Panther Racing Paces the Field With Surprisingly Strong Start
by Allan Brewer
allan@indyproracer.com
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Dillon Battistini. Photo: ShawnPayneIRL
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Panther Racing’s Dillon Battistini challenged right from the start, finally besting Sam Schmidt Motorsports’ Richard Antinucci a mere three laps from the checkered flag to win the Indy Lights Miami 100 at Homestead Miami Speedway on Saturday (March 29th).
The newly-signed Brit, driving on an oval track for only the second time in his career, had the right move at the right time after a Lap 60 restart to slingshot around Antinucci; then built his advantage to a 1.7 second lead as the field shuffled in a mad dash under the white flag behind him.
Battistini teammate Brent Sherman, also making his debut in an Indy Lights Dallara after a career in NASCAR, finished third.
AFS Racing Andretti Green’s Arie Luyendyk, Jr finished fourth (for the third time on this racecourse) while Alliance Motorsports’ veteran driver Chris Festa came home fifth.
Several of the pre-season favorites for the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights championship filled out the rest of the top ten: RLR Andersen’s Andrew Prendeville raced to the sixth spot in the box score, SSM’s Ana ‘Bia’ Beatriz was seventh, and Raphael Matos, who contested the lead with Antinucci for much of the race, placed eighth.
Behind them were Wade Cunningham (doing a one-off for Brian Stewart Racing on the 1.5 mile oval), Prendeville teammate J R Hildebrand, and Guthrie Racing’s Sean Guthrie (who overcame a parade lap spin and front wing replacement) with a daring dash through the field at speed to claim eleventh.
Race Recap
The race went off as expected with Matos and Antinucci dicing for the lead over the opening half of the 67-lap event.
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Sean Guthrie spins on parade lap.
Photo: JimHainesIRL |
The pair moved along impressively at the head of the pack with Bia trailing in third as Guthrie mixed it up trying to unlap himself.
By lap thirty Guthrie found himself let go and Battistini began to gather himself in his new role of oval-track racer, creeping up on the leading Antinucci and finally cutting the red and white No. 7 car’s advantage to nearly half a second by Lap 45.
A brief yellow for track cleanup on Lap 49 put Guthrie clear of the leaders to continue his pursuit on their same lap but deeply mired in traffic at the back.
Yellow on Lap 55 for a spin by Antinucci's SSM teammate James Davison in Turn 3 allowed Battistini a brief opportunity to consider a game plan of drafting off the leader that paid off only three laps from the finish.
The Lap 60 restart found the running order Antinucci, Battistini, Matos, Beatriz and Cunningham one through five.
The Brit rocketed around Antinucci on Lap 64 of 67 with a perfect draft-assisted passing maneuver on the steeply-banked circuit that put him in front for good.
Behind them the field engaged in a wild, draft-happy shuffle on the white-flag lap that sent Sherman, Luyendyk Jr, Festa and Prendeville forward; while Matos, Beatriz and Cunningham suddenly found themselves moved back.
The race was remarkably well-driven with minor damage to several machines bringing the only two yellow-flag periods of the 38 minute, 7 second-long race.
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Multi-car-wide racing at Miami 100.
Photo: JimHainesIRL |
Team E’s Bobby Wilson incurred a drive-thru penalty for wheels beneath the white line avoiding another car on a restart.
The winner’s speed averaged 156.560 mph, with a margin of victory measured at 1.6848 seconds.
Panther Surprise Stuns Oval Rookie Battistini
The close-quarters racing produced few incidents and gave the Florida patrons a great show on a sunny afternoon where temperatures reached a balmy 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the stands.
The finish was disappointing for Matos in his initial try on the Indy Lights oval trail, but proved a strong day’s work and a boost for Antinucci’s hopes to master the configuration early on his way to a championship bid in 2008.
On the podium the smiles were as genuine as the shock Battistini and teammate Sherman felt at their first and third-place results.
“I don’t know what to say,” said a clearly baffled Battistini of the victory. “This is more than I ever expected.”
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Panther Racing's Dillon Battistini.
Photo: JimHainesIRL |
“I first drove on an oval a week ago. When I qualified yesterday, it was only the second time I’ve ever sat in the car.”
“The Panther team did an amazing job. It was up to me to time the passing right. I had the feeling that I could sit back and pick my moment because you can slingshot with the draft around the car in front.”
“Ultimately,” he finished, “my moment came because my car was better than all the others at the end of the race.”
Sherman said, “I knew the car would be good, and I would have loved to win, but I couldn’t quite get up there with Dillon.”
“There weren’t many cautions, and at the end I had to go in a hurry.”
“The car was perfect,” he continued. “I must thank Panther for the chance to get out here and get a podium.”
“It was a blast. I had a great time.”
For second-place Antinucci the day was a learning experience, just as he had hoped it would be, but without the win he wanted.
“I think I burned up my front tires too early,” he said afterwards. “Congratulations to Dillon and to Panther Racing for the great job they did.”
He also gave solace to the man he fought much of the race for the lead: “Raphael Matos and Andretti Green will be up near the front all year. It’s going to be a great season battling with them.”
Round One Goes to Panther in Chase for Firehawk Cup
The weekend ends with 2003 champion Panther Racing atop the standings with two drivers in the first three. Battistini leaves South Florida on fifty points, eight ahead of Antinucci (42 points) with Sherman seven points further arear (35 points).
The racing resumes in seven days at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (April 5th & 6th) street course with the first of four double-header weekends in 2008 for the Indy Lights Series.
Firestone Indy Lights Miami 100 Results
Firestone Indy Lights 2008 Firehawk Cup Cumulative Results
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