2013 Pocono IndyCar 400

Last updated

Flag of the United States.svg 2013 Pocono IndyCar 400
Race details
11th round of the 2013 IndyCar Series season
2013PoconoLogo.jpg
DateJuly 7, 2013
Official name Pocono IndyCar 400 Fueled by Sunoco
Location Long Pond, Pennsylvania
CoursePermanent racing facility
2.5 mi / 4.023 km
Distance160 laps
400 mi / 643.737 km
Scheduled Distance160 laps
400 mi / 643.737 km
WeatherTemperatures up to 91 °F (33 °C); wind speeds up to 11.1 miles per hour (17.9 km/h) [1]
Pole position
Driver Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti  (Andretti Autosport)
Time40.6547
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato  (A. J. Foyt Racing)
Time41.2239 (on lap 56 of 160)
Podium
First Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon  (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Second Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball  (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Third Flag of Scotland.svg Dario Franchitti  (Chip Ganassi Racing)
Chronology
PreviousNext
1989 2014

The 2013 Pocono IndyCar 400 Fueled by Sunoco was the 11th round of the 2013 IndyCar Series season. The race was held on July 7, 2013, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania at Pocono Raceway. The race was contested of 160 laps. Scott Dixon won the race. Charlie Kimball finished 2nd, and Dario Franchitti finished 3rd. Will Power and Josef Newgarden rounded out the top five, and Simon Pagenaud, Justin Wilson, Hélio Castroneves, Ed Carpenter, and Marco Andretti rounded out the top ten.

Contents

Background

Pocono Raceway held an IndyCar race from 1971–1989, though as a 500-mile race, with the event ending after Pocono owner Joseph Mattioli chose not to return, citing the rivalry between the USAC and CART as a factor. [2] The final race at the track was won by Danny Sullivan. [3]

Brandon Igdalsky, Dr. Rose Mattioli, Randy Bernard, Mario Andretti, and Ed Carpenter announce IndyCar's return to Pocono Pocono Raceway IndyCar returns announcment.JPG
Brandon Igdalsky, Dr. Rose Mattioli, Randy Bernard, Mario Andretti, and Ed Carpenter announce IndyCar's return to Pocono

On October 1, 2012, IndyCar announced that the Pocono race will make a return for 2013. [4] However, the race was shortened by 100 miles to 400, as a request by ABC to fit the time window. [5] The race became a part of the IndyCar Triple Crown of Motorsport, in which if a driver wins the Indianapolis 500, the Pocono IndyCar 400, and the season-ending MAVTV 500, they will win $1 million. [4]

The first ten races of the 2013 season were split by Andretti Autosport and other teams, with Andretti drivers James Hinchcliffe winning three races [6] and teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay winning two. [7] The other five races were won by Takuma Sato (A. J. Foyt Enterprises), [8] Tony Kanaan (KV Racing Technology), [9] Mike Conway (Dale Coyne Racing), [10] Simon Pagenaud (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) [11] and Hélio Castroneves (Team Penske). [12]

Entrants

KeyMeaning
 R Rookie
 W Past winner
No.DriverTeamEngine
1 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Team Penske Chevrolet
3 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet
4 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Briscoe Panther Racing Chevrolet
5 Flag of Venezuela.svg E. J. Viso Team Venezuela/Andretti Autosport/HVM Chevrolet
6 Flag of Colombia.svg Sebastián Saavedra Dragon Racing Chevrolet
7 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Bourdais Dragon Racing Chevrolet
9 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
10 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
11 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
12 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet
14 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda
15 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
16 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Jakes Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda
18 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Pippa Mann Dale Coyne Racing Honda
19 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda
20 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet
25 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
27 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Chevrolet
55 Flag of France.svg Tristan Vautier  R  Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda
67 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda
77 Flag of France.svg Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports Honda
78 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Simona de Silvestro KV Racing Technology Chevrolet
83 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda
98 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Barracuda Racing Honda

Practice

Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamEngineLap Time
125 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 40.5620
211 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 40.7573
383 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 40.7825
First practice results

