IRL – POWER SECOND AT LONG BEACH
- 27 May 2013
Continueing his outstanding form at the Californian circuit, Will Power finished just 3.5 seconds behind Dario Franchitti who took victory for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. For Franchitti, the win was his first since returning to the IndyCar Series and his ninth career triumph in the series. Will backed up from his champ car here last year to claim pole and finish second despite having to change cars on Saturday, when Helio Castroneves rejoined the team, and having radio problems throughout the race.
The Target Chip Ganassi team celebrated its 25th victory in the IndyCar Series. "I have lots of Champ-Car street and road course wins, but I haven't had one in the IndyCar Series, so to finally get one feels good for a lot of reasons," the winner said. "Having finished second here twice it is good to be on the other end and get the job done. It also feels good to win in the unified series. Today reminded of the good old days of racing in Long Beach."
Regarding his race and the strategy employed, he added, "The guys pitted me early, and that got us track position ahead of Will Power, and after that I did my best to save fuel. My second stint didn't go too well, but on the last restart, the car allowed me to drive it just like I wanted to."
Franchitti trailed leaders Will Power and Raphael Matos in the early laps before passing Matos on the 15th circuit. Thereafter, he only lost the lead during pit stops. At the end, he held a solid 3.3 second advantage.
Will Power, driving without a workable radio, took second place in the Team Verizon Wireless car fielded by Team Penske. "It was a great day," Power said. "We had no radio and no telemetry, so I was doing it off the steering wheel and off the pit board. Second is very good, and I feel happy for the guys, as they put a lot of effort into it. Team Penske has given me a fantastic ride, and I can't thank them enough."
Tony Kanaan raced his way into third place from his 11th starting position. Said the Brazilian, "We work better under pressure, I guess. It's a good day for Andretti Green Racing and a great job for my 7-Eleven team. When we have a car to win, we win, and when we don't, we finish on the podium."
Danica Patrick brought another AGR home fourth ahead of Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti with Helio Castroneves finishing his comeback race in seventh. Castroneves had been aquitted at his tax evasion trial on Friday and took over the car that Will Power had been using, relegating Power to the team’s third car.
Eighth through tenth were Raphael Matos, Robert Doornbos and Alex Tagliani, who picked up one position on the last lap.