Quick pit stop for Castroneves leads to Texas win07/06/2009

Team Penske driver, Helio Castroneves, used a quick six-second pit stop following a yellow flag to claim victory at the Texas Motor Speedway on Saturday 6 June.  It was the Brazilian driver’s second victory this season, and Team Penske’s third.  

Briscoe dominated much of the race, leading the field for 160 laps. It was in the final round of pit stops where Castroneves beat his team-mate Ryan Briscoe and New Zealand’s Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) out of the pit lane by more than half a second to take the victory. Briscoe got within 0.2229 seconds with 25 laps remaining, though eventually finished 0.3904 behind Castroneves, crossing the finishing line second for his second consecutive race.

The win gave Castroneves his third career victory at the Texas Motor Speedway and Team Penske its fifth victory from the last eight races at the circuit.

Race winner Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, said:
“It was an incredible day for Team Penske. Having first and second in Texas is not easy, so that’s a compliment for everyone. Great pit stops, the guys put me up front, and in the end it was 50 laps, full throttle. The Firestone tires were fantastic. It was the 50 longest laps that I have had to go through, but everything held up pretty well. After the last pit stop, I never lifted (off the throttle). It was just amazing, I just kept going through the whole stint without lifting. The tires were awesome, and without the whole combination, I wouldn’t be able to do what I did.”

Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing, said:
“Congratulations to Team Penske on an impressive 1-2 display tonight. Ryan Briscoe dominated the first 150 laps, then Helio Castroneves took over. There was plenty of the exciting racing that we’ve come to expect at Texas behind the leaders, but this was a night that the Penske drivers were not going to be denied. With just the two caution periods tonight, this race was flat out the entire way. The drivers were pushing themselves and their equipment to the limit, and the Firestone Firehawks rose to the challenge. These 1.5-mile, high-banked ovals are always challenging for the race tires, but we can confidently say that the Firehawks did the job once again.”

The seventh round of the IndyCar series takes place on Sunday 21 June at the Iowa Speedway.