DIXON ENDS 40-RACE WINLESS DROUGHT AT WATKINS GLEN; SIMMONS WINS CORNING 100
Scott Dixon won his first IRL IndyCar® Series race in more than two seasons, winning the inaugural Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix presented by Argent Mortgage at Watkins Glen International.
Dixon, the 2003 IndyCar Series champion, inherited the lead when Sam Hornish Jr. pitted with 13 laps remaining in the 60-lap event. He then held off Tony Kanaan on a restart with four laps to go to win his first race since he won at Richmond in June of 2003 – a span of 40 races.
Kanaan finished second, while his Andretti Green Racing teammate Dario Franchitti was third. Road racing specialist Giorgio Pantano, Dixon’s Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate for the weekend, recorded his best career finish by finishing fourth.
Dan Wheldon clinched the 2005 IndyCar Series title by finishing fifth, while Danica Patrick locked up the Bombardier Rookie of the Year title.
Also on Sept. 25, Jeff Simmons claimed his fourth win in six races as he won the Corning 100.
Simmons, who became the first Menards Infiniti Pro Series driver to win on a short oval, superspeedway and road course, jumped to second in the series point standings, 33 behind point leader Wade Cunningham, who finished third.
Marco Andretti, who had won the three previous road/street events in the series finished second.
WATKINS GLEN INDY GRAND PRIX POST RACE QUOTES:
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/Firestone, winner Watkins Glen Indy Grand Prix): “This is such a relief for the team. They did a great job all day, and this group really deserves it. I love this track. It is a lot of fun. We ran strong all day, and this is a great feeling.”
WATKINS GLEN INDY GRAND PRIX POST RACE QUOTES (Cont.):
TONY KANAAN (No. 11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished second): “I think it's pretty good consistency being in the top two at all three road-courses. We'd love to win this race. I couldn't, but I'm happy for Dan (Wheldon). He did it. He drove a great year, and now we're in a fight for second."
DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 27 ArcaEx Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished third): “"It's great winning the championship with Dan (Wheldon). We didn't have the car for the conditions. We were fighting understeer in the hot conditions, so we did stuff to better the understeer and the conditions changed back to where we had oversteer in the car. I had a great time out there I must admit, pushed hard all day. We just didn't have it. Great job by the ArcaEx crew in the pits. Tony (Kanaan) and I finished second and third, Dan winning the championship - pretty cool."
GIORGIO PANTANO (No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Panoz/Toyota/Firestone, finished fourth): “We fell to 18th after our drive-through penalty. I think we were very quick all the race. Unfortunately, I had this drive-through, and it took away my chance to be on the podium for sure. For me, the car was fantastic. The team did a really good job. It was easy to drive. I was always trying to keep going and pushing. Unfortunately, I had this mistake on the pit stop. That’s it. It was great for the team; our first win for this year. They did a great job also in Sonoma where we had a great car. We know we have a good chance to win, and now we have the win. Unfortunately I’m not on the podium with Scott (Dixon).”
KOSUKE MATSUURA (No. 55 Panasonic ARTA Panoz/Honda/Firestone, finished sixth): “It was a great race for us with our second sixth-place finish on a road course. This time was different because in the last (road course) race, I was just holding my position. This time I was able to overtake many cars especially the last three laps after the final caution. When I passed (Sam) Hornish, it was a great overtake because he was absolutely quicker than me and I was able to pass him. On the last lap, two cars crashed in front of me, and I was able to finish in the top six. This race was very good for us, and I am looking forward to the Fontana race.”
SCOTT SHARP (No. 8 Delphi Panoz/Honda/Firestone, finished ninth): “Overall, it was a really good day for the Delphi Fernandez team considering where we started. The crew gave me some great pit stops, and the car got better and better the longer I ran. My times came down to really good lap times. I could run with guys that qualified way ahead of me. I think we made a lot of progress today, and I wish we could start the weekend over again right now.”
PATRICK CARPENTIER (No. 83 Red Bull Cheever Racing Dallara/Toyota/Firestone, finished 10th): “We had a car that was much better than a tenth place finish. Overall the weekend has been great. We had gear shifting problems the entire race. It was a lot of work. It got a lot worse just before that last yellow. It was not going into fifth gear. I just couldn't hold on to that fourth place once all the cars were packed together. But, I am happy. You look and see where we are coming from and where we are going. There were four of five guys at the front that were clearly leading the field today and we were a part of that. So overall it's not that bad."
