Car 2 Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy started from pole to win his 1st Verizon IndyCar since Sept. 17, 2000 at Gateway International Raceway. This is his 1st win of 2014 and the 12th of his career. It is the third, 500 mile win of Montoya’s career. He also won the Indianapolis 500 and Michigan 500 in 2000. He is also the first driver to win a race from a pole position in 2014.
It is Team Penske’s eighth Indy car race win at Pocono Raceway. Other Team Penske race wins were: Mark Donohue (1971), Tom Sneva (1977), Bobby Unser (1980), Rick Mears (1982, 1985 and 1987) and Danny Sullivan (1989).
2nd Place Car 3 Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy started in 7th place. It is his fifth podium finish of the season and allowed him to tie Will Power atop the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings.
3rd Place Car 34 Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda started in 3rd place. It is his 3rd 3rd-place finish of 2014.
4th Place Car 8 Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy started in 10th place. It is his best finish of 2014. His previous best finish was sixth at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.
5th Place Car 9 Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy started in 15th place. It is his 5th Top 5 finish of the season.
6th Place Car 77 Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda started in 11th place followed by 7th place Car 7 Mikhail Aleshin, Dallara-Honda, who started from 12th place.
8th Place (21) Car 67 Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda Honda started from 21st place followed by 9th place Car 25 Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda started from 5th place.
Lastly in the Top 10 is Car 12 Will Power, Dallara-Chevy in 10th place who started from 2nd place.
The race was the fastest 500-mile Indy car race in history as Car 2 Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy average speed of 202.402 mph surpassed the previous 500-mile record set by Jimmy Vasser 197.995 mph at Auto Club Speedway in 2002.
Car 12 Will Power, Dallara-Chevy was penalized with a drive through penalty for blocking his team-mate Car 3 Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy. Both Penske cars fighting for their 1st championship.
Montoya inherited the lead on Lap 197 when Tony Kanaan, who led a field-high 78 laps, also had to pit for fuel. Kanaan, driving the No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, led laps for the second race this season and for the 100th race in his Indy car career.
Kanaan led for the second time in 2014. He led one lap at the Indianapolis 500. It is his 100th race led in his Indy car career.
The race had only 1 Caution for 6 laps but had 16 Lead changes among 5 drivers. 1st Caution on lap 159 to 164 for a Spin Car 15 Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda in Turn 2.
Lap Leaders: Power 1 – 30, Montoya 31 – 32, Power 33 – 49, Kanaan 50 –58, Power 59 – 61, Montoya 62 – 64, Kanaan 65 – 87, Montoya 88 –94, Kanaan 95 – 117, Montoya 118 – 125, Bourdais 126, Kanaan 127 – 147, Power 148 – 166, Montoya 167 – 187, Newgarden 188 – 194, Kanaan 195 – 196, Montoya 197 – 200.
Point Standings: Power 446, Castroneves 446, Pagenaud 402, Montoya 391, Hunter-Reay 388, Munoz 340, Andretti 325, Dixon 297, Briscoe 285, Bourdais 271.
Post race comments:
JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet): ” First of all, I want to thank Verizon, IndyCar, PPG and everyone who supports this car and Team Penske. I want thank Roger for believing in me after how many years out of open-wheel, coming back and believing I could do it. Here we are. It’s awesome that we could do it. I want to thank the fans for coming out… Verizon, IndyCar, PPG, Hawk Performance and everyone who believes in Team Penske and myself. It’s huge. I was overly excited coming to the line, I can tell you that.”
“That’s great for Juan; what a great race he ran,” said team owner Roger Penske, who welcomed Montoya as the third driver at Team Penske this season after a 13-year absence in which he competed in Formula One and the NASCAR Cup Series.
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet): “Congrats to (Juan) Montoya. Are you kidding me? This guy is unbelievable. Coming back after 15 years and winning a race? He did a great job. As soon as they signed him I knew he would be an asset, and a headache, for us. It’s good (to have a) 1-2 finish – and we’re second in the championship. It’s unbelievable. (About block from Will Power): “That’s one thing about our team, Team Penske, there are no team orders. We race hard and we push for it. Unfortunately I’m not the one to make the calls. But I think we were really pushing hard and obviously fighting for the championship. In the end – it’s not my call.”
