Ryan Hunter-Reay Declared Winner After Crazy New Hampshire INDYCAR Race

"Winner" Ryan Hunter-Reay looks happy, but second-placed Oriol Servia and third finisher Scott Dixon?  Not so much after the MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Photo: Courtesy INDYCAR

INDYCAR's return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway after 13 years away was intended to be a 225-lap affair; it was interrupted from start to finish by cautions and moisture.  The race was plagued by errors on the part of some very good drivers - and race control - and by expected showers that were all over the northeast corner of the USA on Sunday, forcing the series to start half an hour earlier than intended.

Ryan Hunter-Reay was declared the winner of this race, which went 215, not 225 laps due to weather and poor actions from the race control booth.  RHR led the second-most number of laps (71) and did bring the field to the green after the six total caution periods.  

When the final carnage occurred, collecting championship contender Will Power, Danica Patrick (who started it) and others, the Indy cars had been told "green, green, green" and were accelerating towards the flag stand.

Hunter-Reay later said he couldn't get traction and was passed by official second-finisher Oriol Servia and third-placed Scott Dixon.  Later, officials said they never threw green and reverted the field back to where it had been before a red flag was thrown, under the final caution for moisture.
 
Hunter-Reay had a good car all weekend.  My car was so good in traffic," he said. "The guys deserve this one.  I couldn't even warm the tires it was so wet and I don't think the fans at home understand how wet it was.  We have a very small contact patch and there's nothing there (when the rain came).  It was a strange day but sometimes racing is strange."

Servia was livid: "I think it was really wet out there and we shouldn't have gone out, but they threw the green and I was ahead when the yellow went out.  Any racing, even here, when you call the leader that is the way it stands.  They called me the leader and then they decide to reverse it.  I am very upset.  Race control called leader car No. 2 and that is when the yellow came.  We were ahead," he said.

That brought the field back to where they were during the final caution for moisture.  James Hinchcliffe received fourth place and Power, who told INDYCAR officials what he thought of them with two astute fingers (one on each hand - you figure it out) finished fifth, with Patrick, Takuma Sato, Ryan Briscoe, Charlie Kimball and Vitor Meira completing the top 10.

Dario Franchitti led from pole position and seemingly had the race in hand before being punted on the fifth restart when Takuma Sato had moisture in his eyes.  They made contact and Franchitti slid backwards into the front stretch wall.  He led 115 laps before that incident, which also collected a very competitive JR Hildebrand, who was hit by EJ Viso.  

INDYCAR president of racing operations Brian Barnhart contended that he had no word from anyone pitside that conditions were still treacherous after the sixth and final caution.  That conflicts with what team owner Michael Andretti - who fields the "winning" car - said he told officials.  All the drivers said they'd been yelling into their helmets that it was too wet to race.  Even pace car driver Johnny Rutherford had his windshield wipers working as he ferried the field around the mile oval.

There were a total of 17 cars running at the close of this debacle, of 26 starters.  Pippa Mann, who was supposed to run for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, crashed again on Saturday and the team withdrew her car.  Graham Rahal's poor luck continued after being speared on the first lap by Mike Conway - Rahal had one of the best cars in the field - and these two were the first two retirees.  The second caution came a single lap after the Indy cars went to green for a second try at racing when Helio Castroneves spun - both incidents occurred in the second turn.

Caution three was for moisture and lasted for 32 snooze-inducing laps but was followed by a bizarre situation in which Tomas Scheckter, subbing for injured Justin Wilson and Tony Kanaan used Marco Andretti for sandwich meat.  Andretti suffered bent right-front suspension in the collision; Kanaan went upside down and Scheckter's car was damaged as well.  None of the drivers suffered apparent injury.

Alex Tagliani was pitting on the 138th lap when his exhaust went up in flame, bringing his day to a close.  James Jakes  was classified as having completing 176 laps after being challenged by Franchitti for his racing protocol.  The balance of finishers from 11-17 were Ed Carpenter, EJ Viso, Alex Lloyd, Ana Beatriz, Sebastian Saavedra, Simona de Silvestro and Castroneves, who was 13 laps down.

With his retirement, Franchitti's big lead evaporated but retains first place in the standings, 47 points ahead of Power.  Dixon is third, Servia fourth and Kanaan retains fifth place points.

The Indy cars lick their wounds for a week and a half before racing on the daunting road course at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma.  Power is the defending victor at that circuit, where he nearly ended his career a year earlier.  The question is, ill the current inhabitants of Race Control go to California with the teams?

© 2011 Anne Proffit