ABC SUPPLY 500
RACE REPORT
08.20.17
Fan-filled grandstands at Pocono Raceway saw an epic Indy car battle as 42 lead changes played out over 500 miles at the Tricky Triangle. Expedite Home Loans driver Takuma Sato lead the field of 22 cars to the green flag, and each of his teammates then continued to see the first position. Alexander Rossi captured a total of 44 laps led, while Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti led 12 and 9 laps, respectively.
The Verizon IndyCar Series now heads directly to Gateway Motorsports Park for the return of Indy cars to the St. Louis area. Catch the last oval of the season live on NBC Sports Network Saturday, August 26, at 9 p.m. ET.
No. 98 MilitaryToMotorsports.com / Curb Honda
•Started 6th // Finished 3rd
•Championship: 8th (394 pts.)
•Of Note: Led a total of 44 laps while creating awareness for MilitaryToMotorsports.com
"The Military to Motorsports Car was great all day. The NAPA Know How crew was stellar all day. It’s a really good result, but when you come so close to a win, it’s sometimes difficult to swallow. We know these Honda engines have something for the competition, but the fuel mixture knob came off my steering wheel about two-thirds of the way through, so we didn’t have full power there at the end. Looking back to where we were at Pocono last year, when we had a strong car and didn’t finish, and to come back to be on the podium is a testament to Andretti Autosport, the entire team and the work that they’ve done all year."
No. 28 DHL Honda
•Started 21st // Finished 8th
•Championship: 11th (322 pts.)
•Of Note: Battled through the pain lingering from Saturday's qualifying crash... Saw nearly each of the 22 positions during the 500-mile race after starting from 21st and working his way to lead 12 laps
“I’ve been through 500 miles plenty of times, but I’m just beat after this one. It was a great run though, we started with a lot of downforce since we started at the back of the field. Because we didn’t have a final practice or warmup after Qualifying, it took a while to get the balance of the car right. We started really slicing our way through it and I thought ‘Hey, we really have something here,’ – we were leading at halfway. I thought it was going to be a good end to the race, but we just didn’t get enough downforce out of [the car]. I was getting big runs on guys, but just couldn’t complete it. But I’m really happy to just get back in the car today and put the effort forward. We put on a good showing for DHL and for the fans out here, and that’s important. It was a test today; it was a mental test, no doubt, and a physical one as well. I was really glad to roll back into pit lane after the race and see the crew here with smiles on their faces.”
No. 27 United Fiber & Data Honda
•Started 16th // Finished 11th
•Championship: 13th (306 pts.)
•Of Note: With nine laps led, passed 1,000 total laps led in his Verizon IndyCar Series career
“It was a tough day, it felt like we had a lot going against us. We caught a yellow [flag] at a bad time, and then cut a tire and went to the back a few times. It was an unfortunate day, but we kept fighting and were able to lead some laps. It’s a bit of a bummer not to finish higher in my home race, but the UFD boys did a great job with the car and in the pits. Onward to Gateway for one last oval of the season.”
No. 26 Expedite Home Loans Honda
•Started 1st // Finished 13th
•Championship: 7th (399 pts.)
•Of Note: Started from the pole position, his second pole start of the 2017 season
“It was a tough race. Up through Qualifying, it was a fantastic weekend. The 26 boys and the Expedite Home Loans car worked extremely well – outstanding job to the crew. It was a great feeling to put the car on the pole here in Pocono. I always look forward to this race; it’s always an exciting race. Today we struggled a lot. It’s a shame we finished in 13th from where we started, but that’s racing. We need to understand what happened and hopefully we have a strong race next weekend.”
Linkback: https://www.canadianracingonline.com/smf/index.php?topic=24933.msg117499#msg117499