ROGER PENSKE (Owner, Team Penske): “For Team Penske and Chevrolet, our sponsors PPG, Verizon and certainly Hitachi. What a great day here. We just need to continue – this has been a great points day for us. We knew with Hunter-Reay having a problem that gave us a real boost on our points. But it’s up to the team and the great drivers and congrats to Juan Montoya. (About Power penalty): “I think that’s up to the officials. Obviously it’s a shame for (Will), but these guys are racers. You tell them, ‘Let’s keep each other on the track.’ But that was a little tight there for us.”
CARLOS MUNOZ (No. 34 Cinsay AndrettiTV.com HVM Honda): “I’m happy with today’s race. The car was good when I was on my own. This track, it’s really hard to pass, to be behind the cars. I think third place is a great result for the championship, especially with the double points. I’m really happy with a podium. It was a long race, and I think that this time, I raced like a veteran. My Cinsay crew guys did such a great job, great pit stops, and I’m happy with another podium.”
WILL POWER (No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet): “I was heading that way. I was heading over and over and over. He is my teammate. Another penalty. Another drive-through and another good opportunity lost.”
SEBASTIEN BOURDAIS (No. 11 Hydroxycut KVSH Racing Chevrolet): “It was a pretty good day. We made progress from Saturday in qualifying. The car was competitive in racing traffic. We were marching forward and fighting with the top-10 guys. Once we got into the top 10, it was looking pretty good. Then, unfortunately, in a typical example of racing, winning together and losing together, we had a bad pit stop. I have thrown a couple of races away this year, today it was the crew. We just have to keep digging and see what happens. For sure it is disappointing for everyone because it looked like we were going to have a good result, but, that is racing. We are headed in the right direction. So we just have to keep at it, keep building and see what happens next weekend in Iowa.”
ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka/Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet): “It was a long race and I kind of knew it would be that way when we didn’t qualify well. We really had some issues with the car all weekend. We ran with Scott (Dixon) most of the day and the car was better later in the race. Unfortunately, it was a tire sensor that came apart immediately when they put the car down off the jacks on the next-to-last stop (Lap 155). The car was vibrating some badly that the steering wheel almost flew out of my hands. So I had to pit again on the next lap and we got down a lap. I’m not pleased how our team’s weekend went here. We have been so good this year and today just wasn’t our day. Now we’ll move onto Iowa and I like that track a lot. Plus I loved night racing. It should be a great show.”
CARLOS HUERTAS (No. 18 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): “Unfortunately, this race ended like the last one. We had trouble with the car when we came down pit lane and had trouble getting it fixed. We just took the car back to the garage to look at it and were not able to figure it out in time to go back out. The guys will have to keep working on it and I will have to get ready for the next race. I hope we can do better next time.”
GRAHAM RAHAL (No. 15 National Guard Honda): “I had a good start, but then the helmet pad blew out of the car right away and unfortunately I fell back. I couldn’t see, I was trying to hold my head up and it took me a couple of laps to adjust. We fought back. I’m proud of the National Guard guys; we had good pit stops all day. They even did a great job getting the spare pad taped in the cockpit in a hurry. Unfortunately our luck struck again I’m not really sure what happened. The car just snapped. I think something broke and ended our day early. It was getting better. I feel confident that we’re getting somewhere though.”
MIKHAIL ALESHIN (No. 7 SMP Racing Honda): “Everything was really good for me during the race. The car was fast, and we didn’t struggle anywhere mechanically. We did have some radio issues we had to deal with, however. The car was strong, which allowed me to push out there and challenge other drivers. I’m very happy for the team, because we showed that we could be competitive the entire weekend. This is a strong points result for us, too. We’re knocking on the door of the top 10 now, which is very exciting.”
