Scott Dixon

IZOD IndyCar Series driver

Las Vegas Closes Season With A Bang

Posted by chadsmith5 on October 14, 2011
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This weekend, the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season will wrap up in dramatic fashion in Las Vegas. There are so many storylines entering this final race of the season, with all of the changes coming after Sunday’s race.

Tony Kanaan won his first Pole of the season today, the 15th of his career. Oriol Servia will start beside him on the front row. He is the seventh different Pole winner this year. Five different teams are represented in the top 5, and eight in the top 10.

For the 12th time in the past 16 years, the Championship winner will be determined during the final race of the season. Once again it will come down to Dario Franchitti for Chip Ganassi, and Will Power for Roger Penske. Franchitti holds an 18 point lead heading into Las Vegas.

Dario is looking to win his third Championship in a row this weekend. Power will be looking to finally win his first, and the first for Penske since Sam Hornish won it in 2006. Both of these drivers have won their fair share of Pole Awards this year, yet they will both be starting from row nine on Sunday.

Another battle that will play out on Sunday is the Rookie of the Year award between James Hinchcliffe and JR Hildebrand. He currently sits just six points ahead of Hinchcliffe, although James missed the first race of the season.

Dan Wheldon will of course be trying to win the $5 million challenge in Las Vegas. Although he won the Indianapolis 500 in dramatic fashion this year, this might be even tougher. He will be driving Alex Tagliani’s number 77 machine, and will have to start from the end of the field, back in 34th position.

This will be the final race for Danica Patrick in the IZOD IndyCar Series, where she really made a name for herself. It is well documented that she only has one win, which she won on fuel strategy. Even though she may come back to try her hand at Indianapolis, this could be the last time we ever see her in an open-wheel car.

Not only will this be the final race for Danica, but it will also be the final race for the current IndyCar machines. When they take the green flag on Sunday, it will be the last time they ever see the track. The new concept car will be thrust into the sport beginning next year.

Helio Castroneves will be trying to keep an eleven-year streak alive on Sunday. He has won at least one race every year since 2000. This is his final shot at getting a win to extend it into next season.

We have had one of the most memorable finishes in Indy 500 history, heated rivalries, many new faces in victory lane, and many other surprises along the way. This season has been very special, and it will all conclude this Sunday. One driver will leave with bitter disappointment, while the other hoists the Championship trophy.

Ed Carpenter Wins, Dario Takes 18 Point Lead Into Vegas

Posted by chadsmith5 on October 2, 2011
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Today was most likely the only time you will ever see Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon looking up at Ed Carpenter on the podium.

Ed Carpenter won his first career race on Sunday, barely edging out Dario Franchitti in the Kentucky Indy 300 in his 113th career start. His photo-finish win is the sixth closest finish in IZOD IndyCar Series history.

While Dario didn’t get the win, he did have a fantastic day in the overall championship points standings. It didn’t look good for him early though, as he started outside of the top ten and Will Power led the first 49 laps from pole position.

The tables quickly turned in one pit stop. On lap 80, the first caution of the race came out for debris on the back stretch. Everyone came into pit during the yellow, and as Power was entering his pit stall, Ana Beatriz was leaving hers, and she made heavy contact with the left-rear of Power’s machine.

Power had a hole in the left side of his car, which took multiple stops to repair. Franchitti took the lead coming out of the pits. It was a 64 point swing in the championship standings for Dario.

It was an unusual incident for Power’s wife Liz, who works for Beatriz’s team, Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

Dario led the most laps on the day, giving him crucial bonus points heading into the final race of the season. Teammate Scott Dixon won the AJ Foyt Oval Championship over Dario by ten points, but Dixon was mathematically eliminated from the overall championship.

James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay finished behind Carpenter, Franchitti, and Dixon to round out the top five finishers.

Ana Beatriz brought out a caution on lap 167 when she lost control of her car, sliding backwards and hitting the wall. The final restart came with 22 laps to go, with the Ganassi teammates in first and second. Carpenter got around Dixon and challenged Dario on the outside until the very end.

It was a scary scene on pit road in the middle of the race. Three separate incidents saw crew members being struck by cars. On lap 139 Simona de Silvestro came into her pit stall sideways, wiping out one of her own crew members.

