Tony Kanaan has claimed his first victory of the 2008 IndyCar Series season today - winning Richmond International Raceway's SunTrust Indy Challenge over Helio Castroneves. Brisbane-born Kiwi Scott Dixon was third.

Kanaan, starting from the pole, wove through nine restarts to lead 166 of the 300 laps and claim his 13th career victory - his first since Belle Isle in September 2007.

Team Penske’s Castroneves improved 16 positions to record his fourth second-place finish of the season, while Dixon’s third place saw him remain atop the IndyCar Series championship point standings, 43 points ahead of Castroneves.

Dixon’s Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dan Wheldon finished fourth, followed by KV Racing Technology’s Oriol Servia in his first start at the .75-mile oval.

Servia’s Australian team-mate Will Power had an unfortunate start to his Richmond race, with the back of his #8 Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia Honda/Dallara/Firestone stepping out and seeing him make contact with the SAFER Barrier soon after the first restart of the race.

Power’s Australian comrade Ryan Briscoe also saw bad luck, with the 26 year old from Sydney involved in an altercation with Vitor Meira, Darren Manning and Bruno Junqueira. Briscoe returned to the race track after a lengthy pit stop and was classified 15th on 158 laps.

The race’s nine cautions saw 102 laps run under yellow, the second-most in IndyCar Series history, however, the final 72 laps were run under green.

From here the IndyCar series heads to its first road-course since the Streets of St Petersburg with the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen July 6 at Watkins Glen International as the unified series continues on a schedule that is the most diverse in world motorsports.

The 2008 schedule will take the teams and drivers to short ovals, superspeedways, and road and street courses including the Gold Coast Indy 300 which is regarded as a ‘crown jewel’ in international motorsport.

With 96 hours of non-stop excitement over October 23-26 as the Gold Coast comes alive to the sound of the IndyCar Series cars burning up the track and Australia’s own V8 Supercars scorching around one of the most famous beach-side cities in the world, the event is the hottest ticket in town.

Tickets are now on sale for the Gold Coast Indy 300 with ticket options to suit everyone's needs. Four day Grandstand passes are available for those who prefer to watch the racing from the comfort of their own reserved seat or for those who prefer to wander around and soak up the atmosphere then a four day, weekend or single day General Admission pass might be more their style. For more information on ticket options click here. For information on Corporate Hospitality packages please call our Sales Team on (07) 5588 6800.

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY…
Tony Kanaan - #11 Team 7-Eleven Honda/Dallara/Firestone – Finished First
“It was tough race at first but once we got going, I knew we could do it with the car. The problem was we had a lot of yellows and people making mistakes,” said Kanaan.

“Traffic was really good; everybody did a good job trying to keep away from the leaders. It was a great race apart from all of the yellows.”

Helio Castroneves - #3 Team Penske Racing Honda/Dallara/Firestone – Finished Second
“We tried everything. Team Penske did a great job in our pit stops. I was driving my wheels off of it.. I was trying everything I could to make up spots,” said Castroneves.

“The only chance I got was mostly on restarts and the start of the race. Andretti Green seemed to be better than us.

“They seemed to be more consistent, especially when the tires started dropping a little bit. It’s a shame. I wanted to win so bad, especially for the folks from Philip Morris. We had a good showing.”

Scott Dixon - #9 Target Chip Ganassi Honda/Dallara/Firestone – Finished Third
“It was a tough night. We had a very good car. Once again it was very tough to pass here. Even when the tires got old, it was very hard to get close to people. If we were out front, I think we had a car to win,” said Dixon.

“TK (Tony Kanaan) definitely looked pretty strong tonight, but I think the Target car still had a good run. I think I just messed up my first pit stop and maybe the left rear or one of the rear guys had trouble getting it back on. We dropped back to about eighth or ninth, so it was good to come away with third.”

Ryan Briscoe - #6 Team Penske Racing Honda/Dallara/Firestone
“It was pretty crazy out there,” said Briscoe.

“We were able to hold our position through the first stint, but the restart after our first stop was a complete mess. I heard green, and then I glanced in my mirrors.

"The next thing I know is that the guys in front of me were on their brakes, and I was into the back of the No. 14 car. It was just a chain reaction from there, and I got hit from behind.

”I’ve got to hand it to my guys for working so hard and getting us back out there tonight, I’m just sorry we couldn’t do more."

RESULTS: IndyCar Series SunTrust Indy Challenge
Results Saturday of the SunTrust Indy Challenge IndyCar Series event at the .75-mile Richmond International Raceway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (1) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
2. (18) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
3. (4) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
4. (6) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
5. (10) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
6. (14) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
7. (23) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
8. (21) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running
9. (2) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 299, Running
10. (19) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 298, Running
11. (13) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 238, Running
12. (22) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 235, Running
13. (7) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 220, Mechanical
14. (24) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 217, Contact
15. (11) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 158, Pits
16. (25) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 143, Contact
17. (20) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 143, Contact
18. (3) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 131, Contact
19. (15) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 117, Handling
20. (17) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 91, Contact
21. (12) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 91, Contact
22. (5) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 80, Contact
23. (9) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 78, Contact
24. (8) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 29, Contact
25. (16) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 8, Contact
26. (26) Enrique Bernoldi, Dallara-Honda, 6, Handling

RACE STATISTICS
- Winner's average speed: 108.790 mph
- Time of race: 2:04:05.5111
- Margin of victory: 4.7691 seconds
- Cautions: 9 caution flags for 102 laps
- Lead changes: 3 among 3 drivers
- Lap leaders: Kanaan 1-71, Camara 72-115, M. Andretti 116-205,
- Kanaan 206-300.
- Point standings: Dixon 351, Castroneves 308, Wheldon 299,
- Kanaan 269, Patrick 220, Mutoh 216, M. Andretti 211, Briscoe
- 210, Servia 194, Carpenter 185.

INDYCAR SERIES POINTS STANDINGS – POST RACE 9 – TOP TEN
1. Scott Dixon - 351 points
2. Helio Castroneves - 308
3. Dan Wheldon - 299
4. Tony Kanaan - 269
5. Danica Patrick - 220
6. Hideki Mutoh - 216
7. Marco Andretti - 211
8. Ryan Briscoe - 210
9. Oriol Servia - 194
10. Ed Carpenter - 185
11. Will Power - 179

Back | Back to top