Kansas: Andretti Green Racing Report

Andretti Green Racing had three times the charm with a trio of cars finishing in the top-six at Kansas Motor Speedway in the third oval race of the season on the IndyCar Series Schedule. After a somewhat disappointing round of qualifying that saw the same three teams post times 11th or worse Andretti Green Racing rallied making their way from the back to front of the pack.

Leading the way for Andretti Green Racing was Tony Kaanan who started 11th in Sunday’s main event. He quickly made his way through the field picking up two positions immediately when the green flag flew. By lap 13 the Brazilian had climbed into the top-four and never looked back. With less than 50 laps to go Kaanan had claimed the runner-up position and refused to let go of it. With his third consecutive top-five finish this season, Kaanan certainly has the momentum it takes to do well at the next event, The Indianapolis 500.

“If you watched the last 30 laps of the race, you could see I was trying to catch Dan (Wheldon),” Kaanan explained. “Unfortunately, I definitely didn’t have anything for him. Second place is pretty good, especially before Indy. The 7-Eleven team can carry the momentum into the month. It’s a good finish, so let’s see what happens.”

Rallying with a fifth place finish after two starts that saw him place 18th or worse was Marco Andretti. Qualifying in the fourteenth position Andretti was on a mission to break his recent streak of less than stellar finishes. Andretti gradually climbed his way through the field gaining places on the track and during pit stops. Over the last five laps Andretti was battling for fourth with Helio Castroneves and came within one-hundredth of a second of stealing the position from him.

“It was a struggle today,” expounded Andretti. “It is these kinds of day that you have to fight through that will really help you in the championship. The car balance wasn’t the best but we can’t complain about fifth place. I think Helio (Castroneves) has a little more experience that I do in close finishes, so he may have been hiding a little bit of speed in the closing laps. He turned it on and ended up getting me at the line. It would have been nice to put the Forsythe car in fourth but from what we were dealing with I am happy with fifth.”

Rookie Hikeki Mutoh tied his best IndyCar career finish in Kansas finishing in the sixth position just behind his teammate. The Japanese driver started his day in the 13th position and drove a quiet and consistent race, without making any errors that normally plague rookies on the 1.5 mile track.

“A sixth-place finish is the best result for me on an oval track,” commented Mutoh. “Considering the fact I started from the 13th position, I am happy with the result. The Formula Dream crew gave me a very good car, so I was perfect for today’s race and I learned so much.”

After a whirlwind week of media ops after becoming the first female to win an IndyCar Series race Danica Patrick found bad luck in the farm fields of Kansas. Patrick started her weekend by out qualifying her teammates posting the third best time of the session. After that point her weekend lost its luster. Patrick ran consistently in the top-ten, keeping her car on the lead lap until luck failed her. After 156 laps of the race Patrick pitted and the stop did not go as planned. Patrick’s day was cut short when her right-rear wheel mount broke not allowing a new tire to be changed on her racing machine. Patrick was relegated to a 19th place finish, not being able to continue on after the incident.

“I am disappointed that the Motorola car had to cut the day short due to the right-rear wheel mount,” Patrick explained. “I came on the radio earlier in the race saying there was some movement in the car, but we had no idea that it was serious. We came into the race with a great car, and struggled to stay up front from the beginning. I hope that this does not cause me to lose many positions in the championship standings.”

Going into the Month of May Andretti Green Racing looks like it is primed to take on the Brickyard. Last year Andretti Green Racing celebrated at in Victory Lane at Indianapolis with Dario Franchitti. It was the second win for the team at the famed Yard of Bricks.

Full results of the 1st free practice session on Kansas