Just one lap later, Marco Andretti was racing Graham Rahal out of the pits, and ran into Alex Lloyd, who hadn’t yet made his stop. Marco was out of the race, a bitter disappointment considering he was running in second place for most of the race.

JR Hildebrand also had a problem coming into his pit stall, and pinned his left-front tire changer between his car and the wall.

Helio Castroneves had an engine failure on lap 36. He apparently had a leak somewhere in the engine. He has yet to win a race this season, putting one of the most impressive streaks in the sport in jeopardy. Helio has won at least one race every season for the past eleven years. His final chance to extend that streak will come in the season finale.

The final race can be seen on ABC at 3pm on Sunday October 16.

Franchitti will now take an 18 point lead into the final race of the season at Las Vegas. He had trailed Power by 12 points before today’s race.

Once again the final race of the season will decide the championship between Franchitti and Power. For both fans and participants of the sport, we couldn’t ask for anything more.

Dixon Dominates in Japan, Teammate Franchitti Loses Championship Lead

Posted by chadsmith5 on September 18, 2011
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The IZOD IndyCar Series made the long trip to Japan perhaps for the final time today. The series was forced to run on the road course at Twin-Ring Motegi, instead of the usual oval that was damaged by the earthquakes earlier this year.

Scott Dixon dominated the final event in Japan, winning the Pole award and leading nearly every single lap of the race in route to his second win of the season.

The Indy Japan 300 was the final road course of the year, with just the 1.5 mile ovals of Kentucky and Las Vegas remaining on the 2011 schedule. Once the 63 laps were complete on the 2.9 mile road course, the Mario Andretti Road Course Championship was officially decided. Much to the surprise of no one, Will Power came away with the trophy this year.

Scott Dixon started on the pole, and Will Power joined him on the front row. It was a bad break for Power, who just missed on picking up the bonus point in the overall Championship standings that comes with winning the Pole.

The race got off to a shaky start, as half the field didn’t seem to realize that the green flag was already out. Helio Castroneves went off into the sand entering the first turn, but he didn’t suffer any damage. Dixon held on to lead the first lap; the first of many.

On lap 21, Joao Paulo De Oliveira ran out of fuel on track, bringing out a full-course caution on lap 22.  The top five remained the same for the first 20 laps, but Ryan Briscoe had a quicker pit stop than Graham Rahal just before the caution came out. Briscoe moved to third, Rahal back to fourth, and Franchitti remained in fifth.

The restart on lap 26 was the biggest part of the race. Heading into turn one, Franchitti went under Briscoe making it three-wide as their cars made contact. The move damaged both cars, in addition to Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball. It was a huge break for Power in the Championship standings.

In one bad move, Franchitti took himself out of contention for the race, as well as two other Ganassi cars, belonging to Rahal and Kimball. All three drivers were running in the top six at the time of the incident.

Franchitti was “penalized” by race control. He was told to go to the back of the field; a place where he already was. He was able to work his way back into the top ten, as he finished where he started in ninth place.

Tony Kanaan was given a drive through penalty for speeding on pit road late in the race. That penalty cost him over a dozen positions on the track. Dario lost zero positions for his “penalty” for taking out three other cars.

Sebastien Bourdais and Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact with just six laps remaining, which brought out the third caution of the race. At the time of the caution, there was a 22 second gap between Power (2nd) and Andretti (3rd).

Dixon and Power ran first and second virtually the entire way. Marco Andretti joined them on the podium, while Alex Tagliani and Servia rounded out the top five. The top three drivers in the Championship standings all finished the race in the same position where they started.

Entering the race at Motegi, Dario held on to a five-point Championship lead. Heading into the next-to-last race in 2011 at Kentucky, he now trails leader Will Power by 11 points.

Power Dominates at Baltimore, Championship Lead Cut to Five Points

Posted by chadsmith5 on September 4, 2011
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Will Power dominated yet another race on Sunday, putting him one step closer to the Championship. With his sixth win of the season, he now trails Franchitti by just five points with just three races remaining.

Power crushed the competition in the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. His margin of victory over second place Oriol Servia, was ten seconds. After winning the race from Pole position last weekend, he did the same in Baltimore, which has set up another great battle for the Championship as we enter the final races.

