INDYCAR: ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway Race Report
After Sunday’s showers, the 500-mile race at Pocono Raceway was waved green just after noon today. Ryan Hunter-Reay showed the dominance of his car as he climbed through the field after starting last to lead 31 laps of the 200-lap race. Suffering from mechanical issues following a restart on Lap 163, the reigning ABC Supply 500 winner fell back to 12th position, also losing a lap. The 2012 Verizon IndyCar Series champion worked his way back through the field to cross the finish line in third.
Colombian driver, Carlos Muñoz also showed impressive speed. Starting the race in fifth position, the pilot of the No. 26 Honda quickly jumped to third and continued to run in the top-five for the majority of the race. The 2014 Sunoco Rookie of the Year saw the twin checkers in seventh.
Marco Andretti leaped five positions to eighth on Lap 1 after starting 13th. The Nazareth, Pa. native ran as high as sixth and remained in the top-ten before struggling with car imbalances throughout the second half of the race. The third-generation driver finished his hometown race 12th.
Alexander Rossi saw the green flag from the seventh position and like his teammates, quickly moved through the field. The reigning Indianapolis 500 champion remained in the top five – leading four laps – until an incident involving the No. 98 car occurred on pit lane, forcing the rookie to retire early.
With Round 14 of Verizon IndyCar Series Competition in the books, the crews head back to the Lone Star state Saturday for the resumption of the Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. The remaining 177 laps will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network at 9 p.m. ET as the Andretti Four hits the 1.5-mile oval under the lights.
Ryan Hunter-Reay
No. 28 DHL Honda
“I had to come through the field twice and that is heart-breaking for us. This is the type of year it has been, really heart-breaking. The No. 28 DHL Honda really deserved to be in contention for the win there at the end. I was going through Turn 2 and (the car) just shut off. I (power) cycled the car once and nothing happened, then I came into the pits and power cycled it again – turned it off/on – and then it re-fired and we were a lap down. I had to come through the field twice, but the car was a rocket ship – it’s a shame.”
Carlos Muñoz
No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda
“A little disappointed with the result of the race after running almost the whole race in the top-five. In the end, I don’t know, we lost the speed that we had and it was just a battle in the end.”
Marco Andretti
No. 27 United Fiber & Data / Snapple Honda
“It was a tough day for the UFD / Snapple car. I had a big imbalance end-to-end (of the car), turn entry to mid corner – the car was doing something different every lap. I tried to add down force, but all we did was slow down and still have those same problems. It was definitely a long 500 miles.”
Alexander Rossi
No. 98 Castrol EDGE / Curb Honda
“First of all I’m glad that Helio (Castroneves) is ok after our incident – to go over the top of another car is not good, and my first thought was for him of course. It’s a frustrating end to our weekend, particularly as we looked to be in a position where we could potentially take the win today. I don’t know what Kimball was thinking, he was clearly behind me when I was released – his quickest way to his box was to cross behind me, as I was speeding up and he was slowing down. The Andretti Autosport team provided an unbelievable car, that has been strong all weekend, and I’m disappointed we were unable to get the results we deserved today. That said, the main thing is all parties were unharmed, and we’ll be back fighting and looking for another strong result in Texas.”