Qualifying

Marco Andretti of Andretti Autosport won the pole position after recording a lap speed of 221.273 mph (356.104 km/h), breaking the record set by Emerson Fittipaldi in 1989, who had a speed of 211.175 mph (339.853 km/h). [13] Andretti's teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay (220.892 mph (355.491 km/h)) and James Hinchcliffe (220.431 mph (354.749 km/h)) started second and third, respectively. The last time a team swept the front row in qualifying was in the 1988 Indianapolis 500 with Penske Racing. Will Power (220.286 mph (354.516 km/h)) started fourth, while Tony Kanaan (219.625 mph (353.452 km/h)) and Hélio Castroneves (219.581 mph (353.381 km/h)) started fifth and sixth, respectively. Scott Dixon (219.500 mph (353.251 km/h), Takuma Sato (219.124 mph (352.646 km/h)), Simon Pagenaud (218.859 mph (352.219 km/h)) and Simona de Silvestro (218.590 mph (351.787 km/h)) rounded out the top ten. [14]

Meanwhile, the fourth Andretti driver, E. J. Viso, was in position to start in fourth until he hit the wall during qualifying; Alex Tagliani had also hit the wall while qualifying. [15] Viso and Tagliani started 22nd and 24th, respectively. [14] For Dixon, despite qualifying in seventh, was penalized ten spots due to conflicts between manufacturer Honda and IndyCar regarding the 2,000 miles (3,200 km) engine change rule. [14] Dixon was not the only driver penalized for unapproved engine changes; among those forced to move back were: Dario Franchitti, Pippa Mann, Justin Wilson, Viso and Tagliani. [16]

Qualifying classification

PosNo.DriverTeamEngineTimeFinal
grid
Laps
Lap 1Lap 2
125 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 40.692640.65471
21 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Team Penske Chevrolet 40.730840.75692
327 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 40.886140.77223
412 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 40.711341.00054
511 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 41.009940.94785
63 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 40.952541.02176
79 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 41.018240.98627
814 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato A. J. Foyt Enterprises Honda 41.077741.06768
977 Flag of France.svg Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports Honda 41.153941.09099
1078 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Simona de Silvestro KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 41.156541.189310
1155 Flag of France.svg Tristan Vautier  R  Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 41.180841.170811
127 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Bourdais Dragon Racing Chevrolet 41.162941.210612
1383 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 41.202641.235713
1416 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Jakes Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 41.243541.234514
1520 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 41.176641.354415
1667 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 41.492541.139916
1715 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 41.448341.326617
1810 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 41.527041.404418
1918 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Pippa Mann Dale Coyne Racing Honda 41.528041.429019
2019 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda 41.454741.543420
216 Flag of Colombia.svg Sebastián Saavedra Dragon Racing Chevrolet 41.982141.517621
225 Flag of Venezuela.svg E. J. Viso Team Venezuela/Andretti Autosport/HVM Chevrolet 40.918022
234 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ryan Briscoe Panther Racing Chevrolet 23
2498 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Barracuda Racing Honda 24
Full qualifying results

Practice (post-qualifying)

Final practice

Top Practice Speeds
PosNo.DriverTeamEngineLap Time
125 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 41.0734
214 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato A. J. Foyt Racing Honda 41.1308
327 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 41.1412
Final practice results

Race

Dixon talking to the press after winning the race. Scott Dixon, Post race press conference Pocono 2013.JPG
Dixon talking to the press after winning the race.

Singing the National Anthem was Christian Porter, a Pennsylvania-native and contestant on season 4 of The Voice. The command to start engines was given by Fuzzy Zoeller, winner of the 1979 Masters Tournament, whose company Fuzzy's Ultra Premium Vodka was sponsoring IndyCar's Triple Crown Award. NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon was in attendance after racing in the 2013 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway the night before.

When the green flag was waved, the front row got into single file formation by the end of the frontstretch. After starting third, James Hinchcliffe lost control in turn one and impacted the wall with the left side of the car. Hinchcliffe was checked by the medical crew and joined the ABC broadcast booth to call the rest of the race on television.

When the race restarted, Andretti extended his lead. By leading the race and not conserving fuel, Andretti was forced to refuel earlier than other teams. He made his first pit stop on lap 29 and returned to lead when all other cars pitted by lap 35.

On lap 61, Ryan Hunter-Reay was hit from behind by Takuma Sato while entering pit lane, [17] suffering right front wheel and right wing damage, and was forced to go to the garage. It brought out the second and final caution of the day.

