Bridgestone - IRL Championship home

Formula 1

GP2

News Features & Interviews Results Championship Points Teams

F-Nippon / Super GT

Other Results

RSS Feed

IndyCar

Kanaan claims victory amongst the chaos

Andretti Green Racing’s Tony Kanaan claimed his first IndyCar Series victory of the season on Saturday 28 June in a chaotic race at the Richmond International Raceway.

102 laps of the 300 lap race were spent under caution, with nine yellow flags being flown. Ten of the 26 cars present in the race retired, whilst three others sustained considerable damage.

Kanaan missed the majority of the on-track mayhem as he started the race from pole position. Helio Castroneves who started from 18th on the grid was able to claim second place, whilst current point’s leader Scott Dixon finished in third.

Firestone engineers brought a new tyre specification to Richmond with right-side tyres designed to increase durability and decrease marbles on the track. While the many caution periods limited the action, cars were able to run two lines and make passes when there was green-flag racing. Several drivers also put extended laps on a set of Firehawks to improve track position.

Kanaan’s Richmond win was his thirteenth career victory to date and his third win when starting from pole position.

Tony Kanaan, #11 Team 7-Eleven Dallara/Honda/Firestone, said:
"We've come close many times this season, so I knew one time we were going to get it. I'm very happy. The Firestone tyres were perfect tonight. Obviously there were a lot of yellows, but the tyres held on. We did 80 laps on the last stint and the tyres were awesome. Firestone always gives us the best."

T.J. Tennent, Project Manager, Firestone Racing, said: "Congratulations to Tony Kanaan and Andretti Green Racing for the victory on what was a tough night for many drivers. All of the cautions made it difficult for the drivers to get into a rhythm, but we did see some excellent racing on the longer stints of green. We're quite pleased with the Firestone tyre specification that debuted tonight. The Firehawks' durability was tremendous. Marco Andretti put 135 laps on a set and E.J. Viso had 130 laps on another set, both without issue. Tony Kanaan was pushing his car to the limit for the last stint of the race, going 71 green-flag laps as hard as he could run, yet his tyres still looked as good as new when he pulled into victory lane."