IndyCar: Pagenaud, Rahal Battle in Alabama
After a rocky start to the 2016 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, the drivers in the Verizon IndyCar Series put on a compelling caution-free race featuring a battle between Chevrolet and Honda.
It was also a fight between one of the biggest teams in the paddock and one of the smallest. Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Graham Rahal went wheel to wheel with Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud but after the checkered flag fell, all he could say was “We should have won”. Instead, Team Penske driver Simon Pagenaud is now a back-to-back winner in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
After going green-to-checkered at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach last week, the Verizon IndyCar Series started the race at Barber Motorsports Park with a spin before the drop of the green flag. Then, once the race got started, KV Racing Technology driver Sebastien Bourdais made an ill-advised dive-bomb move into the Turn 5 and forced Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon to spin around. It was only a local yellow as the rest of the field made it through without an incident.
Despite all that, Pagenaud easily led the majority of the race after starting in the pole position. But, it wasn’t going to be easy street for the entire event. Smart pit strategy, conservative use of boost, and long green flag stints helped Graham Rahal get to the front and battle for the lead.
After the final round of pit stops, Rahal was in the best position to get to victory lane. With
about 25 laps to go, the Honda driver had eight push-to-pass boosts left while Pagenaud had just one. Lap after lap, Rahal sliced his way through slower traffic and closed the gap to the lead.
As the laps ticked away, Pagenaud got held up by lapped traffic. Rahal pushed the issue and got a wheel underneath Pagenaud when the Team Penske driver faded back toward the right-hand turn and made contact with Rahal. Rahal held his line and slipped into the lead as Pagenaud went off the track but maintained the second position. Then later, as the leaders tried to get around another lapped car, Rahal made contact with the slower car and damaged his front wing. Pagenaud saw Rahal struggling and surged into the lead while the Honda driver nursed his car home to a second place finish.
For once, the Verizon IndyCar Series officials did the right thing when any potential call could have changed the complexion of the race. The first incident between Rahal and Pagenaud was under review, but the race stewards did not hand down a penalty. They made the right decision by letting the drivers race each other. The incident, while it did end with a lead change, did not cause either driver to lose dramatic track position.
OTHER RACE NOTES: 1. Team Penske driver Juan Pablo Montoya was the biggest mover of the race. After a disappointing qualifying effort and ending up in the last starting spot on the grid, Montoya carved through the field and finished fifth. 2. Defending Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama winner Josef Newgarden managed a third-place finish. 3. Scott Dixon, who spun on the first lap, raced his way to a tenth-place finish.
Here are the full results from the 2016 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama:
- Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, Team Penske
- Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
- Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing
- Will Power, Chevrolet, Team Penske
- Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, Team Penske
- James Hinchcliffe, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
- Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, Team Penske
- Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing
- Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, Tresiba Chip Ganassi Racing
- Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, Target Chip Ganassi Racing
- Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, Andretti Autosport
- Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Autosport
- Takuma Sato, Honda, AJ Foyt Racing
- Carlos Munoz, Honda, Andretti Autosport
- Alexander Rossi, Honda, Herta-Andretti Autosport
- Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, KV Racing Technology
- Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
- Luca Filippi, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
- Jack Hawksworth, Honda, AJ Foyt Racing
- Conor Daly, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing
- Max Chilton, Chevrolet, Gallagher Chip Ganassi Racing
Next: IndyCar's New Dirt Connection
The next race for the Verizon IndyCar Series is the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis. It is set for Saturday, May 14 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will air on the ABC Network.