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Firestone 550K Race Report

Circuit: Texas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval) Fort Worth, TX 2012 Winner: Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne Racing Honda) 157.217 mph average Weather: Clear, warm, 83 degrees F

Other Honda-powered Results:

Fn. St. Driver Team Engine - Chassis Laps Average Speed/ Notes
1 6. Helio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet Dallara 228 177.257 mph average, led 132 laps
2 3. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Chevrolet Dallara 228 +4.6919 seconds, led 35 laps
3 13. Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet Dallara 228
4 9. Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet Dallara 228
5 2. Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet Dallara 228 Led 57 laps
6 4. Dario Franchitti Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 227
7 1. Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet Dallara 227 Led 4 laps
8 7. Josef Newgarden Sarah Fisher Hartman Honda Dallara 227
9 12. James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Chevrolet Dallara 227
10. 5. E.J. Viso Andretti Autosport/HVM Chevrolet Dallara 227
11. 21. Takuma Sato A.J. Foyt Racing Honda Dallara 227 Running
12. 10. James Jakes Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda Dallara 227 Running
13. 23. Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Hamilton Honda Dallara 226 Running
15. 20. Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 226 Running
17. 8. Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Dallara 226 Running
18. 24. Tristan Vautier - R Schmidt Peterson Honda Dallara 225 Running
21. 17. Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda Dallara 223 Running
22. 14. Alex Tagliani Barracuda Racing/BHA Honda Dallara 223 Running
23. 11. Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi Honda Dallara 61 Did not finish - mechanical
24. 19. Pippa Mann Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dallara 2 Did not finish - mechanical

Franchitti Leads Honda Finishers in Texas

On a night when tire management and consistent handling were the keys to success, Dario Franchitti and his Honda-powered Target Chip Ganassi Racing team recovered from a poor opening segment in Saturday night's Firestone 500K and combined long runs between pit stops with handling improvements during each stop to finish sixth at Texas Motor Speedway.

Other Honda-powered IZOD IndyCar Series drivers and teams, including Josef Newgarden, Justin Wilson, James Jakes and Scott Dixon, all ran in the lead pack at times during the 128-lap contest, but all encountered problems at various times to prevent strong results.

Dixon was the first to encounter difficulty, a broken rear axle component resulting in a long pit stop, followed by a brief flash fire during attempted repairs that resulted minor injuries to three Ganassi pit crew members. Newgarden, who ran as high as second in the early laps, was caught out by a pair of unfortunately-timed yellow flags, putting him one lap down to the leaders in eighth at the checkers.

Wilson, the 2012 Texas race winner, and Jakes, coming off a second-place finish last week in Detroit, both had long runs in the lead group. Like Newgarden, Wilson also ran as high as second, but rapid tire wear during the closing third of the race sent him spiraling down the order to an unrepresentative 15th-place finish. Jakes also spent the first half of the contest near the front of the field, but dropped in the final 30 laps to finish 12th.

Honda Fastest Seat in Sports winner Mona Wimberly from San Antonio, Texas, led the field prior to the race start in the two-seat Honda IndyCar driven by racing legend and Indianapolis 500 champion Mario Andretti. For more information on how you can receive the ride of a lifetime in the Fastest Seat in Sports sweepstakes, go to www.shophonda.com.

Next week, the IZOD IndyCar Series continues its June run of oval track weekends with the first short track" race on the 2013 schedule, the June 15 Milwaukee IndyFest at the historic Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, Wisconsin.

IZOD IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship (after 8 of 19 rounds):

1. Helio Castroneves 259 points (1 win) 6. Simon Pagenaud 194 (1 win)
Marco Andretti 237 7. Scott Dixon 193
3. Ryan Hunter-Reay 232 (1 win) 8. Justin Wilson 184
4. Tony Kanaan 195 (1 win) 9. James Hinchcliffe 176 (2 wins)
5. Takuma Sato 194 (1 win) 10. Dario Franchitti 168

Manufacturers' Championship:

1. Chevrolet 63
2. Honda 57

Dario Franchitti (#10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda Dallara) started 4th, finished 6th: "We had way, way too much understeer at the start of the race - massive 'push', probably the most I've ever had on an oval, and that cost us a great deal of track position. But the team made some great calls in the pits, we improved the car at every stop and our strategy of long runs [between pit stops] gained us back a lot of what we lost in the early going. By the end of the race, the car was quite good, better than last year's car. But we started out too far off on the setup and ran out of time to completely recover."

Josef Newgarden (#67 Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda Dallara) started 2nd, finished 8th: We had a good result, considering everything. I think we got hosed a little bit on some of the yellows and that pushed us back a bit. I think we had a top-five car; I don't think we had the winning car, but we were pretty good in the mix and I think to secure decent results is satisfying. We definitely want more, but I think we learned a lot tonight."

Roger Griffiths (Technical Director, Honda Performance Development) on today's race win: "It was a disappointing outcome to the weekend for Honda and our teams. Several of our teams and drivers showed signs of competitiveness tonight, but no one was able to run consistently at the front. We trust that the three Target Chip Ganassi Racing mechanics injured in Scott Dixon's flash fire [Tyler Rees, Adam Rovazzini and Greg Shuker] are all okay. It appears transmission oil leaked out onto the exhaust while the team was attempting to repair Scott's driveline issue, causing the fire. We'll regroup from this and work hard for better results next weekend in Milwaukee."

For photos from tonight's race, go to:

http://broadcast.sportssystems.com/hosting/display.cfm?key=101673