IndyCar race.
Kanaan sped into the lead, wondering what might have happened to his Brazilian countryman and longtime friend.
“You usually don't crash on the straightaway,” Kanaan said.
What happened to Castroneves was a collapsed rear wing, just the latest in a long string of misfortunes on the suburban Milwaukee track for the Team Penske driver.
“I had the race won,” said Castroneves, who led four times for a race-high 126 laps in Sunday's ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225. “It's a shame that something so odd happened there at the end.”
Castroneves crashed with 25 laps to go and Kanaan stayed out front the rest of the way to record the ninth win of his IndyCar career, and perhaps the most unexpected one.
Castroneves was so far ahead when he crashed that Kanaan didn't even see what caused the spinout.
“I didn't even know they had a wing problem until I made it to Victory Lane,” Kanaan said. “I only saw Helio spinning and crash.”
Sam Hornish Jr., the reigning IndyCar Series champion and Castroneves' teammate, also had a problem with his rear wing. Hornish, who finished ninth, had to pit while running second, just six laps from the end, because his wing also was coming loose.
Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske, was at a loss to explain what happened to his two cars, but he felt particularly bad for Castroneves.
“Helio has always had good starts here, but something always seems to happen to him,” Cindric said. “There was no reason for that to happen. It was a big disappointment.
“This place hasn't been good to him, but it certainly wasn't his fault today.”
Once Kanaan got the late lead, he drove away from the field. Andretti Green Racing teammate Dario Franchitti, coming off a victory last week in the Indianapolis 500, finished second, 2.57 seconds - a full straightaway - behind Kanaan.
“Sometimes it's not always the best car that wins the race,” said Kanaan, shrugging. “We could say that many times. I just hung (in) there all day. It was a difficult race.”
Kanaan lost ground just before halfway, falling from the lead to 10th when he had to make an extra pit stop because he was running out of fuel when the pits were closed under caution. IRL officials allowed him to pit for a splash of fuel, but made him wait until the pits were officially open to come back in for more fuel and tires.
“We had a couple of misfortunes. I didn't hit my marks (in the pits) and I made my guys waste precious time, but when I make mistakes, they make up for them,” the winner said. “When they make mistakes, I make up for them. That's what makes this team so strong.
“I definitely had to race this race, apart from the last five laps. Before that I had to be on the charge.”
Dan Wheldon wound up third, followed by Scott Dixon, Vitor Meira, Scott Sharp, Ed Carpenter and Danica Patrick, the last driver on the lead lap.
Patrick, still trying for her first IndyCar victory, bumped wheels with Wheldon on lap 88 as she attempted to pass both the Englishman and Franchitti for fourth place. She slid into the infield grass before saving the car and continuing, but lost a lap when she had to have a suspension piece repaired by her crew. Patrick eventually regained that lost lap, thanks to pit strategy, but was furious with Wheldon after the race.
The two had a brief one-sided discussion in the pits, with Patrick putting her arm around Wheldon as she talked with him and then giving him a half-shove as the Englishman walked away.
“I definitely feel that was worth some sort of penalty,” Patrick said.
Wheldon didn't agree with Patrick's assessment of the incident.
“I think she thought she was alongside me,” he said. “Unfortunately for her, she wasn't.”
Talking about the postrace confrontation, he noted, “She's messing with the wrong person if she wants to get feisty. I'm a lot tougher than she is on track.”
Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indy 500 winner, stayed on track when the other leaders pitted for the first time and led 37 laps before he had to make his first stop. That cost Rice a lap and he never got close to the lead again, crashing on lap 159.
Marco Andretti, who had a spectacular crash near the end of the Indy 500, also hit the wall late in Sunday's race.
Kanaan sped into the lead, wondering what might have happened to his Brazilian countryman and longtime friend.
“You usually don't crash on the straightaway,” Kanaan said.
What happened to Castroneves was a collapsed rear wing, just the latest in a long string of misfortunes on the suburban Milwaukee track for the Team Penske driver.
“I had the race won,” said Castroneves, who led four times for a race-high 126 laps in Sunday's ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225. “It's a shame that something so odd happened there at the end.”
Castroneves crashed with 25 laps to go and Kanaan stayed out front the rest of the way to record the ninth win of his IndyCar career, and perhaps the most unexpected one.
Castroneves was so far ahead when he crashed that Kanaan didn't even see what caused the spinout.
“I didn't even know they had a wing problem until I made it to Victory Lane,” Kanaan said. “I only saw Helio spinning and crash.”
Sam Hornish Jr., the reigning IndyCar Series champion and Castroneves' teammate, also had a problem with his rear wing. Hornish, who finished ninth, had to pit while running second, just six laps from the end, because his wing also was coming loose.
Tim Cindric, president of Team Penske, was at a loss to explain what happened to his two cars, but he felt particularly bad for Castroneves.
“Helio has always had good starts here, but something always seems to happen to him,” Cindric said. “There was no reason for that to happen. It was a big disappointment.
“This place hasn't been good to him, but it certainly wasn't his fault today.”
Once Kanaan got the late lead, he drove away from the field. Andretti Green Racing teammate Dario Franchitti, coming off a victory last week in the Indianapolis 500, finished second, 2.57 seconds - a full straightaway - behind Kanaan.
“Sometimes it's not always the best car that wins the race,” said Kanaan, shrugging. “We could say that many times. I just hung (in) there all day. It was a difficult race.”
Kanaan lost ground just before halfway, falling from the lead to 10th when he had to make an extra pit stop because he was running out of fuel when the pits were closed under caution. IRL officials allowed him to pit for a splash of fuel, but made him wait until the pits were officially open to come back in for more fuel and tires.
“We had a couple of misfortunes. I didn't hit my marks (in the pits) and I made my guys waste precious time, but when I make mistakes, they make up for them,” the winner said. “When they make mistakes, I make up for them. That's what makes this team so strong.
“I definitely had to race this race, apart from the last five laps. Before that I had to be on the charge.”
Dan Wheldon wound up third, followed by Scott Dixon, Vitor Meira, Scott Sharp, Ed Carpenter and Danica Patrick, the last driver on the lead lap.
Patrick, still trying for her first IndyCar victory, bumped wheels with Wheldon on lap 88 as she attempted to pass both the Englishman and Franchitti for fourth place. She slid into the infield grass before saving the car and continuing, but lost a lap when she had to have a suspension piece repaired by her crew. Patrick eventually regained that lost lap, thanks to pit strategy, but was furious with Wheldon after the race.
The two had a brief one-sided discussion in the pits, with Patrick putting her arm around Wheldon as she talked with him and then giving him a half-shove as the Englishman walked away.
“I definitely feel that was worth some sort of penalty,” Patrick said.
Wheldon didn't agree with Patrick's assessment of the incident.
“I think she thought she was alongside me,” he said. “Unfortunately for her, she wasn't.”
Talking about the postrace confrontation, he noted, “She's messing with the wrong person if she wants to get feisty. I'm a lot tougher than she is on track.”
Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indy 500 winner, stayed on track when the other leaders pitted for the first time and led 37 laps before he had to make his first stop. That cost Rice a lap and he never got close to the lead again, crashing on lap 159.
Marco Andretti, who had a spectacular crash near the end of the Indy 500, also hit the wall late in Sunday's race.
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