Joining Power and Servia on the podium was Tony Kanaan. Ganassi teammates Franchitti and Dixon rounded out the top five. There were a few drivers that had cars capable of finishing in the top five, but ended up further back in the pack.

Graham Rahal had arguably the second-best car in the field, but the fuel strategy they ran ended up biting them as he came home in 10th. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Ryan Briscoe were running in fourth and fifth, when Briscoe made a bad move trying to go under Hunter-Reay in turn three. That move on lap 38 not only took both of them out of contention, but also caused a 12-car pile up.

Briscoe was given a drive through penalty. These two had some issues at Barber earlier in the year, when Hunter-Reay took out Briscoe while running up front. Briscoe claimed that Hunter-Reay was blocking him, but the Andretti Autosport driver didn’t agree with that assessment.

What started out as an incredibly scary day for Tony Kanaan, ended up with a podium finish. In the early morning practice, Kanaan lost his brakes going more than 170mph heading into turn one. Luckily for Kanaan, Castroneves was just ahead of him, and crashing into the right side of him, actually saved his life. Tony started at the back of the field, and passed 24 cars on the way to a third place finish.

The inaugural race in Baltimore was a huge success. The fans came out in masses to attend the event, and the drivers praised them all weekend long. The circuit was bumpy and extremely challenging for the drivers. Power said that it was the most demanding race he has ever driven.

The next race on the schedule is a particularly interesting one. The Indy Japan 300 has always been run on the oval track, but due to the earthquake in the area earlier this year, they will be running on the road course at Motegi. This likely gives the Penske team (especially Power) a big break, as they struggled on the oval there last year.

Power has two more wins and five more poles than Franchitti on the season. While Dario has led more laps than the Penske driver, Power has earned more bonus points throughout the year. With Scott Dixon sitting 77 points back in the standings, it appears that the final three races will determine this year’s Championship, between Franchitti and Power.

Power, Team Penske Dominate Sonoma as Championship Tightens

Posted by chadsmith5 on August 28, 2011
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Will Power dominated the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday. For the second year in a row, he started on the pole, and won the race.

In what was largely an uneventful race, Power led 71 of the 75 laps. The four laps he did not lead came while he was making his pit stops. It was a great day for him in the championship standings, and he has his Penske teammates to thank for that.

Speaking of Team Penske, they had the perfect weekend at Sonoma. They qualified and finished first, second, and third. It was the first 1-2-3 finish for the team since 1994.

The best part was that the one driver they have in the Championship hunt, actually won the race. Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe were second and third, finishing just in front of Dario Franchitti.

Scott Dixon finished in fifth place, meaning that the top five drivers all finished in the exact same order they began the race.

There wasn’t much passing during the race, as it was mostly follow-the-leader. Tony Kanaan had a mechanical problem that took him out of the race on lap 40, and Marco Andretti and JR Hildebrand made slight contact late in the race, but neither of those events resulted in a caution.

The one caution that we did have, came with just ten laps remaining, as Ho-Pin Tung went off course while trying to overtake Alex Tagliani. The restart came with just six laps to go, but no passes were made between the top five cars.

Castroneves and Briscoe keeping Franchitti away from Power was big for him in the Championship, but he also helped himself out in a big way. By grabbing the pole (1) and leading the most laps (2) during the race, Power picked up three valuable bonus points.

Now with just four races remaining in the season, Dario’s lead over Power in the standings has been reduced to just 26 points.

There are two road/street courses (Baltimore and Motegi), and two ovals (Kentucky and Las Vegas) remaining on the schedule. Next weekend’s race in Baltimore is a brand new event, and it will play a huge role in determining the Championship.

Roger Penske has a lot to celebrate this weekend. The 1-2-3 finish on Sunday for his IndyCar program came just hours after his Sprint Cup driver, Brad Keselowski, won at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Despite Danica’s Announcement, Power Remains the Focus at Sonoma

Posted by chadsmith5 on August 25, 2011
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The IZOD IndyCar Series is back in the spotlight this weekend as they head to California for the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma. Danica Patrick finally announced the worst kept secret in racing today, revealing her plans to head to NASCAR after this season. Still, Will Power will without a doubt be the focus of this weekend’s events.