SIMON PAGENAUD (No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Hamilton Motorsports Honda): “That was a long race, and it was very difficult to pass. We started with a high down-force level, and it just wasn’t working out there. We had a good chassis, but we couldn’t pass anyone. It took us awhile to get the balance of the car right, but halfway through we made a bold change that worked. We repositioned ourselves, and the last yellow helped us gain back the ground we had lost. With the low level of down-force we had in the last stint, we were able to pass cars and be more aggressive. I’m very happy with how the team handled the challenges we were faced with today. Finishing sixth today is great considering we didn’t start up front with the strongest race package. I’m happy with sixth today, and want to say congratulations to my teammate Mikhail (Aleshin). He drove a heck of a race today.”
RYAN BRISCOE (No. 8 NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet): “Things are really looking up for NTT DATA Chip Ganassi Racing and I’m just glad we finally were able to get a finish that mirrored our efforts. We just keep looking better and better as the season progresses, and I think we have a lot to look forward to in the second half of this season. This track is awesome and it’s been really fun to race on all weekend.”
CHARLIE KIMBALL (No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet): “It was a pretty disappointing day for the No. 83 Levemir FlexTouch Chevrolet and I feel really bad for the Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing crew. The car was really good all weekend and then we developed a mechanical problem early in the race and then we just fought that all day. We’re looking forward to heading to Iowa and doing some short-track racing on Saturday night.”
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Chevrolet): “It wasn’t a great day for us maybe overall speed-wise, but we had made our way to the top five there at the end of the race and to get a top-five finish after where we started isn’t that bad. The Target team worked hard today and you know anything can happen in these long 500-mile races. We kept the car in one piece and I was happy to bring it home for the guys. Hopefully this builds us some momentum for the next few races.”
TONY KANAAN (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Chevrolet): “There’s two ways to look at today really. First, we had a very strong Target car and I think that shows a lot about what this team and I are capable of when we get the setup right. Secondly, it’s obviously frustrating to dominate a race like that and not win. We just missed going the full 500-mile distance by a few laps and it’s heartbreaking when those things happen, but that is racing, as they say, and we will focus on Iowa now and put it behind us.”
SEBASTIAN SAAVEDRA (No. 17 Automatic Fire Sprinklers KV AFS Chevrolet): “It was a really long day out there and a pretty scary start when we thought we had the same mechanical issue as last weekend. I brought the Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc. – KV AFS Racing car back into the pits, recycled everything and managed to get back out before the green flag and without losing a lap, which was a great job by the whole crew. From then on we just battled. Everyone is extremely strong, it’s not like there are big differences between the cars anymore, but by starting the race so far back hampered us big time. We had a strong car, and managed to get some good points for the championship, but still have a long way to go.”
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE (No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda):”It’s two-fold. We certainly weren’t the quickest car out there, but we certainly had a top 10 in it. On that second stop, my dash was configured wrong and I had no speed – I had no idea how fast I was coming into pit lane and we got nailed for being over (the pit lane speed limit). That obviously put us on the back foot and we fought hard without any yellows to be on the lead lap, to eventually go a lap-down three quarters of the way through the race and a few laps later the yellow came. I guess everything that could have worked against us sort of did. The guys did a good job in the pits, and with that late yellow and some guys taking a risk, we made up a few spots. We never give up, that’s a common theme on this team and it ended up gaining us a few spots. But with double points, it was a bad day to have a bad day.”
MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 25 Snapple Honda): “The race for us was blown from the beginning and the pit lane penalty (for speeding). I’m not sure where they got me speeding, I’m sure I was on the limiter way before the cones so I’m not sure what happened there. We never really rebounded after the penalty making for a really frustrating 500 miles.”
JOSEF NEWGARDEN (No. 67 Hartman Oil/Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda): “It was a solid day considering how the weekend unfolded to begin with, especially after the misfortunes of yesterday and keeping the crew here late last night. It’s nice to bounce back and get a top-10. Solid points, especially on a 500-miler. It’s still 8th, we’re not completely satisfied because we come to these races to win, but still being in the front half of the field is very good and particularly because it’s a double points race.”
