Dan Wheldon and JR Hildebrand Have their Share of Glory
Rookie JR Hildebrand of Panther Racing, through the right fuel strategy and smart driving, was on course to win the race until the last corner, Turn 4, of the Brickyard when he crashed into the wall after going too high in the banking while overtaking a backmarker. This handed Dan Wheldon of Bryan Herta Autosport his second Indy 500 crown. However, JR Hildebrand scraped the wall and the mangled car managed to cross the line in second!
A former IndyCar champion and Ganassi driver, Dan Wheldon was without a full-time drive this year but the victory at Indy would go a long way in settling that. More interesting was the other gaggle of drivers who looked set to win in the final 10-20 laps but fell away due to the wrong strategy causing them to refuel at the last moment.
Danica Patrick and Betrand Baguette
Danica Patrick of Andretti Autosport was one of these, and was leading the Indy 500 for not the first time in its history. As fuel began running out for her Dallara-Honda, she fell prey to the chasing pack among which was Belgian rookie and 2009 World Series by Renault champion Bertrand Baguette. It would have made history with the driver with the Tintin-like face looking set to become the first Belgian driver ever to win the Indy 500 but even he had to pit for fuel in the last five laps.
Drama and Draw in IndyCars at Texas
At the Texas Motor Speedway on June 12, IndyCar’s new twin-race format stirred the excitement. While the first race was won by Ganassi’s Scott Dixon, who restored some pride to the squad after its poor performance at the Indy 500, grid positions for the second race were decided by a random draw with KV Racing-Lotus’ seasoned campaigner Tony Kanaan managing to secure pole position alongside rookie Wayne Cunningham who couldn’t have otherwise dreamed of qualifying so high up in an IndyCar race. But Penske’s Will Power had managed to secure a 3rd position grid slot and he duly won race 2 at Texas and secured his first oval race win. The random draw seems to have done its trick, adding more spice to IndyCars.
The 2011 IndyCar season continues to excite, unlike its European contemporary, Formula 1. 2012 IndyCars are expected to be more exciting. We can't wait patiently enough!
Praveen Titus - I've been watching Formula 1 on TV since 2000 when I was 17. I've always had a passive interest in cars, but it was only when I watched ...
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