There are many reasons why Power will be the center of attention this weekend. There was the “gesture” that he gave IndyCar officials two weeks ago at New Hampshire, which resulted in a $30,000 fine. On a more positive note, he is the defending winner of this race, having won from the pole last year.

This is also the place where he saw his life flash before his eyes in 2009 when he collided with Nelson Philippe, who had come to a stop in a blind corner of the track after spinning out. The result for Power was a concussion, fractures of the L2 and L4 vertebrae, and some chipped teeth.

As if that weren’t enough, he is trying to chase down rival Dario Franchitti in the Championship standings, with just a few races to go.

The most important of these is obviously the chase for the Championship, so he will need to stay focused all weekend on running up front, and getting the Peak Pole Award. The main objective will be to finish in front of Dario, so strategy may come in to play near the end of the race.

Minimal points are given to the pole winner, so that will be another interesting battle between the two rivals on Saturday. Besides that, the last three winners of this race all started from the pole position.

It will be difficult for him to not think about what happened here in 2009. Everyone is going to be asking him about it, even though it was two years ago. Team Penske will have to turn their focus to the number 12 car for the rest of the season, which shouldn’t be too much to ask given the up-and-down seasons that Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves have had.

The frustration that Power displayed at the end of the New Hampshire race two weeks ago came as a surprise to most people. Normally he doesn’t let things get to him as much as that situation did. He is laid back and likes to laugh things off, but he was clearly upset with how things turned out there, even though the officials made the right call after the fact.

Some people are beginning to think that the pressure is getting to him. Most people though, believe he will have a strong weekend, and close the gap even more between him and Dario.

While those two will likely battle it out for the title once again, there is a snake in the weeds just watching all of the action. He is waiting for his time to strike, and it may be coming this weekend. Scott Dixon has had a feast or famine type of season, but he is still in it. This weekend at Sonoma, he could finally strike, making it a great three-way battle for the Championship.

IndyCar Debacle: Dominant Dario Taken Out, Disaster Finish in Loudon

Posted by chadsmith5 on August 14, 2011
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From the threat of rain, to the tables turning in the Championship standings, to the unbelievable finish, it was a wild day in Loudon, New Hampshire. The IZOD IndyCar Series was back at the oval track for the first time since 1998.

Dario Franchitti led the first 71 laps of the race, before green flag pit stops began. As drivers cycled through the stops, Ryan Briscoe led two laps. By the time the caution came out on lap 76 for rain drops, the top 15 cars had all made their stops, giving Dario the lead once again.

The race was started about a half hour earlier than what was scheduled, due to the treat of rain. The cars took the green flag at 3:37 pm, but two early caution flags got the race off to a slow start. The first yellow was thrown on the first lap, when Mike Conway lost control of his car and spun, taking out Graham Rahal.

Rahal had one of the best cars all weekend, as they were never outside of the top three in practice, and were only in the back of the field after he had a slip on his qualifying run. He had a car capable of getting to the front and winning the race, but lady luck dealt his team another blow.

After the restart, Helio Castroneves lost control of his machine in the exact same place on track where Conway did. He managed to avoid contact with the other cars, but it was not the way he envisioned his 200th race going.

After running about 30 laps under caution for the light sprinkles, the race was able to resume. After the green flag came back out, all hell broke loose.

Just a few laps after the restart, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and Tomas Sheckter were all trying to go three-wide in the corner, which sent Kanaan and Sheckter into the inside retaining wall. Marco suffered suspension damage, and all three were out of the race.

As the cars were coming to take the green flag for the restart on lap 119, Takuma Sato (running in second) touched tires with race leader Franchitti. Dario had been dominating the race, but coming to the start/finish line, he seemed to veer over into Sato’s lane, but he wasn’t quite clear of him.

Sato and JR Hildebrand suffered cut tires, but Dario ended up against the pit lane wall, ending his day. Dario had gone 43 starts since his last DNF. While watching the replay from his pit stall, Dario insisted that Sato was to blame for the accident. It was fairly obvious that this was 100 percent Dario’s fault.

