Hunter-Reay wins Milwaukee IndyFest
WEST ALLIS, Wis. -- Again, it's Ryan Hunter-Reay in victory lane at the Milwaukee Mile.
This time as a father on Father's Day weekend.
The reigning IndyCar Series champion, whose son, Ryden, was born in December, pulled away from the field Saturday in the late stages of the Milwaukee IndyFest to capture his second victory of the season. He also won at Barber Motorsports Park in April.
This is where Hunter-Reay began his championship push last season, and he followed it up with victories at Iowa Speedway and on the streets of Toronto. He hopes to do the same this year, after drawing 16 points of Helio Castroneves as the series leader.
Castroneves, who finished second, 4.9 seconds behind Hunter-Reay, has never won a series title.
Castroneves' Penske teammate, Will Power, finished third. Hunter-Reay's teammates, EJ Viso and James Hinchcliffe, rounded out the top five.
The fourth Andretti driver, pole winner Marco Andretti, finished 20th after an electrical failure stalled his car on the backstretch on Lap 96.
Castroneves hung onto the championship lead by driving from 17th at the start. His only difficult moment came late in the race when he and Power nearly collided racing for second. Power had to go to the grass to avoid the Brazilian.
A.J. Foyt Racing driver Takuma Sato had the lead when he drifted high in Turn 4 and nearly hit the wall. He then got caught on the track by a yellow flag that allowed those ahead of him to pit.
The difficult season of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing continued. Alex Tagliani spun in front of Bobby Rahal's two cars, and Graham Rahal ran into the back of teammate James Jakes under braking. Graham's car broke its front wing assembly; James had to pit, too.
Simona De Silvestro's trouble with the Mile extended to another race. She spun in front of Graham Rahal in Turn 4, costing her several laps to the leader. Soon after, she retired from the race.
1. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport
2. Helio Castroneves, Team Penske
3. Will Power, Team Penske
4. E.J. Viso, Andretti Autosport
5. James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Autosport
6. Scott Dixon, Ganassi Racing
7. Takuma Sato, A.J. Foyt Racing
8. Dario Franchitti, Ganassi Racing
9. Justin Wilson, Dale Coyne Racing
10. Tony Kanaan, KV Racing Technology
11. Josef Newgarden, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing
12. Simon Pagenaud, Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports
13. Sebastian Saavedra, Dragon Racing
14. Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing
15. Ryan Briscoe, Panther Racing
16. Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
17. Charlie Kimball, Ganassi Racing
18. James Jakes, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
19. Ana Beatriz, Dale Coyne Racing
20. Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport
21. Tristan Vautier, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
22. Sebastien Bourdais, Dragon Racing
23. Alex Tagliani, Barracuda Racing
24. Simona De Silvestro, KV Racing Technology
