Opportunistic throughout the 200-lap PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300, Mario Moraes wasn’t about to pass up the chance for a career-high finish.
So the No. 5 Azul Tequila/Votorantim/KV Racing Technolgy car slipped out of the draft of Dario Franchitti’s car on the white flag lap and overtook the championship contender for third place a few hundred yards from the finish line on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway oval. Another lap and he might have challenged for the victory. Ryan Briscoe beat Scott Dixon to the checkered flag by 0.0077 of a second (the fourth-closest finish in IndyCar Series history). Moraes was 0.0699 of a second back..
In the past two races, Moraes has posted career bests on a road course (fourth at Infineon Raceway) and now an oval. He’s started in the top 10 at three of the four 1.5-mile ovals, including eighth at Chicagoland.
“I would like to say thank you (to) KV Racing. They did an amazing job,” said Moraes, who was running sixth as late as Lap 197. “The guys had perfect pit stops. The entire KV Racing Technology team has been working really hard for this all season and I’m really pleased with a third-place finish.”
Moraes, 20, competing in his 18th IndyCar Series oval race and 30th overall, jumped two positions to 16th in the standings with two races remaining. He missed the event at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in early August to be with his family in Brazil following the death of his father.
“This last month has been really tough for me, and the hardest part of all of this is being focused,” he said, “because everything comes passing through your mind. I want to dedicate this to my dad and say thank you (to) KV Racing.”
| 
|