Rice started 13th after a disappointing qualifying run, but quickly improved, moving into the top 10 almost immediately and battling with former teammate Danica Patrick during the middle stages. Even after a link in the right rear suspension failed with more than half the race remaining, Rice battled on as part of an entertaining multi-car scrap for sixth place that also included Andretti, Patrick, Franchitti and Tomas Scheckter. A last lap stop for a splash of fuel dropped Rice from eighth to tenth at the checker, but it was still a noteworthy performance for the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team.
After opening the 2007 season with an oval race and street course on back-to-back weekends in Florida, the IndyCar Series now heads to Japan for Honda’s “home” race at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit, a 1.5- mile oval located northeast of Tokyo, on April 21st.
Helio Castroneves(#3 Team PenskeHonda) Started 1st, finished 1st, his 12th career IndyCar Series victory and secondconsecutive win at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg: “It’s just incredible. I tell you what, you have to be so focused on this race track, and make sure you don’t mess anything up. And it seemed like every time I managed to build up a bit of a lead, the caution flag would come out and it would be gone! But I just kept focused, focused, focused, all day long, getting every corner perfect. Honda did a great job as always with the engine, and my crew was great at all the pit stops. Toward the end of the race, the [transmission] gears weren’t able to come in and I had to hold on make sure I didn’t make any mistakes. But hey, we got the win, and it was great day for Team Penske. ”
Scott Dixon (#9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 4th, finished 2nd, takes over the early season drivers’ championship lead with 80 points: “It was a tough day. Our car was definitely faster than Helio’s on cold tries, but we didn’t have anything for him on the longer runs. Our best bet was to get them in the pits or on a restart, but we couldn’t get it done today. It’s good to have a pair of strong finishes early in the season and be leading the championship going to Japan. ”
IRL IndyCar Series Round 02: Homestead-St. Petersburg Speedway, St. Petersburg
1 Helio Castroneves (Team Penske)
2 Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi)
3 Tony Kanaan (Andretti Green Racing)
4 Marco Andretti (Andretti Green Racing)
5 Dario Franchitti (Andretti Green Racing)
6 Tomas Scheckter (Vision Racing)
7 Sam Hornish Jr. (Team Penske)
8 Danica Patrick (Andretti Green Racing)
9 Dan Wheldon (Target Chip Ganassi)
10 Buddy Rice (Dreyer & Reinbold)
11 Scott Sharp (Rahal Letterman Racing)
12 Darren Manning (A. J. Foyt Racing)
13 A. J. Foyt IV (Vision Racing)
14 Jeff Simmons (Rahal Letterman Racing)
15 Sarah Fisher (Dreyer & Reinbold)
16 Vitor Meira (Delphi Panther Racing)
17 Kosuke Matsuura (Super Aguri Panther)
18 Ed Carpenter (Vision Racing)
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