Tony Kanaan took the lead by virtue of being on pit road at the moment the caution flag was displayed. He exited pit road before Andretti passed him on the race track. The lead was short-lived as Andretti passed Kanaan as soon as racing resumed. Andretti held the lead for the next 23 laps until making a green flag pit stop. During the cycle of pit stops, Kanaan passed Andretti for the lead. Scott Dixon took the lead after Kanaan pitted. Dixon entered pit road on lap 101 and returned to the track in the lead.

Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan led portions of the race, but at lap 109 he clipped his front wing passing Scott Dixon for the lead. While Kanaan was able to continue, the team was forced to change the front wing under green flag conditions, ending any chance Kanaan had at winning the second leg of the Triple Crown. Kanaan finished a disappointing 13th.

Marco Andretti, led a race high 88 laps, but was informed by his crew to begin saving fuel with 39 laps remaining. It was unclear if Andretti could make it to the finish with just one pit stop. He pitted for the final time with 33 laps remaining. He was forced to conserve fuel to make the finish but ran out of fuel as he took the checkered flag.

Scott Dixon made his final pit stop with 29 laps remaining and did not need to save fuel to reach the finish. He was followed on track by his teammates Charlie Kimball and Dario Franchitti.

Scott Dixon, who had led only one lap all season (at the Indianapolis 500), [18] led 38 laps, including the final 28 laps, [19] and won the race by less than half a second.

It was the 100th win for Chip Ganassi Racing, Honda's 200th win in Indy car racing, and Dixon's 30th career victory. [20] The win was Dixon's first since 2012 at Mid-Ohio. [19] His teammates Charlie Kimball and Dario Franchitti finished second and third, marking the first time a team swept the podium since 2011, when Team Penske had Will Power, Hélio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe in the top three at Sonoma Raceway, [19] and at a Triple Crown race since Bobby Unser, Rick Mears and Mario Andretti of Team Penske finished in the top three spots at Ontario Motor Speedway in the 1979 California 500. [21] Power finished fourth, Josef Newgarden fifth, Simon Pagenaud sixth, Justin Wilson, Castroneves, Ed Carpenter, and Andretti closed out the top ten. Hunter-Reay finished 20th, and Hinchcliffe finished 24th. [22]

Race classification

PosNo.DriverTeamEngineLapsTime/RetiredPit
Stops
GridLaps
Led
Pts.
19 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 1602:04:26.41784173851
283 Flag of the United States.svg Charlie Kimball Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 160+0.4572412441
310 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti Chip Ganassi Racing Honda 160+1.1989420035
412 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power Team Penske Chevrolet 160+5.6320441533
567 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Honda 160+7.1949515030
677 Flag of France.svg Simon Pagenaud Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports Honda 160+9.407448028
719 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Justin Wilson Dale Coyne Racing Honda 160+13.3012422026
83 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves Team Penske Chevrolet 160+13.937646024
920 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Carpenter Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet 160+15.5500514022
1025 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti Andretti Global Chevrolet 160+18.4584418824
1178 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Simona de Silvestro KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 160+32.047859019
1216 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg James Jakes Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 160+36.2536413018
1311 Flag of Brazil.svg Tony Kanaan KV Racing Technology Chevrolet 160+41.5507551518
144 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Briscoe Panther Racing Chevrolet 159+1 Lap519016
1518 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Pippa Mann Dale Coyne Racing Honda 159+1 Lap521015
167 Flag of France.svg Sébastien Bourdais Dragon Racing Chevrolet 159+1 Lap511014
1798 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Alex Tagliani Barracuda Racing Honda 158+2 Laps524013
1815 Flag of the United States.svg Graham Rahal Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda 158+2 Laps416012
1955 Flag of France.svg Tristan Vautier  R  Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda 158+2 Laps610011
201 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti Autosport Chevrolet 121Handling52010
215 Flag of Venezuela.svg E. J. Viso Team Venezuela/Andretti Global/HVM Chevrolet 104Handling62309
2214 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato A. J. Foyt Racing Honda 61Contact1708
236 Flag of Colombia.svg Sebastián Saavedra Dragon Racing Chevrolet 2Mechanical01807
2427 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe Andretti Global Chevrolet 0Contact0306
Fastest lap: Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato (A. J. Foyt Racing) – 41.2239 (lap 56)
Official race results

Broadcasting

The race was broadcast by ABC with lead announcer, Marty Reid, and color commentators Scott Goodyear and Eddie Cheever Jr. Reporting from pit lane were Jamie Little and Vince Welch. After his crash on lap one, James Hinchcliffe joined the broadcast booth to call the conclusion of the race.