RYAN HUNTER-REAY (No. 28 DHL Honda):”Not really the day we were looking for. With that broken suspension early on, you think to yourself ‘why does this have to happen in a double-points race?’ The DHL guys did a great job getting the car fixed, but unfortunately we lost too many laps to hope for a win today. We salvaged all the points we could, which is what you have to do in a situation like this. There are still a lot of points on the line this season and we’re still in contention for the championship, so we really have to look at making every lap count and getting all the points possible in any given situation.”
JUSTIN WILSON (No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Honda): “This was a long race for me. We struggled for pace all day and weren’t even able to make good enough fuel mileage to go for that kind of strategy. I tried my best to stay on the lead lap and get back with the pack on a caution but since it went green for so long, it was just a matter of time before the leaders caught me. I guess we just have to put this one behind us and look forward to the next two weekends in Iowa and Toronto.”
Car 98 Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda had a bad crash in practice for the Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco. At the time of this article Indycar sent this release:
For Immediate Release
HAWKSWORTH CLEARED TO RESUME RACING ACTIVITIES
INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, July 8, 2014) – INDYCAR announced today that Verizon IndyCar Series driver Jack Hawksworth has been cleared by INDYCAR medical director Dr. Michael Olinger to compete July 11-12 in the Iowa Corn Indy 300 presented by DEKALB at Iowa Speedway.
Hawksworth was diagnosed with a myocardial contusion suffered in a practice crash July 5 for the Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco at Pocono Raceway. After initially being checked, cleared and released from the infield care center following the incident. Hawksworth later felt ill and was transported to Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, Pa., where he was held overnight for observation. He was released July 6.
Hawksworth, 23, of Bradford, England, has three top-10 finishes in his first Verizon IndyCar Series season. The driver and entrant, BHA/BBM with Curb-Agajanian, received half points for the 200-lap race at Pocono Raceway.
Verizon IndyCar Series Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco
LONG POND, Pa.- Results Sunday of the Pocono INDYCAR 500 fueled by Sunoco Verizon IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway:
Position, Satrting Position in parentheses, Car #, Driver, Chassis-engine, Laps, Status
1. (1) Car 2 Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
2. (7) Car 3 Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
3. (3) Car 34 Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
4. (10) Car 8 Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
5. (15) Car 9 Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
6. (11) Car 77 Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
7. (12) Car 7 Mikhail Aleshin, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
8. (21) Car 67 Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
9. (5) Car 25 Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
10. (2) Car 12 Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
11. (8) Car 10 Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 200, Running
12. (6) Car 27 James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
13. (13) Car 20 Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 199, Running
14. (16) Car 19 Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
15. (19) Car 17 Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 199, Running
16. (18) Car 11 Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 199, Running
17. (17) Car 83 Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevy, 198, Running
18. (9) Car 28 Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 181, Running
19. (14) Car 15 Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 157, Contact
20. (20) Car 18 Carlos Huertas, Dallara-Honda, 89, Electrical
21. (4) Car 14 Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 25, Electrical
22. (22) Car 98 Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 0, Did Not Start
Race Statistics:
Winners average speed: 202.402 Time of Race: 02:28:13.1798
Margin of victory: 2.3403 Cautions: 1 for 6 laps
Lead changes: 16 among 5 drivers
Verizon P1 Award ($10,000): Juan Pablo Montoya (80.4034, 223.871 mph)
Point Standings: Power 446, Castroneves 446, Pagenaud 402, Montoya 391, Hunter-Reay 388, Munoz 340, Andretti 325, Dixon 297, Briscoe 285, Bourdais 271.
Penalties:
Car Reason Lap Penalty
25 Pit Speed Violation 32 Drive-Through
27 Pit Speed Violation 63 Drive-Through
12 Blocking 176 Drive-Through
Next Race: Saturday, July 12 8 p.m. (ET) NBCSN Iowa Corn Indy 300 presented by DEKALB