Tony Kanaan started on the pole and finished in the lead at the SunTrust Indy Challenge run at Richmond International Raceway, in Richmond, Virginia, winning his first race of the season. Kanaan had been at or near the front of every race this year, but never managed to cross the finish line first until Richmond.
The Richmond Suntrust 300 was a tale of cautions as much as a story of racing—the race was interrupted by a record-tying nine yellow flags, with almost a third of the race being run under a caution flag.
Richmond is a three-quarter mile oval, with 14-degree banking on the corners and 8 degrees down the slightly arced front straight. The track is all corners—drivers are turning three-quarters of the way around the track. Passing is difficult and driving is challenging, with not a moment for relaxation.
The track has the reputation of being a one-lane track, with the low line being the only place to pass. (Of course, drivers said the same thing about Iowa, and this year's cars and tires and drivers showed that they could run three wide down the straights and two abreast through the turns.)
Competing or Impeding—Driver Controversy
The competition started between drivers started even before the race, when series points leader Scott Dixon called Andretti-Green driver Danica Patrick "a menace," and Ed Carpenter accused her of blocking. Apparently both drivers were displeased by her driving at last weeks Iowa race.
Danica replied "I'm always trying to be aggressive If anything, last weekend I maybe wasn't aggressive enough on the restarts and whatnot."
"I really try not to pay too much attention to what goes on around me," she continued, "because ultimately there's nothing I can do about negative comments."
Race organizers at Iowa saw no actions requiring penalties or even criticism
Danica is not the first woman to race in Indy cars, but she is far and away the largest media magnet.
Race… Wait…. Race… Wait
Tony Kanaan startedon the pole, but it didn't gain him much off the start, as Brian Hunter-Reay spun on before he reached the starting line. Hunter-Reay had started at the back of the pack because mechanical problems kept him form qualifying. His car was fast, but he was a bit impatient, bringing out a caution even before the whole field had passed the green flag.
The green came out again on lap 7, and for two laps there was exciting racing great racing. Graham Rahal, who had not had a good race since his early-season win at St. Petersburg, advanced to third and was sparring with the leader. Then, on lap nine Will Powers hit the wall hard coming out of turn four—he touched the paint at the bottom of the track and the front end broke loose. He tried to catch it, but then the back end came out, putting him into the wall.
On lap 30 A.J. Foyt IV hit John Andretti, spinning into backwards into the wall; then his teammate Ed Carpenter hit some of the debris, damaging his front suspension. This brought out the third yellow in thirty laps—the course record is nine yellow flags, in 2001.
On lap 42, under green again, Helio Castroneves passed Oriol Servia on the outside, something no car had been able to do during practice. With a second racing line developing as the track collected more rubber, the racing got more exciting.
Jaime Camara, who started 24th, made a great drive in the opening laps, gaining fourteen positions before losing two spots when he bobbled trying to pass Oriol Servia; on lap 65 he was in twelfth place. Camara too was able to pass cars high and low. This was only Camara's sixth race as and Indycar driver, and his best performance so far.
On lap 66, debris on the track prompted a fourth yellow. The leaders took advantage to pit for fuel and tires—the top ten cars had not pitted since the start.
Buddy Rice spun on the restart. "I think I screwed up," he told reporters. "I don't think I got hit or anything … it was a restart, and the tires were a little cold." Behind him, in a separate incident, Ryan Brisco, Bruno Junqueira, Vitor Meiria and Buddy Manning all came together, bringing out yet another yellow before even a single lap was run under green.
The next restart was tremendously exciting as Helio Castroneves tried to pass Danica Patrick on the outside while Tony Kanaan passed her on the inside, running three wide into turn One. Castroneves had to back off, losing one position but avoiding the accident.
Castroneves told his crew chief via radio: "I thought that she (Danica) would lift, but she didn't." Castroneves was professional enough to lift, even though it cost him a place. Possibly it is drivers expecting Danica to give way, who get the impression that she is blocking. (One wonders if they would expect the same of other drivers.)
The race went back to green on lap 91, but John Andretti tried to run under Vitor Meira on the restart, couldn't hold the line, and slid up into Meira, taking out both cars, bringing out the sixth yellow.
On the restart on lap 108, Kanaan tried to pass Camara on the inside, but Camara was faster on the outside line. then on lap 117 Marco Andretti passed Camara for the lead. Camara could not keep up with Andretti, who, it seemed, finally had the combination of car and conditions to win a race.
After his heartbreaking retirement after being hit a few laps from the end at Iowa, it seemed this might be his week.
Cautions and Attrition
On lap 133 Graham Rahal, who was having his best race since winning at St. Pete, lost the back end between turns three and four and hit the wall, knocking him out of the race. Rahal told reporter did not know what happened to his car. His car had been "pushing like a pig" throughout the race, he said, so he couldn't understand the sudden change to oversteer.
The green flag came out again on lap 142, but it only lasted three laps, as Ryan Hunter-Reay tried to drop down off the outside line and collided with Mario Moraes, knocking both vehicles out of the race.
Hunter-reay said he had a "pretty busy race car"—he had been working hard all night to keep the car off the wall.
With 95 laps to go, race leader Marco Andretti came in under green for tires and fuel. With rain threatening and so many yellows, most teams were gambling that their cars could finish the race with only a single stop. (Last year's race was rained out in lap 206, and thunderclouds were fast approaching the Richmond track as the race progressed.)
With 83 laps to go, Jaime Camara, who had been running third, went into the wall between turns three and four, right where Rahal lost it, ending an excellent run for this rookie.
Like Hunter-Reay, Camara also commented on how much work it had been to keep the car fast and also keep the car on the track. He said that as tire wear got worse and the fuel load lightened, the car got more and more sensitive, until he just lost it.
When asked how it felt to lead his first Indycar race, Camara replied, "It felt great. It shows that we are gaining momentum, and it is great for the team. I just wish I could have finished the race and give them a good result."
The yellow flag that came out in response to Camara's spin put Andretti (and also EJ Viso) at a huge disadvantage, as both were a lap down from pitting under green.
With 72 laps to go, the green flag came back out, with the running order being Tony Kanaan, Helio Castroneves, Dan Wheldon, and Scott Dixon. Both Kanaan and Castroneves were looking for their first win of the season.
The rest of the race was uneventful. Kanaan was faster than anyone else, keeping a three- to three-and-a-half second lead over the second place car, with the rest of the pack content to finish unscathed.
Marco Andretti, who had the strongest car on the track, according to teammate Tony Kanaan, finished in ninth place, a lap down, because of the unlucky gamble of pitting under the green.
Even thought he won, Kanaan did not advance in the series points standing—in fact, none of the top four drivers changed position, while Danica Patrick moved up into fifth with her sixth-place win.
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