IndyCar at Pocono: Hunter-Reay won the race, Montoya closer to title

Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti Autosport) achieved his 16th career IndyCar victory at Pocono Raceway. RHR won ABCSupply 500 race which was full of action from start to finish, with half of grid retiring because of crashes or mechanical issues. Unfortunately Andretti’s team doesn’t have much to celebrate because one of the many crashes during the 200-lap race had a serious consequences for Justin Wilson.

In Lap 180 race leader Sage Karam hit the wall and after that some flying debris hit Justin Wilson’s car. After receiving quick attention by the Holmatro Safety Team on the racetrack, Wilson was transported by helicopter to Lehigh Valley Health Network Cedarcrest Hospital in Allentown, with an undisclosed head injury.

Yellow flag which was showed in Lap 180 was 11th caution period during the race. After the last restart in Lap 192 Gabby Chaves was leading, but few laps later, he slowed down at the track and caused another yellow flag. Race didn’t restart any more and rest of the field crossed the finish line under yellow. Josef Newgarden (CFH Racing) finished second and championship leader Juan Pablo Montoya (Team Penske) was third.

There were 12 different lap leaders during the race and only 12 cars finished the race. First who was crashed out was Sebastien Bourdais in Lap 37. In Lap 82 we saw the contact between Charlie Kimball and Jack Hawksworth, which caused retirement for Hawksworth. TristanVautier and championship runner-up Graham Rahal made a wheel contact entering Turn 1 on the Lap 93 and both spun into the barrier. In Lap 132 Tony Kanaan crashed out, on Lap 139 Marco Andretti hit the wall and in Lap 167 Helio Castroneves was another victim of Turn 1.

After all turbulences and changes Hunter-Reay, Newgarden and Montoya reached the podium, and behind them were Will Power and Carlos Munoz. Takuma Sato, Simon Pagenaud, Ryan Briscoe, Scott Dixon and James Jakes rounded top 10. After early mechanical issues Pippa Mann (Dale Coyne Racing) rejoined the race and finished with 15 laps less than rest of the field.

There are still six contenders for championship title with one race left in the season – GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on August 30. That race is carrying double base points. Montoya goes to the Sonoma Raceway with a 34-point advantage over Graham Rahal. Other title contenders are Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves, Will Power and Josef Newgarden.