Power Is On A Roll

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (Monday, March 29, 2010) – Will Power held off Justin Wilson by .8244 of a second to win the rain-delayed Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 29 and remain perfect through the first two IZOD IndyCar Series races of 2010.

Power earned the third victory of his IZOD IndyCar Series career. The last driver to win two in a row to start a season was Sam Hornish Jr. in 2001, at Phoenix and Homestead.

Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves filled out the top four. Briscoe, last year’s race winner, gained 16 positions to finish third, the longest climb to the podium in this event’s history.

The sixth Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was postponed 18 hours because of more than 4 inches of rain that overwhelmed the temporary street circuit March 28 and, in conjunction with lightning, created unsafe conditions for race participants and ticket holders.

Power took the lead on Lap 73 of the 100-lap race when E.J. Viso slowed with a gearbox problem and then resisted Wilson’s No. 22 Team Z-Line Designs/DRR car to the checkered flag. Power commented after the race, “It’s just great. It’s Verizon’s first year, and we’re out to win the championship. Perfect pit stop, good race. Perfect weekend – pole and a win. Can’t get much better than that.” (About passing E.J. Viso for lead): “I knew he had to save fuel, but he had a problem. That was close. I didn’t want to nail him from behind because I knew Wilson was coming. I picked a side and went for it.”

There were an event-record 10 lead changes among eight drivers in the race that started on dry tires due to a rapidly drying track.

Power led a field-high 50 laps in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske entry to pick up the three bonus points (one for the pole, two for most laps led) and takes a 44-point advantage over Wilson, Ryan Hunter-Reay (finished 11th in the No. 37 IZOD car for Andretti Autosport) and Dario Franchitti heading to two more road/street course events before the first oval race.

Franchitti, the reigning IZOD IndyCar Series champion, jumped from 11th in the final 11 laps to finish fifth, while Alex Tagliani gave start-up team FAZZT Race team its best finish of sixth and his personal best in the series. Franchitti commented, “I had such a good start but made a bit of a mistake on the first lap. The car was quick enough to win this thing. We got a flat later in the race and had to come in. Between the flat tire and me screwing up, it’s not a bad day to finish fifth.”

Danica Patrick scored her best road/street course finish of seventh since Long Beach (fourth) in ’09. Raphael Matos, the third-place finisher in Brazil on March 14, checked in at eighth, and Graham Rahal advanced from the 16th starting spot to ninth in the No. 67 Dollar General car for Sarah Fisher Racing.

Tony Kanaan’s string of five top-five St. Pete finishes ended, but he was 10th in the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven car. Marco Andretti led early but faded to 12th, and rookie Mario Romancini finished 13th in his second race in the No. 34 Conquest Racing car.

***

HONDA GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG POST-RACE NOTES:

?This is the third career IZOD IndyCar Series victory for Will Power. He won the season-opening Sao Paulo Indy 300 on March 14 at Sao Paulo, Brazil, and in 2009 at Edmonton. All three wins came for Team Penske.

?This is the second time Will Power has won an IZOD IndyCar Series event from the pole. He also won from pole in 2009 at Edmonton.

?This is only the second time in IZOD IndyCar Series that a driver has won the first two races of the season. Sam Hornish Jr. opened the 2001 season with victories at Phoenix and Homestead en route to winning the season championship.

?This is the 37th IZOD IndyCar Series victory for Team Penske, extending its series record.

?This is the fourth victory for Team Penske in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Helio Castroneves won in 2006 and 2007. Ryan Briscoe won in 2009.

?This is the second victory from pole for Team Penske in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for Team Penske. Helio Castroneves won from pole in 2007.

?This is the first time Team Penske has won consecutive IZOD IndyCar Series races since Will Power won at Edmonton and Ryan Briscoe at Kentucky in 2009.

?Justin Wilson finished second, the best finish for a Dreyer & Reinbold Racing car since team co-owner Robbie Buhl won in 2000 at Walt Disney World Speedway.

?Ryan Briscoe finished third after starting 19th, a gain of 16 spots. It’s the longest climb to the podium in this race since it became an IZOD IndyCar Series event in 2005. The previous mark was 12 spots by Ryan Hunter-Reay, who started 14th and finished second in 2009.

?Helio Castroneves finished fourth, his fourth consecutive top-four finish at this event. He won in 2006 and 2007, and was second in 2008. He did not compete in this race in 2009.

?Dario Franchitti finished fifth, his fourth top-five finish in five starts at this event. His best finish was third in 2005.

?Alex Tagliani finished sixth, an IZOD IndyCar Series career best. His previous best was ninth in 2009 in Toronto.

?Danica Patrick finished seventh, her best performance on a road-street course since finishing sixth in 2009 in Toronto.

?Mario Romancini was the top rookie finisher, 13th.

?The top 15 cars finished on the lead lap, a record for this event. The previous best was 13 in 2008.

?There were 10 lead changes, an event record. The previous best was nine lead changes in 2005.

?Eight drivers led at least one lap, tying the event record set in 2008.

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