In the United States, ABC's broadcast had a 1.1 overnight TV rating, tied with the June 8th race at Texas for most watched race outside of the Indianapolis 500. [23] The final rating was 0.9, with approximately 1.3 million viewers. [24]

This would ultimately be the final IndyCar race for ESPN color commentator Marty Reid after 31 years working with ESPN. Reid would later call his final race at the NASCAR Nationwide Series 2013 Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway, before retiring at the end of 2013.

Championship standings after the race

Pos.DriverPoints
1rightarrow blue.svg 1 Flag of Brazil.svg Hélio Castroneves 356
1rightarrow blue.svg 2 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay 333 (–23)
1rightarrow blue.svg 3 Flag of the United States.svg Marco Andretti 301 (–55)
1uparrow green.svg 34 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon 291 (–65)
1downarrow red.svg 15 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg James Hinchcliffe 272 (–84)

References

  1. "2013 Pocono IndyCar 400 weather information". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  2. Gelston, Dan (July 4, 2013). "IndyCar drivers set for 1st Pocono race since 1989". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  3. "1989 Pocono 500". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "IndyCar Returns to Pocono in 2013". Pocono Raceway . October 1, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  5. Groller, Keith (October 2, 2012). "ABC only wanted 400 miles of IndyCar at Pocono". The Morning Call . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  6. Hamilton, Andy (June 23, 2013). "Hinchcliffe cruises at Iowa, gets third IndyCar win". USA Today . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  7. "Ryan Hunter-Reay wins at Milwaukee Mile again". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. June 23, 2013. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  8. "Takuma Sato becomes first Japanese driver to win IndyCar race". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. April 21, 2013. Archived from the original on April 25, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  9. "Tony Kanaan Wins Indy 500". Fox News Channel. Associated Press. May 26, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  10. "Mike Conway wins 1st of two races at Detroit Grand Prix". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. June 2, 2013. Archived from the original on July 31, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  11. Lage, Larry (June 2, 2013). "Pagenaud wins crash-filled Detroit Grand Prix". Yahoo! News . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  12. "Helio Castroneves cruises at Texas". ESPN. Associated Press. June 10, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  13. Gelston, Dan (July 7, 2013). "Andretti teams go from 1st to worst at Pocono". Boston.com . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  14. 1 2 3 Pruett, Marshall (July 6, 2013). "INDYCAR: Marco Leads Andretti Team 1-2-3 To Take Pocono Pole". Speed . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  15. "Marco Andretti wins Pocono pole". ESPN. Associated Press. July 6, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  16. Creed, Aaron (July 7, 2013). "Revised Starting Grid for the Pocono IndyCar 400 fueled by Sunoco". SB Nation . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  17. Groller, Keith (July 7, 2013). "Scott Dixon wins Pocono IndyCar race; Marco Andretti finishes a disappointing 10th". The Morning Call . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  18. "Scott Dixon leads podium sweep at Pocono". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. July 7, 2013. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  19. 1 2 3 "Scott Dixon wins at Pocono". ESPN. Associated Press. July 7, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  20. Woodcock, Fred (July 8, 2013). "Scott Dixon triumphs at Pocono IndyCar 400". Stuff.co.nz . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  21. Pruett, Marshall (July 7, 2013). "INDYCAR: Dixon Leads Ganassi 1-2-3 To Win Pocono 400". Speed . Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  22. "2013 Pocono IndyCar 400". Racing-Reference. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  23. @IBJTheScore (July 8, 2013). "IBJ's The Score - Overnight TV Ratings ABC Pocono" (Tweet) via Twitter.
  24. Schoettle, Anthony (July 22, 2013). "Do Pocono TV Ratings Show That IndyCar Needs More Oval Races?". Indianapolis Business Journal . Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
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Previous race:
1989 Pocono 500
Pocono IndyCar 400 Next race:
2014 Pocono IndyCar 500