ABC Supply Company Pocono 500 Race Report

Honda Racing Report
Sunday, August 23, 2015
 
ABC Supply Company Pocono 500
Circuit:                        Pocono Raceway (2.5-mile oval) Long Pond, PA
2014 Winner:  Juan Pablo Montoya (Team Penske) 202.402 mph average
Weather:         Partly sunny, mild, 75 degrees F

Top 10 Race Results:

Fn. St. Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Average Speed/Notes
1. 8. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Honda 200 146.245 mph average speed
2. 4. Josef Newgarden Carpenter Fisher Hartman Chevrolet 200 +0.1053 seconds (under caution)
3. 19. Juan Pablo Montoya Team Penske Chevrolet 200
4. 3. Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 200
5. 6. Carlos Munoz Andretti Autosport Honda 200
6. 9. Takuma Sato A.J. Foyt Racing Honda 200
7. 2. Simon Pagenaud Team Penske Chevrolet 200
8. 18. Ryan Briscoe Schmidt Peterson Motorsport Honda 200
9. 11. Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet 200
10. 15. James Jakes Schmidt Peterson Motorsport Honda 200

Other Honda-powered Results
11. 16. Gabby Chaves-R Bryan Herta Autosport Honda 197 Did not finish – mechanical
13. 17. Pippa Mann Dale Coyne Racing Honda 185 Running
15. 7. Justin Wilson Andretti Autosport Honda 179 Did not finish – crash
18. 22. Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Honda 138 Did not finish – crash
20. 5. Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda 92 Did not finish – crash
21. 13. Tristan Vautier Dale Coyne Racing Honda 92 Did not finish – crash
22. 14. Jack Hawksworth A.J. Foyt Racing Honda 82 Did not finish – crash

Hunter-Reay, Honda Win Crash-Marred Pocono

  • Wilson injured in late-race crash
  • Veteran Honda driver suffers severe head injury

Ryan Hunter-Reay scored his second Verizon IndyCar Series victory of 2015 Sunday at Pocono Raceway in northeastern Pennsylvania, powering his Andretti Autosport Honda through the field to win the ABC Supply 500, but his triumph was overshadowed by a late-race crash that left teammate Justin Wilson hospitalized with a severe head injury.

On Lap 180 of the 200-lap contest, Wilson struck debris on track from the car of Sage Karam, who had crashed just seconds earlier.  Wilson’s car then veered to the inside wall, making heavy contact with the SAFER barrier.  He was quickly removed from the car and transported to Lehigh Valley Health Network in Allentown, PA., where he is currently in a coma and listed in critical condition.  Karam escaped serious injury in his crash.

An otherwise exciting race was marred by multiple crashes, resulting in a dozen caution flags.  Hunter-Reay led a total of 29 laps to add the Pocono win to his victory earlier this year at Iowa Speedway.  Honda drivers claimed five of the top 10 finishing positions, with Carlos Munoz fifth in his Andretti Autosport Honda.  Takuma Sato took the checkers sixth for A.J. Foyt Racing, while the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports duo of Ryan Briscoe and James Jakes finished eighth and tenth, respectively.

Series rookie Gabby Chaves had one of his strongest outings of 2015, leading 31 laps for Bryan Herta Autosport.

Graham Rahal’s quest for the drivers’ championship took a hit after contact from Tristan Vautier sent both cars hard into the outside wall.  Neither driver was injured, however Rahal scored only a handful of points due to his early retirement, and now trails championship leader Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished third today, by 34 points with just one race remaining.

Video recaps from Honda’s IndyCar Series action at Pocono are being posted on the “Honda Racing/HPD” YouTube channel. Produced by the Carolinas Production Group, the video packages can be found in the 2015 HPD Trackside Video Playlist at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.

The Verizon IndyCar Series now heads west to Sonoma Raceway, just north of San Francisco, for the championship-deciding, double-points season finale the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday, August 30.

Verizon IndyCar Series Drivers’ Championship (after 15 of 16 rounds):
1. Juan Pablo Montoya 500 points (2 wins) 6. Josef Newgarden 413 (2 wins)
2. Graham Rahal 466 (2 wins) 7. Marco Andretti 390
3. Scott Dixon 453 (2 wins) 8. Sebastien Bourdais 386 (2 wins)
4. Will Power 439 (1 win) 9. Tony Kanaan 366
5. Helio Castroneves 433 10. Simon Pagenaud 356

Ryan Hunter-Reay (#28 Andretti Autosport Honda) started 8th, finished 1st, his 2nd IndyCar Series victory of 2015:  ““This team has given me great race cars over the years and this was one of them. We came through the field many times today. I hope the fans enjoyed the show because it was fun in the race car. We knifed through the field about five times, I think, and there wasn’t anybody out there that we couldn’t get around. It was a pleasure to drive today. Obviously, first and foremost, we’re thinking about Justin Wilson. With heads exposed and when you get flying debris, it’s a bad luck deal. Our thoughts are with him. I know him and his family well, they’re great friends of ours. Really, really just thinking about Justin right now.”

Art St. Cyr (President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s race:  “Our thoughts are with Justin Wilson, his family, friends and many fans.  All of us at Honda are thinking of him right now, and today’s win by Ryan Hunter-Reay, and the championship, are very much secondary.”