ABC Supply 500 victory podium with Josef Newgarden, winner Ryan Hunter-Reay and Juan Pablo Montoya hidden behind winner’s trophy. [Joe Jennings Photo]
By Joe Jennings
Long Pond, Pa. – Ryan Hunter-Reay raced to victory in the ABC Supply 500 thriller at the Pocono Raceway on Sunday afternoon. Taking the lead on the 196th lap, the eventual winner wasn’t to be challenged as the race ended under the caution flag allowing him to coast to victory.
The 15th Verizon IndyCar Series race of the season featured non-stop action from the drop of the green flag until the end. The race included close competition, 34 passes for the lead among 12 drivers and several grinding crashes. The yellow flag waved 12 times for a total of74 laps.
Unfortunately, Justin Wilson was seriously injured in a late-race crash when struck in the head by a part off the wrecking car of Sage Karam. Unconscious and non-responsive when removed from the car, Wilson was airlifted to an Allentown hospital for specialized care.
(According to a medical update from the Verizon IndyCar Series on Sunday evening, Wilson sustained a severe head injury. He is currently in a coma and in critical condition while undergoing further evaluation at Lehigh Valley Health Network Cedar Crest Hospital in Allentown, Pa.)
Due to Wilson’s accident, the post-race celebrations were greatly subdued.
Starting eighth in the DHL Honda from Andretti Autosport, Hunter-Reay led five times for a total of 30 laps, including the all-important final five circuits. He won for the second time in 2015 and for the 16th time in his open-wheel career.
“It was a fantastic race and it was phenomenal,” the victor said. “First and foremost, though, we are thinking about Justin (Wilson). I didn’t know how bad it was until I crossed the finish line. My thoughts and prayers are with him. I can’t stop thinking about his family.
“These cars are inherently dangerous with the open cockpits with your head exposed. We have seen renderings of canopies that could give us some type of protection and still keep the tradition of the sport.”
Regarding the race, he added, “I think it was one of the best drives in my career, coming t through the field a few times. We kept falling back after having issues on the stops. We dropped wheel nuts and kept going backwards but kept fighting our way to the front and passing the Ganassi and Penske guys. I think the No. 28 car was the class of the field today, and it was a pleasure to drive it.”
According to Hunter-Reay, the restarts were crazy, including one that had seven cars side-by-side. “You had to take advantage as that was the opportunity to jump, move forward and get into a rhythm to start picking them off. We had great restarts and once we got into single-file, I could pick them off. It was a fantastic race, and I hope the fans enjoyed it. It was classic IndyCar oval-track racing.”
Josef Newgarden raced to second place in the Hartman Oil CFH Racing Chevrolet.
Charging forward from 19th, 2014 race winner Juan Pablo Montoya came home third in the Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
With one race to go in the season, at Sonoma Raceway next Sunday, Montoya leads Graham Rahal 500 to 466 with Scott Dixon third with 453, Will Power next with 439 followed by Helio Castroneves with 423 and Newgarden at 413. With double points at stake for the finale, these six drivers have a mathematical shot at the lucrative title.
Rahal trailed Montoya by nine going into today’s race but he ended up 20th after being punted out of race by Tristan Vautier.
Castroneves, too, crashed and was scored 16th.
In the final standings, Power finished fourth, Carlos Munoz fifth, Takuma Sato sixth followed by Simon Pagenaud, Ryan Briscoe, Dixon and James Jakes.
Hard-luck driver Gabby Chaves ended up in the pits at the end after showing brightly by leading five times for 30 laps. When his car expired, he had been momentarily in the lead from laps 194 to 196 before being overhauled by Hunter-Reay.
Another young driver, Karam, thrilled the crowd with his aggressive driving before crashing on lap 180 while in the lead.
Featuredindycar seriersjustin wilsonpoconoRyan Hunter-Reay