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2016 Firestone 600: 3 Things We Learned From Texas

By Brittany Frederick

Graham Rahal celebrates his victory at the 2016 Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo Credit: Chris Owens/Courtesy of IndyCar
Graham Rahal celebrates his victory at the 2016 Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo Credit: Chris Owens/Courtesy of IndyCar /
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Graham Rahal stole a win in the 2016 Firestone 600, but that’s not all that happened. Here are our three takeaways from IndyCar’s night at Texas Motor Speedway.

The 2016 Firestone 600 began under crazy circumstances, and it finished in a wild way as well. Graham Rahal shocked the crowd by sneaking past James Hinchcliffe on the final lap to snatch the win after restarting the race in 12th.

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It was the fifth closest finish in the history of IndyCar, and a surprising way to end an event that took two and a half months to get into the record books. But even though fans only saw 177 laps of racing at Texas, they still got a full race’s worth of talking points out of Saturday night’s action.

Here are the three things we learned from the 2016 Firestone 600:

1. It’s not over till it’s over

For the most part the resumption of the 2016 Firestone 600 seemed like it was predestined. Hinchcliffe started in the lead and once the race settled down, really wasn’t seriously threatened. At one point his lead over Ed Carpenter was more than eight seconds; once Carpenter crashed out we wondered if anybody could catch The Mayor of Hinchtown.

Enter Rahal, who had kept pushing his way up the field and snuck up on Hinch on the final lap, getting the win away from him by literally a nose. It was a heartbreaker for Hinchcliffe but a reminder that, as Starship once sang, it’s not over till it’s over. And isn’t that the way we love racing?

Related Story: 2016 Firestone 600 Results: Rahal Wins In Texas

2. Tony Kanaan deserves more respect

The final laps of the 2016 Firestone 600 were the most exciting conclusion to a race since the 2015 GoPro Grand Prix at Sonoma. Watching Rahal, Hinchcliffe, Tony Kanaan and Simon Pagenaud going wheel to wheel kept us on the edge of our seats. All four drivers were racing hard but they were also racing smart – what could’ve easily been a massive wreck was instead a show of just how competitive IndyCar can be.

Kanaan hasn’t been talked about that much with Team Penske dominating the championship hunt but he’s quietly had a very, very good season. The No. 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet has been in the mix often and Kanaan has given the fans plenty to be excited about. And in those closing moments at Texas, the 2004 IndyCar champion proved he hasn’t lost anything behind the wheel. He drove an amazing conclusion to that race and deserves a round of applause.

3. Sometimes not winning is winning (long-term, that is)

Pagenaud made the decision to drop back from the leading group and finish fourth, rather than try to keep going four wide with Rahal, Hinchcliffe and Kanaan. It might have seemed weird to give up on the win but IndyCar fans know Pagenaud was playing defensively so as to preserve his lead in the championship points by not getting involved in a potential crash.

He may not have driven into Victory Lane at the 2016 Firestone 600, but instead Pagenaud kept his top spot on the IndyCar season standings and actually increased his advantage by another eight points over Will Power. Not fighting for the win at Texas could be the move that helps him win the IndyCar championship, and that’s a trade-off you’d make any day.

What were your takeaways from the 2016 Firestone 600?