Bad day goes good for several drivers in Iowa: Lost amid the chaos surrounding Dario Franchitti’s win in a crash-filled Iowa Corn Indy 250 was the season- best day for the five drivers who finished behind the IndyCar Series point leader.
Runner-up Marco Andretti, third-place finisher Scott Sharp, fourth-place finisher Buddy Rice and fifth-place Darren Manning all recorded their best performance of the year on the tricky 7/8th-mile oval.
“I said to Dario, this is just what he needed for points, ” said Andretti, who advanced 10 positions and was running at the finish for the first time this season on an oval. “He said, this is just what I needed, too. He’s completely right. I just needed to finish. I’m happy to be second, of course. But no confidence lost here, for sure. It was a long day, though, very physical. “
Sharp, who avoided several of the incidents which eliminated many of the race’s contenders, continued to build upon the momentum that Rahal Letterman Racing gained at Indianapolis in May, recording his fourth top-10 finish.
“God was watching over us, ” Sharp said. “So many cars were literally a foot or two sideways in front of me and somehow I avoided them. It was a great day for points. Obviously we’re picking picking up the pace. We qualified fourth, finished third, were able to run with the leaders all day and had great pit stops. I’m really excited. ”
Rice and Manning also followed the same formula, staying out of trouble to finish in the top-five.
“We stayed out of trouble, and the guys made a good call on the pit sequence there, ” Rice said. “We started in the back and then came in and topped off and that’s what really kept us toward the front all day. We came out of here in a good position by just staying out of trouble. Our car wasn’t superfast by itself. It ran OK in the draft and we missed a bit on the setup but the big thing was staying out of trouble. ”
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