IndyCar 2015 - Surprises in Detroit and Domination in Texas

Munoz took victory in a wet Detroit race 1

IndyCar does sometimes have a habit of throwing up a few surprises. Just think back to Houston last year where Carlos Huertas took victory in the first race of that weekend, and Toronto last year to, where Sebastian Bourdais dominated the first race of the weekend. In Detroit this year, we got another two surprise winners, in the form of Carlos Munoz and Bourdais. But both won in two very different races.

Detroit-Race 1

Power leads the first race away in Detroit

The first race in Detroit started out in wet conditions, with Will Power and Helio Castroneves leading the field away. The race had barely begun however before its first caution appeared, thanks to Rodolfo Gonzalez stopping on lap three. During this time, Takuma Sato had moved up from 4th to 1st, taking the lead from Power. 

The green flag was soon waved again, but within seconds there was another caution, caued by a pile up between Tony Kanaan, Graham Rahal,Stefanao Coletti and James Jakes. After the debris was cleared up, off they went again, but during this time Marco Andretti took the opportunity to pit for slicks. Another caution for Charlie Kimball appeared (as well as one for Sato after he damaged his front wing), and when everyone else had pitted, Andretti emerged as the race leader.

Andretti capitalized on a different strategy

The rain returned later on, and Andretti, Simon Pagenaud and Carlos Munoz were the last three driver's out on slicks,with everyone else behind pitting for wets. Andretti and Pagenaud pitted, but Munoz stayed out. This was what gave him the win, as slicks were still 20s a lap quicker than the wets. He pitted, stayed in the lead, and then he pulled out a lead of over 30s over Andretti, before lighting brought the race to a halt. With the conditions getting worse and the light fading, the race was stopped after 48 laps, and Munoz took his first career win in IndyCar.

Munoz built up a 30s lead after his last pitstop

Munoz decision to stay out had been inspired. What had looked set to be a win for Marco Andretti, his first since 2011, suddenly all changed and became a race win for his Andretti Autosport team-mate Munoz. It had taken a while, but after his stunning IndyCar debut in 2013, finishing 2nd, Carlos Munoz had finally paid back Michael Andretti for signing him. Full race results are below;

Detroit-Race 2

Bourdais took a surprise win in the second Detroit race

Race 2 was a very different affair. Qualifying had been rained off so the grid was set out according to entrants points. This meant Juan Pablo Montoya started on pole position, with Power alongside him. Once again, the track was wet, but expected to dry later on. 

Power jumped Montoya at the start

Montoya was caught napping at the start by team-mate Power, but a three laps later he regained the lead, and edged away from Power, who in turn was edging away from Dixon in 3rd. The Penske cars had a lead of over 11s. All of a sudden Power slowed, pitting for a new steering wheel. Some moisture had found its way into the original, shorting some of the circuits but he was soon on his way again, all be it way down the order. Montoya built up a massive lead, but then Gonzalez again binned it, bringing out the first caution.

Connor Daly put in a very impressive performance for Schmidt Peterson Racing

This when a bit of craziness ensued. Montoya lead the majority of the field into the pits and switched to the slick tyres, but some front wing adjustments meant he lost out to Bourdais and Dixon. Dixon however had put on a fresh set of wets, which didn't work out for him, but they all found themselves behind an off strategy group lead by the impressive Connor Daly. Dixon, Bourdais and Montoya eventually took the lead, but Dixon was passed by both Bourdais and Montoya fairly quickly, the wet tyre gamble backfiring massively. 

Scott Dixon didn't reach the checkered flag

Sage Karam brought out another caution by tipping Jack Hawksworth into Stefano Coletti, and then came a mad restart. Graham Rahal, who was then 2nd, blocked Takuma Sato very aggressively, then being instructed to hand the place back to Sato. Then, Charlie Kimball wiped out Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon. Even more bizarrely, after that caution, two Penske cars came together! Power was tipped into a spin by Trisan Vautier, and as he spun he collected Helio Castroneves, putting both out.

Bourdais was in fine form as the race went on

Montoya, out of fuel on the last lap, dropped to 10th, allowing Bourdais to cruise to his 33rd IndyCar victory. It had been a classy performance from the Frenchmen, his first win since that Race 1 Toronto victory last year, and he and KV Racing had beaten the Ganaasi and Penske superteams. Full race results are below;

Texas

Scott Dixon dominated under the Texan sunset

Detroit had been a disappointing weekend for Ganaasi and Penske, however Texas was much better for the latter, and even better than that for the former. Scott Dixon dominated the race in Texas after it had looked likely to be a Penske victory for Simon Pagenaud or Will Power. However come the end off the race, Pagenaud and Power had dropped to 11th and 13th, with team mates Helio Castroneves and Jaun Pablo Montoya finishing in a much better 3rd and 4th places. Neither had an answer though for Scott Dixon.

Ryan Briscoe impressed for Schmidt Peterson

Dixon wasn't the only impressive performance out there. Ryan Briscoe, taking over from Connor Daly for the weekend, who was of course racing in place of James Hinchcliffe in Detroit, put in a great drive for the Schmidt Peterson team, and was in the top 5 for most of the race. He finished 8th in the end, a lap down on Dixon, but nonetheless it had been a brilliant performance from the Australian.

Kanaan couldn't quite beat his team-mate Dixon

Throughout the second half of the race, it looked like Tony Kanaan could take the fight to Dixon. Indeed the pair ran side by side for a lot of the race, but in the latter stages Kanaan dropped back nearly eight seconds from Dixon, effecitvely sealing the win for his Ganassi team-mate. Kanaan though still managed to hold of Castroneves for 2nd place.

Dixon celebrates the win in Texas in style

So after the disappointment of Detroit for Ganassi and Penske, it got better for both teams in Texas, and despite only finishing in 4th place, Montoya extended his championship lead. Full race results and championships standings are below;

Next up on the IndyCar calendar is the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Toronto on the 14th June. Will Juan Pablo Montoya further extend his championship lead? Lets wait and see. Until next time folks. Ciao.

Montoya extended his championship lead with 4th place in Texas

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