Pagenaud posts second IndyCar win
HOUSTON — Simon Pagenaud, the Frenchman who thought he had a winning car in the first race of the Grand Prix of Houston doubleheader, finally picked up a victory in Sunday’s second race.
The victory, the second of the season for Pagenaud, allowed him to significantly cut into Will Power’s lead in the championship standings. Pagenaud came to Houston down 91 points to Power, but cut it to 59 following his victory
Although he spent all last week training in California to prepare for the heat and humidity in Houston, he felt the effects of temperatures that soared past 30 C after he climbed from his car.
“I’m sorry, guys, I might be a little faint,” he said in Victory Lane. “It was really hot. Really hot. There’s exhaustion from heat. I mean, there is no air under the visor.”
It was redemption for Pagenaud, who started from the pole Saturday but had his race ruined when he first spun, then was collected in Scott Dixon’s crash. He finished 16th in the first race.
“I was so disappointed Saturday because we had such a fast car this weekend,” he said.”
The rest of the podium was packed with newcomers as IndyCar celebrated four rookies on this topsy-turvy weekend. On Saturday, rookie Carlos Huertas got his first victory and led a Colombian sweep of the rain-soaked podium with Juan Pablo Montoya and rookie Carlos Munoz.
Sunday, under an oppressive sun, Pagenaud led his rookie teammate Mikhail Aleshin to his first podium and a 1-2 finish for team owner Sam Schmidt.
Aleshin, the first Russian driver in IndyCar history, battled a tire problem to make it to the finish.
Jack Hawksworth, another rookie, drove from last to third for his first career podium.
“It’s been rough this year. We’ve been fast sometimes and just not quite made it happen,” said Hawksworth. “We’ve not quite put it together and today we did.”