Ryan Briscoe extended his championship points lead on Saturday 30 August with a thrilling victory at the Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300, Chicagoland Speedway. The Team Penske driver went wheel to wheel with fellow championship contender Scott Dixon, winning by only 0.0077 of a second, the fourth closest finish in IndyCar history.
Briscoe started Saturday’s race from pole but eventually fell back as far as tenth in the field following a pit mishap when the team had trouble fuelling his car. Briscoe battled hard and made a late comeback battling Dixon side-by-side for the lead in the final 10 laps, eventually claiming the victory.
KV Racing Technology driver, Mario Moraes, finished third, closely followed by fellow championship contender, Dario Franchitti, with Graham Rahal finishing fifth. This weekend’s result keeps the series title fight going into the last two races of the season.
Race winner, Ryan Briscoe, #6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, said:
"The Firehawks were great, really held up to the cold conditions and were very consistent over a long run. No complaints."
Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing, said:
"We weren't sure if last year's great Chicagoland finish could be duplicated, but it sure was tonight! It was an incredible night of racing from the drop of the green flag to start the race to the checkered flag at the end. We know the Firestone tires had a great deal to do with that. Even though it was a cold August night, the Firehawks gave the drivers the grip and consistency to run hard every single lap, and to maneuver their cars anywhere necessary to make those daring passes. What's amazing is that the top 13 finishers were closer together at the end of 300 miles (separated by 0.82 of a second) than they were at the beginning of the race. It says a lot for the tires that all the drivers felt so comfortable running two- and three-wide and so closely packed all night."
"The Firehawks were great, really held up to the cold conditions and were very consistent over a long run. No complaints."