Sonsio Grand Prix
10 May

Race Report: Sonsio Grand Prix

Driving the Pray.com Chevrolet, Sting Ray Robb did a great job in avoiding the carnage at the start of the Sonsio Grand Prix to advance from 27th to 19th this afternoon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Unfortunately, some fuel issues surfaced which resulted in his having to aggressively save fuel in the 85-lap race that was slowed by just one caution. However, late in the race the Idahoan held his own to stave off Tom Blomqvist and finish 22nd.

“Today was a bit of a long day,” Robb said. “The race went green for most of the event which was good and bad. We had a really good race start but lost it all pretty early in the race just being on the black tires, we fell back a lot but still had a net gain which was good. Pit stops were really good. I don’t know if we had a fuel issue, but we had to do a massive fuel save which was a bit frustrating but Chevy did a good job. You know, I think that we held on there at the end for position that was hard to fight for, but it was very rewarding. So, happy with the team, happy with the strategy, and we made some good improvements throughout the weekend. So, heads up and on to the Indy 500.”

Sting Ray debriefs with his race engineer Mike Armbrester after the race.
 
Santino Ferrucci had problems right from the start with a brake bias failure which essentially moved most of the braking power to the rear tires. He dropped back from his 16th starting position to 22nd as he struggled with his car. As the race progressed, the engineers noticed an irregularity in the data and decided to park the car rather than risk triggering a bigger mechanical problem. He placed 27th.
 
“We saw something going wrong in the data,” Ferrucci explained after climbing out of his No. 14 Sexton Properties Chevrolet. “We’re not quite sure what it is. But you know, we didn’t want to keep risking what we have for equipment. And the team thought it was best that we stopped the car. We were having other mechanical issues right from the start and that’s why we just didn’t have our pace. So, it’s unfortunate because, you know, every point counts. I’m very happy that we now move to the oval. I can’t wait to be back out there in the Homes For Our Troops car, but I can’t thank our team enough — our Sexton Properties Chevrolet and the AJ Foyt boys had a helluva stop.”

Alex Palou swept the event winning from the pole position. Will Power finished second and Christian Lundgaard claimed third. Rounding out the top five were Scott Dixon and Marcus Armstrong.

The teams will spend the next two days prepping their Speedway cars as practice for the Indianapolis 500 starts on Tuesday, May 14th. Qualifying for the 500 takes place next weekend while the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 will be broadcast live on NBC on Sunday, May 26 with race coverage starting at 11 a.m. ET.
 

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