2008 Indy Japan 300

Last updated
Flag of Japan.svg 2008 Motegi
Race details
3rd (A) round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season
Twin Ring Motegi oval map.svg
DateApril 20, 2008
Official name Indy Japan 300
Location Twin Ring Motegi
CoursePermanent racing facility
1.520 mi / 2.446 km
Distance200 laps
304.000 mi / 489.241 km
Weather54 °F (12 °C), Mostly cloudy
Pole position
Driver Hélio Castroneves  ( Flag of the United States.svg Penske Racing)
Timeset by driver points [1]
Fastest lap
Driver Hélio Castroneves  ( Flag of the United States.svg Penske Racing)
Time27.6476 (on lap 12 of 200)
Podium
First Danica Patrick  ( Flag of the United States.svg Andretti Green Racing)
Second Hélio Castroneves  ( Flag of the United States.svg Penske Racing)
Third Scott Dixon  ( Flag of the United States.svg Chip Ganassi Racing)
The race, with Marco Andretti spinning out. First lap of the 2008 Indy Japan 300.jpg
The race, with Marco Andretti spinning out.

The 2008 Indy Japan 300 was the third round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season, for drivers who competed in the series in 2007 and teams that had entered for 2008 who were not former Champ Car teams that were in transition. This was because the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach occurred on the same weekend and there was no way of changing dates to avoid the clash when the reunification took place. Originally scheduled for the afternoon of April 19, 2008 at the 1.52-mile (2.45 km) Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi, the race was delayed by 22 hours until the morning of April 20, due to water seeping up onto the track from previous heavy rains. [2] Danica Patrick won the race, becoming the first female winner in the history of top-level American open-wheel racing. [3]

Contents

Qualifying

Due to rain in the Tochigi region, qualifying was cancelled and the field was set by driver points. [1] Thus, the grid was:

PosNo.DriverTeam
13 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves Penske Racing
29 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing
311 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing
426 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing
510 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dan Wheldon Chip Ganassi Racing
67 Flag of the United States.svg Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing
720 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Vision Racing
82 Flag of the United States.svg A. J. Foyt IV Vision Racing
927 Flag of Japan.svg Hideki Mutoh (R) Andretti Green Racing
1017 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman Racing
1115 Flag of the United States.svg Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
1214 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Darren Manning A. J. Foyt Enterprises
134 Flag of Brazil.svg Vítor Meira Panther Racing
1424 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard (R) Roth Racing
156 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Briscoe Penske Racing
1623 Flag of the United States.svg Townsend Bell Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
1725 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Marty Roth Roth Racing
1877 Flag of the United States.svg Roger Yasukawa CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports

Race

FinishCar
No.
DriverTeamLapsTime/RetiredGridLaps
Led
Points
17 Flag of the United States.svg Danica Patrick Andretti Green Racing 2001:51:02.67396350
23 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves Penske Racing 200+5.859419440
39 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Target Chip Ganassi 200+10.0559210138
410 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dan Wheldon Target Chip Ganassi 200+13.11165232
511 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan Andretti Green Racing 200+16.07313030
620 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Vision Racing 200+16.28727028
717 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay (R) Rahal Letterman Racing 200+17.519310026
814 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Darren Manning A. J. Foyt Enterprises 199+1 Lap12024
96 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Briscoe Penske Racing 199+1 Lap15022
1023 Flag of the United States.svg Townsend Bell Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 199+1 Lap16020
1127 Flag of Japan.svg Hideki Mutoh (R) Andretti Green Racing 199+1 Lap9019
1215 Flag of the United States.svg Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 198+2 Laps11018
1324 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jay Howard Roth Racing 192+8 Laps14017
1477 Flag of the United States.svg Roger Yasukawa CURB/Agajanian/Beck Motorsports 134Brakes18016
152 Flag of the United States.svg A. J. Foyt IV Vision Racing 103Accident8015
164 Flag of Brazil.svg Vítor Meira Panther Racing 92Accident13014
1725 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Marty Roth Roth Racing 44Accident17013
1826 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Green Racing 0Collision4012
Race average speed: 164.258 mph (264.348 km/h)
Lead changes: 5 between 4 drivers
Cautions: 4 for 29 laps

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References

  1. 1 2 "Rain hands Castroneves Motegi pole". autosport.com. 2008-04-18. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
  2. "Motegi race rescheduled for Sunday". autosport.com. 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
  3. "Motegi results" (PDF). Indycar.com. 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2009-02-13.[ permanent dead link ]
Preceded by IRL IndyCar Series
round 3A
2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (transition teams; 3B)

2008
Succeeded by