Ryan Briscoe nipped Ed Carpenter by 0.162 seconds at the finish line to dash Carpenter’s hopes of picking up his first career victory in a race IndyCar officials hope will quiet critics who complain the open-wheel series has gotten too boring.
For a night anyway, the series delivered the kind of thrills that have been lacking this year.
The closest finish in the 10-year history of the race offered proof that the handful of changes IndyCar implemented last week to create a more competitive environment worked.
Briscoe and Carpenter spent the last 10 laps running side-by-side, and the top nine cars were separated by less than two seconds in a race that featured 20 lead changes and produced the second-fastest race in series history.
“The old IRL is back,” said Tony Kanaan, who finished third a week after suffering burns to his face in a cockpit fire at Edmonton.
The drivers gave much of the credit to IndyCar president of competition and operations Brian Barnhart, who approved a series of aerodynamic and engine modifications last week that allowed teams a little more wiggle room with how they set their cars up.
“It was kind of what we expected and hoped for,” Barnhart said. “Certainly what we saw tonight was very good.”
The most noticeable change came in the form of the “Push to Pass” button, a feature that allowed drivers to get a series of 12-second horsepower boosts throughout the race. Briscoe and Carpenter saved some of their 20-boost allotment for the final miles, with Briscoe hitting the button halfway through the last lap, a move that seemed to give him just enough momentum to slip by Carpenter. The Associated Press
Once engaged, the button produced between five and 20 horsepower, depending on fuel mixture and gear ratio. A 10-second recovery followed the 12-second boost.
Briscoe said he had 17 pushes with 19 laps to go, and he decided the best way to use it was to engage it on the backstretch so he could get a strong run off the critical fourth corner.
It seemed that was the difference in him leading at the line on the final lap, but he couldn’t say for sure.
“You tell me,” he said. “I was just pushing the button.”
Tony Kanaan finished third and had the best view of what will be a memorable duel.
“We wanted a photo finish, and we got it,” said Kanaan, who drove six days after being burned in a pit road fire at Edmonton. “The eyes were on us, and the series delivered.”
The drivers said the key to the close racing was the mandatory removal of the two half-inch wickers on the rear wing.
Also credited was Firestone, which brought a tire that didn’t allow rubber debris to build in the higher lane. Indianapolis Star
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