DANICA PATRICK (No. 16 Rahal Letterman Argent/Pioneer Panoz/Honda/Firestone, finished 16th): (About clinching Bombardier Rookie of the Year title): “It is a big honor to be both Indy 500 and IRL IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year. Not many drivers have been able to accomplish that feat. That is the goal for every rookie driver, so it is a great feeling to reach that goal. Now my next goal is to win a race. We have won three poles this year, and that is pretty good for a rookie. To win a race is what every driver strives for in racing. I am no different, so we are learning, and I felt that I was getting better on my racing skills at Chicagoland, last race. Now, we go to California (Speedway), and I feel good going to that type of track. Today wasn’t a good day for me as we didn’t make the Top 10. I think I clipped the ignition switch when I reach for my brake bias knob. That shut down the engine. Overall, the car wasn’t as good as we wanted today. But we’ll continue to learn. I !am rookie until the last race of the season. I still want to put our Argent/Pioneer Honda car in the winner’s circle. Maybe at California? We’ll work hard to be strong at that final race of the year.”
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone, finished 12th): “Obviously we're extremely disappointed with today’s result, especially because I thought we were finally going to finish a street/permanent road course race this season. The Marlboro Team Penske car was fantastic early on, and we were able to lead a lot of laps. I'm not sure what happened to the car towards the middle of the race. We'll have to take a look at the data back at the race shop and try to figure it out. As far as the incident goes, I don't really know what to say. I was just trying to finish the race and bring the car home in one piece. To be taken out on the final lap is extremely disappointing."
TOMAS ENGE (No. 2 ROCKSTAR Panther Racing Dallara/Chevrolet/Firestone, finished 13th): “I was fighting with (Helio) Castroneves late in the race and trying to overtake and stay as close as possible and have less drag on my ROCKSTAR car. After the last restart, I pulled along side of him, and we touched. I don’t know if he turned into me or if I turned into him, I have to see a replay, but it’s a real shame for us and a shame for Helio because he hasn’t finished a road course race. We were fighting for a good position, and I had a very, very fast Chevy today. I got past two or three people on every restart, but we lost some important positions in the pits as well. We made great improvements all weekend from Friday right up until the race, and it’s just a shame for everybody at Panther and especially the ROCKSTAR team.”
SAM HORNISH JR. (No. 6 Marlboro Team Penske Dallara/Toyota/Firestone, finished seventh): “Overall, I’m satisfied with the way we ran today. It was a race of patience for us, and we did what we needed to do to accomplish our goal of getting to the end and finishing in the top 10. The Marlboro Team Penske car had understeer in the first stint so the crew made a front wing adjustment which improved the handling. I enjoyed racing here, and hopefully next year, we’ll be going for a top-three finish.”
CHAMPIONSHIP PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES:
DAN WHELDON (No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone, IndyCar Series champion): “Now that it's over, it's such a relief. This is a great feeling. With as crazy as I am, you never know what's going to happen in my life, so just getting here to make the first lap was never a done deal. I know the owners worried about it. I knew when I put in that practice lap, we had won it, but it was nice to make it official after the race. But I'm not the kind of guy who is going to come to a race track and take it easy. I was racing to win. I feel bad taking the championship from Tony (Kanaan), but it's certainly nice to keep the championship in the team." (About his season): “I've had a great year this year, but we have to continue to set the bar high. I still believe I'm learning a lot, believe it or not. This is only my second full season in (the) IndyCar (Series), and I keep learning a ton. I hope to keep getting better. It's going to be tough to top this year, but the compet!ition in this series is unbelievable. You could certainly see that today at this type of track. I'm really looking forward to getting back to the Speedway."
MICHAEL ANDRETTI (Co-owner, Andretti Green Racing): “The goal for this team is to continue to win the way it already has. It's not going to be easy, but it's what we need to do. Every year. It's tough. This year as been special, because we've met every goal, and we'll make goals for next year." (How do you keep the super team together?): “Our challenge is to keep this team together. Not just the four drivers, but everyone in the team. We're getting close to doing that for next year. Continuity is what did it for us this year. We've hardly lost any people, and that's been great for us. Everybody really gets along at Andretti Green. It's not just talk. It's real.”
