Briscoe Dazzles St. Pete Crowd

By Joe Jennings
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Updated: April 5, 2009

St. Petersburg, FL – Ryan Briscoe drove superbly to win the fifth annual Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg run on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street course in sunny St. Petersburg. A large crowd turned out on a warm day to soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the hotly contested race.

The race marked the opening of the 2009 IndyCar Series season.

Briscoe ran with the leaders through much of the 100-lap race but he didn’t gain the lead until the 86th circuit when he dove under Justin Wilson to gain the coveted top spot.

Moments later Ryan Hunter-Reay also passed Wilson to gain second place, and that turned out to be the order of finish: Briscoe, Hunter-Reay and Wilson.

Dario Franchitti took fourth with Tony Kanaan fifth.

“We have led laps other times here but haven’t been able to put it together,” Briscoe said in victory lane. “What a feeling and a big relief to win the race, and it is great to open the season with a win. Team Penske made awesome pit stops and it was great racing with these guys at the end. Roger Penske calls my strategy, and it was just absolutely perfect today.

“The track surface lends itself to pick-up on the tires, and when we had to slowdown, the tires get cold and pick up a lot of dirt. It is a challenge to keep it between the lines and off the wall. That is probably why they say cautions breed cautions.”

A year ago, he didn’t fare well in the first portion of the season, but this situation has changed since then. Commenting about the turn-around, he said, “This team stuck behind me last year, and it wasn’t a happy time for a while. We had the potential but didn’t connect the dots. The team worked with me, and Helio Castroneves mentored me.”

Once he and his new team jelled, they have been on a fast track, winning four of the most recent 12 IndyCar races. And the famed Team Penske has won three of the five St. Petersburg events and earned its 30th IndyCar Series victory with today’s fete.

For Hunter-Reay, his performance was remarkable as he only joined Vision Racing a few days ago. Coming from the 16th starting position, the likable Florida resident started 14th but he steadily moved toward the front as the laps wound down. Running on softer tires, he made a valiant effort to pass Briscoe but to no avail. He trailed the victor by .4619 seconds when the checkered flag dropped.

Hunter-Reay gave Vision Racing its best finish in history.

“It was a good clean run for us.” he said. “You couldn’t step a foot off the line without jeopardizing your car, so I kept it in line for the team. Seven days ago that car was sitting in the corner of the team’s garage collecting dust. The crew is new; I just met them a week ago. The finish is for my team and sponsors.”

Wilson was the class of the field throughout the early going, and he led 52 laps before losing the advantage at the end. Just when he started to taste the spoils of victory, Briscoe and Hunter-Reay erased his hopes. Wilson drove the Sonny’s Bar-B-Q car owned by Dale Coyne Racing, giving the team its best finish in IndyCar history.

“Being out of a drive all winter and not knowing whether I would be here, I started on the front row and had a chance at winning, but I couldn’t hold on for the restarts,” Wilson commented. “I got out-dragged on the front straight, and there’s not much you can do about it. They just drove right by me. I am pretty pleased and the car was fantastic. This is a great way to start the season and this new relationship.”

Franchitti ran in the top-five much of the race and while fourth place didn’t please him, the race marked his official return to IndyCar racing after a year’s absence. The former champion thought the track was very dirty and had the most (tire) marbles he had ever seen.

Sixth through tenth place finishers were Will Power, fast qualifier Graham Rahal, Darren Manning, Vitor Meira and Alex Tagliani.

Rahal’s day started poorly when he got punted by Tony Kanaan in the first turn of the first lap. He managed to stay on the track but dropped to the rear of the field at the point.

“I was conservative on the start, and I guess it was (Tony) Kanaan that punted me,” the second generation driver said. “It’s absolutely ridiculous, and you would expect a guy with experience would know it is the first lap of the first race of the season. Why make moves like that?”

According to Kanaan, Rahal chopped him off entering the turn.

Robert Doornbos in 11th place was the top finishing rookie driver.

Seven caution periods slowed the race for 28 laps.

A three-car slam eliminated rookie Raphael Matos, Danica Patrick and Mario Moraes. Later, Dan Wheldon, Hideki Mutoh, Marco Andretti and Doornbos came together with Mutoh’s car going under the Wheldon machine.

No injuries were sustained in any of the incidents, just hard feelings.

The IndyCar Series stages another street-course race two weeks from now in Long Beach, California.