Kansas: Team Penske race report

It was a good day for Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe and Team Penske. After the disappointment last weekend in Motegi the team rebounded in Kansas. Castroneves started 8th with Briscoe starting right behind him in 9th. Changes made to the cars before the race helped both drivers be faster during the race and while a win is always better Castroneves and Briscoe are both happy with their results.

As championship points leader, Castroneves did not want to do anything foolish to jeopardize his standing. At the beginning of the race he had the pace and speed to run with the leaders, but as the race went on he was not able to keep up the speed. He would settle for 4th place and maintains a six-point lead over Scott Dixon.

"The Team Penske car was solid today. We had made some changes between qualifying and the race, and they seemed to make us a little bit quicker," said Castroneves. "However, during the middle part of our runs, we weren't able to keep up with the leaders. Thankfully, we were able to stay out of trouble and bring home a fourth-place finish, which keeps us in the championship lead heading into Indy. We've ran consistently well the first part of the season, and I have no doubt that the team will continue to give me the car I need to go for my third Indianapolis 500 win next month."

Briscoe's 7th place result shows just how much he is improving with every outing. With four races run so far this season, Sunday's result is Briscoe's best finish to date. It is also his second-best finish in his IndyCar Series career.

"I thought today was a good race for Team Penske," said Briscoe. "We had a solid car and I'm fairly happy with our result. The final laps were a little frustrating, because I think I had better than a seventh place was just trying to play it safe, looking for a solid finish. I thought it was a good day for me and I feel like I learned a lot out there."

The next race on the IndyCar Series schedule will be the Indianapolis 500 held on Memorial Day weekend. Castroneves will be looking to win his third Indy 500 race while Briscoe would like to continue the Penske success at Indy.