Simon Pagenaud had not led a lap all season, had not won a race since last July in Toronto and had to start last Friday night in the first double race game at Iowa Speedway. But the 2019 Indianapolis 500-mile champion made up for all those negative stats with one of the best drives of his career.
The 36-year-old Frenchman achieved a good pace, great fuel economy and a timely caution flag to score the most unlikely win of his 15 trips to victory lane by stopping Scott Dixon.
Pagenaud, who joined Mike Mosley, Tom Sneva, Sebastien Bourdais and Dixon in the last to the first, extended the last 103 laps with a fuel tank in his Penske Chevrolet and broke Chip Ganassi’s unbeaten streak in 2020. He took the lead. with 72 laps remaining.
“I can not believe it; As I did? “Pagenaud told NBCSN later. “I mean, I have a great team and I never give up, but this place is tough and my hands were full at the end.”
“There’s a lot of tension in those last 50 laps with Dixon chasing, and you better hit your marks.” It is not Indy, but it is a great victory in this oval. “
Second in the points standings (51 behind Dixon) after five races, Pagenaud had to start 23rd because he had a fuel problem and was unable to qualify. Due to the new IndyCar rule for this weekend, where each of the two qualifying laps sets starting grids for the respective races, the 2016 IndyCar King will have to line up 23 again on Saturday night.
“If I have to do it again, I will,” he declared with a smile.
Pagenaud’s load was not the only one of the 250-lap race, because Dixon had to come from 17 on his Chip Ganassi Tacing Honda.
“The fuel economy was excellent and the caution helped because this car was terrible in qualifying and took a while to start,” said the championship leader, who had taken a lap on lap 66. “But I take off my hat for this team. “
Rookie Oliver Askew won his first podium for Arrow McLaren SP and teammate Pato O’Ward finished fourth in a race that was meek early and wild late. Josef Newgarden passed Polesitter Conor Daly on lap 14 and comfortably led most of the first period before facing lap 70. Takuma Sato took the point from laps 78-126 using a different strategy, and then things changed dramatically.
Power was running third when his left front tire came off and sent him to the wall of the fourth lap on lap 144, and that gave Pagenaud a very useful yellow flag stop that set the stage for his victory. And that was greatly improved when Colton Herta ran over Rinus Veekay on the restart of lap 157.
Herta sailed through the air, bouncing off both the SAFER barrier and Veekay’s cabin, before crashing back onto the runway with the right side up. Both pilots were fine, but it was a good announcement for the spray because it quite possibly saved the rookie from injury.
By the time all the debris was cleared, there had been 26 caution laps, and that turned out to be exactly what Pagenaud and Dixon needed to get the fuel to the end. Newgarden had been trapped by that first yellow because he had just fallen under the green, so he missed a lap and returned to fifth place with the checkered flag.
After scoring the starting pole of his IndyCar career, Daly sold his house in eighth place to Carlin Racing.
RESULTS
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