At one point during the race, Franchitti’s championship lead over Will Power was 98 points. Now after Power’s fifth place finish, the points lead is down to just 47 with five races remaining.

One more caution came out for moisture with just 19 laps to go, with Ryan Hunter-Reay still in the lead. With less than ten to go, IndyCar officials called for the green flag to be waived. Many drivers, most notably Will Power, were begging and pleading with them to waive off the restart. The drivers were saying they couldn’t even see, and that the track was too wet.

They waived the green flag anyway, and chaos ensued.

Danica Patrick spun her rear tires, which caused her to spin in front of the entire field. Power, Sato, Ana Beatriz, and others were all trying to avoid contact, but all of them ended up wrecking. Power got out of his car and was furious. He stormed to the infield, trying to find someone to scream at. On his way back to the Penske trailer, he gave the “double bird” to the race officials in the booth.

Team owner Michael Andretti was also livid at the situation that took place. He was upset because not only did three of his cars get taken out of the race, but the one that was in the lead got passed on the restart. He called this the “worst officiating I have ever seen”.

Luckily for Michael, the officials reverted the order of the field back to where it was before the restart, giving Hunter-Reay the lead again. They also called the race due to the rain, despite just five laps remaining. Hunter-Reay was declared the winner, Oriol Servia and Scott Dixon joined him on the podium.

In the end, it was the right call because so many cars were torn up for no reason. The officials made the mistake of trying to go back to green, when the drivers were all pleading them not to. From the crazy start, to the Dario and Sato incident, to the unbelievable finish, it was a very busy day in New Hampshire.

Dixon Dominates at Mid-Ohio, Will Power Loses Ground in Championship

Posted by chadsmith5 on August 7, 2011
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On Saturday Scott Dixon won his first Pole Award of the season. Today he followed that up with his first win of 2011.

Dixon clearly had the best car all weekend, as he started on the pole and led 50 of the 85 laps in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. His teammate Dario Franchitti was six seconds behind, giving Target/Chip Ganassi another one-two finish on the year.

Ryan Hunter-Reay got a podium finish, coming across in third place, while KV Racing teammates Takuma Sato and Tony Kanaan rounded out the top five.

It was a rough day for Team Penske, especially Will Power who came home in 16th position. All three of the team cars were running up front for most of the race, but they had an unlucky break during a caution when they tried to pit. They went to the back, and couldn’t get around all of the traffic.

Power has finished 14th or worse in three of the past four races. He now trails Dario Franchitti by 62 points heading into next weekend’s race at New Hampshire. Dixon trails by 93 points.

It was also a frustrating day for hometown kid Graham Rahal. Graham had trouble on his first pit stop, then made contact with Danica Patrick, sending him spinning off the course.

In the five IndyCar races here at Mid-Ohio, Scott Dixon has now won three of them.

With more oval races coming up on the schedule, it looks like the championship could be Dario’s to lose. Power is slightly better on the road and street courses, while Dario is a bit better on the ovals.

Next Sunday’s MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 from Loudon, New Hampshire is set for 3:30 pm, and can be seen on ABC.

Power Fends Off Helio and Dario to Win at Edmonton

Posted by chadsmith5 on July 24, 2011
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For the second consecutive race, the IndyCar Series was in Canada, with all eyes on the championship contenders. Will Power and Dario Franchitti got together again, but this time it was after the race, as they both celebrated on the podium.

While everyone was watching Franchitti and Power’s every move, Takuma Sato went out on Saturday and won the pole for Sunday’s race in Edmonton.

Sato led the first 18 laps of the race, in what was a great run for KV Racing. All three of the Lotus cars were running in the top ten. On lap 19, Power was able to get under Sato to take the lead, and the Ganassi cars followed. Scott Dixon and Franchitti both were able to follow Power, putting Sato back into fourth.

It was a rough start for two of the three Canadian drivers, and Graham Rahal. Surprisingly, all 26 cars made it through turn one without any contact, but soon after, Alex Tagliani pressed hard going into turn five, and locked up his wheels. He slid into the back of Rahal, cutting his left-rear tire. Rahal eventually spun off the track, and came back on directly into the path of Paul Tracy.

Both Rahal and Tracy were out of the race on the first lap, and Tagliani had to serve a drive through penalty, although he was already set to restart in the back of the field after changing his damaged wing.

