Practically a Podium

They say the track is like a woman – every day in a different mood.  And today she was not a woman scorned as demonstrated by her biting ways during the month of May’s practices.  Her temperament was not one of constant change as seen during qualifying.  Today she was just brutally hot and equally challenging to all competitors who hit the asphalt for the 96^th running of the world’s greatest spectacle in racing.

Oriol Servia and the Panther DRR crew took to the track with their heads held high as they demonstrated their ability to battle with the best, taking second in Friday’s IZOD Pit Stop Competition (see previous post).  They also carried with them new sponsorship as Mecum Auctions jumped on board for the Indy 500 race.

The #22 DRR entry would be starting in 27^th position, outside of Row 9 alongside Sebastien Bourdais and one-off Wade Cunningham.  But Servia has consistently demonstrated that when it comes to ovals, he does not stay put for long.  You give him an inch and he’ll take a mile.  And he demonstrated that again today.

While we see the two Lotus entries of Simona de Silvestro and Jean Alesi get parked for lack of speed as soon as they take to the track, we again count our lucky stars that Dreyer & Reinbold Racing was able to end their partnership with Lotus in favor of a more competitive Chevy powerhouse.

Servia raced clean from the drop of the green flag, and by the first round of pit stops, had already advanced to 22^nd position.  There was speculation that the Chevy engines couldn’t trim as much fuel due to the extreme heat of the day which may lead to issues.  Oriol and the DRR crew had their own difficulties, however, as they were forced to pit again immediately following the first stop as they had a tire go down which needed replacing.  Due to this green flag stop, the team found themselves a lap down early on.  The race is long, though, and if we learned anything from watching the final lap last year, it’s that the race isn’t over until the checkered flag waves.

With that attitude, the DRR crew trudged on, and with 48 laps remaining, Servia climbed his way up to 18^th position.  From there, things really got interesting and due to a great pit strategy, the DRR boys worked all the way up to 13^th (on the lead lap!) with 25 to go.  A few late-race yellows play into the strategy here, packing up the field, and at the restart with 16 laps to go, Oriol is in 11^th place, knocking on the door of a Top-10 finish!

In two quick laps, Servia climbs three positions to 8^th.  It is here that Andretti Autosport driver Marco Andretti tries to pass the #22 entry on the low side, dipping below the white line which sends the American spinning into the outside barrier.  The incident brings out another yellow, but the restart with 7 laps to go placed Servia squarely at 6^th on the grid. 

From here Servia was still warming up and in one lap grabbed another position, moving the team up to a top-five finish.  Down 1.598 seconds with four laps to go, Oriol held on as the action was taking place amidst the leaders ahead of him.  Japanese driver Takuma Sato in a race for the lead, lost control, bringing out the yellow once more.  Oriol picked up a position in the incident, and the pace car was the first to cross the finish line.

In the end, it was an even 5/5 split between Chevy and Honda finishing in the top 10.  And the DRR squad picked up a total of 23 (!) positions from 27^th to a fourth-place finish. 

I recently read somewhere regarding racing:  “All rides are bought.  Occasionally the currency is talent.”  Such is the case with the unassuming Spaniard who nearly rewrote history in the world’s greatest race.

Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer

The People's Champion

As is tradition, the Friday before the running of the Indianapolis 500, dubbed Carb Day, also plays host to the Pit Stop Challenge and this year was no exception.  What was new, however, was that crews from the Panther/DRR stable participated, the true dark horse(s) of the competition.

This year’s IZOD Pit Stop Challenge served its purpose to a T:  to show off the hard work, dedication and talent of the best pit crews in the IndyCar paddock.  But this year it would work a little differently; the competitors would leave their mark in a drag race format rather than just racing against the clock as in years past.  That way the crowd could easily see who the winner was right off the bat.  One thing that would not change though was the crews’ advice to their drivers:  DON’T STALL IT!

Oriol Servia and the DRR crew found themselves “pitted” against the #14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises entry of Mike Conway for the initial round.  DRR chose the inside lane which seemed to be the preferred position due to the concrete surface.  At the green, both cars were launched and after a stop of merely 13.501 seconds, Servia crossed the line first, winning the opening round.

The quarter-finals benched the DRR team against the #2 Penske entry with Ryan Briscoe at the wheel.  Servia had the faster time of the two and chose the inside lane again.  And it certainly paid off, the #22 entry crossing the line ahead of Briscoe with a quicker stop yet of 13.041 seconds.  “I like where we’re going,” commented Servia with his signature wink and a thumbs-up as the DRR pit crew advanced.  Looking at the numbers, there was only a difference of .653 between the two competing teams.

Franchitti and the #50 Target Chip Ganassi crew would be the competition for the Dreyer & Reinbold Racing guys for the semi-finals.  The cars take off down the straightaway and the Mecum Auctions car (sponsorship which the DRR entry just acquired in the 11^th hour for Sunday’s big race) crosses the line first with a stop of 12.655, the fastest stop of the day thus far.

So the little engine that could…would…and Servia and his DRR crew advanced to the finals, plotted against none other than one of the big boys – Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s #9 entry of Scott Dixon.  This one would be for all the marbles, and better yet, for bragging rights throughout all the paddock.  The $50,000 check won’t hurt, either.  Both drivers are strapped into their Dallaras and the red flag flashes, followed by the green.  The cars race to their marks and the crews do what they train for all year.  But at the last second, Servia’s DRR crew has difficulty with the outside rear and Dixon doesn’t wait around to lend a helping hand, crossing the line and claiming the championship.  Servia finished with a time of 17.194 which wouldn’t cut it this round. 

Yet, Servia still walks the paddock with a twinkle in his eye.  He remarked earlier in the competition that the announcers, trying to pump up the crowd, asked whether the fans were cheering for Ganassi Racing or Team Penske.  Oriol sensed a silence throughout the crowd and simply remarked that nobody was cheering for them because instead they were supporting “the people’s champion!”  I’d have to agree whole heartedly.

Posted by Shelly Paul, Servia Squad Feature Writer