The first race saw a brief, heavy rain shower less than half an hour before the start, leading officials to declare the event a “wet race.”
Honda-powered rookie Carlos Huertas won Saturday’s opening race of the Grand Prix of Houston “double header” Verizon IndyCar Series race weekend, taking his Dale Coyne Racing machine to an unexpected victory in an 80-lap event that featured constantly changing weather conditions.
Juan Pablo Montoya in a Chevrolet was only 0.09 seconds behind for Team Penske as the race ended – unfortunately – under a yellow flag.
Simon Pagenaud and Mikhail Aleshin turned a tough losses in Race 1 into podiums in Race 2. The Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammates finished 1-2 in the 90-lap battle on the 1.634-mile, 10-turn temporary street circuit.
The first race was marked by a brief, heavy rain shower less than half an hour before the scheduled start, leading officials to declare the event a “wet race,” requiring teams to start on rain tires and for the race to become a one hour, 50-minute timed event. The wet/dry conditions also contributed to a total of six caution flags and, as in Detroit earlier this month, multiple pit stop strategies throughout the field.
The early laps were dominated by Detroit pole qualifier Takuma Sato, driving for hometown hero A.J. Foyt Racing. However, Sato’s run ended after 32 laps when he hit the lapped car of Mikhail Aleshin. James Hinchcliffe then took over at the front, as Honda-powered drivers led all 80 laps.
It was a decision by Huertas’ Dale Coyne Racing team to make an early final pit stop that proved decisive, as Huertas first followed teammate Justin Wilson for 15 laps, then assumed a lead he would not relinquish when Wilson made his final stop on Lap 73. The victory is the fourth of the season for Honda and the first for Huertas in his rookie season of IndyCar competition.
Sunday’s race was the first 1-2 finish for the Indianapolis-based team co-owned by Ric Peterson and former Indy car drivers Sam Schmidt and Davey Hamilton.
“We thought we had the class of the field [in Race 1] but it didn’t work out that way,” team manager Rob Edwards said.
Pagenaud earned his first career Verizon IndyCar Series pole for Race 1, but the Frenchman was relegated to a 16th-place finish after struggling with brake issues and on-track contact on the rain-soaked track at NRG Park.
Aleshin’s Race 1 ended on Lap 33 after contact with Takuma Sato in Turn 6 after starting a then-best 10th. He started on the front row for Race 2.
“Awesome race,” said Pagenaud, who earned his second victory of the season. “We regrouped after Detroit and came up with this package.”