On lap 25, Oriol Servia got put into the tire barrier after Mike Conway attempted to make a pass. Conway got under him, but there really wasn’t much room to make a pass. Servia had just made his first pit stop of the race. Conway was given a drive through penalty.

On the restart, Dixon had problems when he and EJ Viso got together. Dixon’s car was smoking, and he brought his car into pit lane. The team discovered the problem was with the radiator, and he had to go behind the wall for the repair. He finished the race in 23rd, and is now more than 100 points behind in the championship.

Once again turn five was the center of attention on lap 39, when Ryan Hunter-Reay got into pole sitter Takuma Sato. Both drivers were running in the top five, but Sato fell back into 19th position. Ryan was given a drive through penalty, which put him back into 13th position.

Alex Tagliani came into pit on lap 49, which gave the top three positions in the race to team Penske. The team has had quite an up and down season, but they all looked good in Edmonton.

Dario got by Briscoe as the final pit stops cycled through, and both he and Castroneves closed the gap on race leader Power. These three separated themselves from the rest of the field, and it was a three-car shootout from there on.

Power was able to fend off his teammate to win the race, and Franchitti settled for third. Tony Kanaan finished in fourth after Briscoe had to come in on the final lap for fuel. Justin Wilson had a solid day as he rounded out the top five.

Will led 58 of the 80 laps on Sunday, which was his fourth win of the 2011 season.

Power was able to make up a few points on Dario in the championship as they head to Mid-Ohio for the next race on August 7th. The gap between the two now is just 38 points, with seven races remaining.

Franchitti Spins Power, Goes on to Win Honda Indy Toronto

Posted by chadsmith5 on July 10, 2011
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Defending race winner and Championship contender Will Power couldn’t have been happier when today’s race at Toronto began. Unfortunately for him, the day went downhill from there.

Power started the race from Pole position, and led 32 laps on the day. Late in the race, Dario Franchitti got on the inside of Will Power, and spun him out. Originally, Dario was given a drive through penalty, which was retracted just a few minutes later.

After the race though, IndyCar officials claimed that there never was a penalty issued to Dario.
As if that weren’t enough to make Team Penske’s blood boil, Alex Tagliani then spun Power out a few laps later. Will was able to make it back to pit lane, but his car was too badly damaged to repair.
This is the second straight race that Will Power ended with a DNF.

While Franchitti won the race, his teammate Scott Dixon was right behind him in second, and Ryan Hunter-Reay joined them on the podium with a third place finish. Marco Andretti and Vitor Meira rounded out the top five.

While Franchitti won his fourth race of the season, it was the fourth runner-up finish for Dixon.
Power finished the race in 24th position, while Dario went on to win the race. Without being given the drive through penalty, Franchitti now has a 55 point lead in the standings heading into the next race at Edmonton, Alberta.

The old saying goes “cautions breed cautions”, and that couldn’t have been more true of today’s race. It was a mess out there, especially in the hairpin turns, which could easily be blamed on the double file restarts.

All three Penske cars and all four Andretti Autosport cars made contact with other cars at some point on the day.

Naturally, drivers were frustrated after the race, most of them for good reason. After Power climbed out of his car, he expressed his displeasure with Franchitti and the penalty that was retracted for taking him out.

In an interview on Versus, he said that “Dario never gets penalized” and that it was a “dirty move” that Dario used to take him out. When then asked about the contact with Tagliani, Power just called him a “wanker” and left it at that.

With five laps remaining in the race, Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact with Graham Rahal, who was running in second place at the time. Ryan went by as Rahal was spun around and lost 11 positions, finishing in 13th.

Sebastien Bourdais, Ryan Briscoe, JR Hildebrand, EJ Viso, and Simona de Silvestro rounded out the top ten finishers. Ana Beatriz, Oriol Servia, and Rahal were the last cars to finish on the lead lap. It wasn’t a good day for the home town drivers either, as Hinchcliffe finished in 14th, Tracy in 16th, and Tagliani in 23rd position.

The series will now have two weeks off before the next event. The teams and cars will head to Edmonton City Centre Airport for the next race on Sunday, July 24th.