GP of NOLA weekend

How it started…

Who’s driving this weekend:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

	Points Standings						Starting grid
Position		Driver	Points			Position		Driver
1		Juan Pablo Montoya	51			1		Juan Pablo Montoya
2		Will Power	44			2		Will Power
3		Tony Kanaan	35			3		Tony Kanaan
4		Helio Castroneves	33			4		Helio Castroneves
5		Simon Pagenaud	31			5		Simon Pagenaud
6		Sebastien Bourdais	28			6		Sebastien Bourdais
7		Ryan Hunter-Reay	26			7		Ryan Hunter-Reay
8		Jack Hawksworth	25			8		Jack Hawksworth
9		Luca Filippi	22			9		Luca Filippi
10		Marco Andretti	20			10		Marco Andretti
11		Graham Rahal	19			11		Graham Rahal
12		Josef Newgarden	18			12		Josef Newgarden
13		Takuma Sato	17			13		Takuma Sato
14		Carlos Munoz	16			14		Carlos Munoz
15		Scott Dixon	15			15		Scott Dixon
16		James Hinchcliffe	14			16		James Hinchcliffe
17		Gabby Chavez (R)	13			17		Gabby Chavez (R)
18		Simona de Silvestro	12			18		Simona de Silvestro
19		Sage Karam	11			19		Sage Karam
20		Stefano Coletti	10			20		Stefano Coletti
21		Charlie Kimball	9			21		Charlie Kimball
22		James Jakes	8			22		James Jakes
23		Francesco Dracone	7			23		Francesco Dracone
24		Carlos Huertas	6			24		Carlos Huertas
								(Grid set by points due to rainout)

…how it ended…

	Race results				Points standings
Position		Driver		Position		Driver	Points
1		James Hinchcliffe		1		Juan Pablo Montoya	84
2		Helio Castroneves		2		Helio Castroneves	74
3		James Jakes		3		Will Power	70
4		Simona de Silvestro		4		James Hinchcliffe	65
5		Juan Pablo Montoya		5		Tony Kanaan	63
6		Tony Kanaan		6		Simona de Silvestro	44
7		Will Power		7		James Jakes	43
8		Graham Rahal		8		Graham Rahal	43
9		Josef Newgarden		9		Luca Filippi	42
10		Luca Filippi		10		Simon Pagenaud	41
11		Scott Dixon		11		Josef Newgarden	40
12		Carlos Munoz		12		Sebastien Bourdais	37
13		Marco Andretti		13		Ryan Hunter-Reay	37
14		Charlie Kimball		14		Marco Andretti	37
15		Gabby Chavez (R)		15		Scott Dixon	34
16		Carlos Huertas		16		Carlos Munoz	34
17		Stefano Coletti (R)		17		Jack Hawksworth	31
18		Sage Karam (R)		18		Gabby Chavez (R)	28
19		Ryan Hunter-Reay		19		Charlie Kimball	25
20		Simon Pagenaud		20		Takuma Sato	25
21		Sebastien Bourdais		21		Stefano Coletti	23
22		Takuma Sato		22		Sage Karam	23
23		Francesco Dracone (R)		23		Carlos Huertas	20
24		Carlos Huertas		24		Francesco Dracone	14

 

…and all the stuff in between…

Rain rue: First practice on Friday was fine, but the second practice was delayed by rain. Rain dogged everyone on Saturday as well, and brought qualifying to a halt.

Reversion rule: Since quails couldn’t be finished due to severe thunderstorms rolling in, the starting order reverted to entrant points. Montoya started on the pole with a passel of Penske cars at the sharp end of the grid.

Racing the rain: The race was mainly dry, but the rain-soaked track caused carnage, and more rain threatened in the distance, putting going the full distance in doubt. The race was a timed event due to many cautions colliding with the available TV window. It was a possibility that more rain would shorten the race even further, but the clouds held their contents until the end.

Royal (w)reck: On the last of a gazillion restarts, Simon Pagenaud, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Sebastien Bourdais ended up in a melee of flying cars and parts, bringing out yet another yellow that the race would finish under.  Everyone walked away unhurt, thankfully.

Rockin’ results: James Hinchcliffe returned to the top of the podium after having a rough 2014. He was joined by Helio Castroneves (2^nd) and team mate James Jakes (3^rd) in the winner’s circle. Simona de Silvestro, a late addition to this race, finished 4^th after not even testing on this track in the preseason like most of the rest of the field. A bit of a shakeup compared to the expected Penske domination. Onward to Long Beach!