Ryan Briscoe broke through with his first IndyCar win earlier this season and on Sunday he managed his second when he outlasted Penske Racing teammate Helio Castroneves in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
Briscoe built over a nine-second lead in the waning laps and won by 7.2640 seconds over Castroneves, who scored yet another runner-up and closed the points gap by five on Scott Dixon. “What a weekend for Team Penske. It really couldn’t be better. It just feels so good to get this win. It’s been a rough couple of weeks in the lead up to here, and this one’s sweet for sure,’’ said Briscoe.
“What a comeback. It’s all strategy from Roger Penske himself. I don’t know if it’s momentum, because the two races in the lead up to this one weren’t so good, but hopefully we’ll keep some momentum from here.”
Since heavy thunderstorms moved through the area earlier in the day, parts of the track were not completely dry at the start of the race. Teams opted for slick tires instead of rain tires after running the first few laps.
Castroneves started on the pole and led the first five laps before he made his tire change. Briscoe inherited the lead for one lap and then made his stop. That allowed Vitor Meira to take over the top spot from there.
The first full course yellow came on the eighth lap when Ryan Hunter-Reay and Enrique Bernoldi made contact. Meira continued to lead the way when the race resumed on Lap 13.
On lap 25, Briscoe pitted much earlier than expected. And the strategy worked to his advantage.
“We ran into a little bit of trouble early on,” Briscoe said. “We went back in the pits and then stayed out a little too long. But what a comeback. That’s all Roger (Penske). That’s his strategy.”
“I think that was the only chance we had,” Penske said. “What a great drive for Briscoe. I think he’s validated himself now as one of the top drivers in the Indy Racing League. And, to finish 1-2, I couldn’t believe when I saw what happened here a few minutes ago.”
It’s the eighth 1-2 finish and first since 2005 at Phoenix for Penske, whose team has now won seven times at Mid-Ohio, including six in the old CART series that later became Champ Car and was absorbed into the IndyCar Series in February.
“Ryan got lucky on his strategy and drove a great race, opening up an 11-second lead,” said Castroneves, still winless this season. “That’s it. There was nothing we could do. Second’s a good place. Another one. I’m not going to worry about winning, I’m just going to be happy with second for now.”
Defending race winner and series points leader Scott Dixon finished third, followed by Will Power and Oriol Servia, teammates at KV Racing Technology and two of the nine drivers transitioning from the defunct Champ Car World Series to the newly unified IndyCar.
“I wouldn’t say it’s huge fun, trying to keep tabs on where people are, the people you’re chasing for a championship,” Dixon said of Sunday’s messy race. “That’s the deal, though. It’s not all about going out and winning races, it’s about having consistency, finishing races and making the next one (a better) situation.”
Dixon, the Indianapolis 500 winner, has 455 points to 397 for Castroneves, who has yet to win a race this season. Aware that a misstep by either of them could extend or close the points race significantly, both were comfortable letting Briscoe fly away while staying in touch with each other and keeping the rest of the field in their mirrors.
“There was not much I could do unless I do something stupid,” Castroneves said, nodding toward Dixon. “I wasn’t going to do that.”
Coming off the final turn, Mario Dominguez, who had spun off the track twice — once after his rear wing broke — touched wheels with Justin Wilson. Wilson spun and Wheldon, A.J. Foyt IV and Marco Andretti got caught up in the accident which ended Andretti’s race.
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