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CORNING 100 POST-RACE QUOTES:
JEFF SIMMONS (No. 24 Team ISI Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, Corning 100 winner): “"I knew we had a chance to get back in the lead. We've been one of the quickest cars all weekend, and so was Wade (Cunningham). Marco (Andretti) hadn't been that quick, and he drove a heck of a race obviously to fight to the end. I couldn't get the brake balance right on the car. We made a lot of changes actually sitting in the line to go out for the race. I didn't get a chance to test any of that stuff. I just had a lot of problems with the brakes early on and was able to sort that out most of the way. I locked up the rear brakes a lot in the race, and that's what sent me wide. I'm just happy that I saved that spin, got the 360 done and was able to keep going. To spin and win, I don't think that's really a good thing. Danny Sullivan got a lot of good credit for it, but when you spin it means you made a mistake." (About the pass of Marco) "He and I were both kind of hard on the brakes trying to avo!id the car that slid in front of him. In a way, I was hoping there wasn't going to be traffic, because it can mess you up just as easy as it's going to help you. Fortunately, it worked out OK for me, but I was measuring him up any way trying to get him out on the open track. It worked out well for us and gave us the gap we needed to make it to the end." (About moving into second in the championship) "It's actually in a way a little bittersweet. We have a chance mathematically in the points. If Wade has problems and we're able to win again, we have a chance. It's a little bittersweet because we had mechanical problems and got taken out a couple of times early in the year, so we know that we could have been way ahead in the points right now. To still have a chance after all of the problems we had, we came back in such a short amount of time, I’m proud of everyone on Team ISI and the Kenn Hardley Racing for sticking with it."
MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Vonage Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, finished second): “The lapped car didn't have his eyes open. Obviously, he didn't know I was there, or he would have just moved over. If he would have, it would have been my race. It happens. I still had a shot at the end, but then I got a little aero push."
WADE CUNNINGHAM (No. 33 Motorsport New Zealand Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, finished third): “"It was a tough day. Everything wasn't quite right. We had the car set up for higher downforce. It was difficult, but once everything settled down, the car was fast. I was quick, if not a little quicker than the guys in front of me, and I just couldn't go anywhere behind them. I couldn't get close enough to make a pass going into the corners. Other than that it was OK, third place, and we'll get ready for California (Speedway)."
CHRIS FESTA (No. 19 SpacePak/CareCentric/SSM Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, finished fourth): “The race went much better than the whole weekend. We’re very happy with that. We finished 4th so that’s a pretty good result. We got some points back that we needed. It just wasn’t our weekend All weekend we haven’t run the pace that some other guys had, so it wasn’t the best weekend for us. We’ll put it in the book and go to Fontana. It’s (Watkins Glen) is a great track. It’s high speed but it’s also technical. You have to push the car hard to get what you want out of it. It’s a great track for people like us to come and learn before we move into the big cars.”
NICK BUSSELL (No. 9 Vision Racing Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, finished fifth): “Yeah, it was a good run from where we started. The times got better too. We made improvements all around. I’m happy with the guys. They got the car ready after we changed motors and all kinds of things like that. We changed a lot overnight. They were the last guys out here. I’m glad to get in the top five for them. It was a little slick out there. The set up is kind of a guess. The track was a little slower than it’s been, and we were running times that we were running before. We obviously made big improvements.”
TRAVIS GREGG (No. 7 Lucas Oil Products/SSM Dallara/Infiniti/Firestone, finished 12th): “I spun in Turn 8, and I think confidence-wise, it hurt me a little bit because I didn’t push as hard. I had a problem this morning and I didn’t want to tear any more equipment up. We struggled on a road course as always, but we usually have a good car. It’s just me working up to speed.” (About remaining in the title chase): “We’ve been strong on the ovals all year, and I’m actually looking forward to getting back on an oval. My team won the pole last year (at California Speedway), so we should be in good shape.”
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The 10th season of IndyCar Series competition continues with the Toyota Indy 400 at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) on Oct. 16 at California Speedway. The race will be broadcast by ESPN and the IMS Radio Network. The race broadcast will also be carried on XM Satellite Radio channel 152 (XM Extreme). ESPN2’s telecast of the Corning 100 will be shown at 3 p.m. (EDT) on Sept. 29 The next Menards Infiniti Pro Series race is the California 100 on Oct. 16 at California Speedway. It will be telecast at 3 p.m. (EDT) on Oct. 20.
