Race report
General
Garret Grist takes Pro Mazda win
Andretti Autosport rookie leads all 90 laps
Edited: May 25, 2014, 5:56 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Garett Grist, No. 27 Lander Property Management/Bell Helmets, captured the pole position for 90-lap Pro Mazda race and the rookie led all 90 laps to come away with his first Pro Mazda win at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
The young Canadian moves up three spots in the championship points to sit in sixth.
"I made a few little mistakes at the beginning and I got a bit wide in Turn 3 and 4, but after that, I told myself I needed to settle down. From there I settled into a rhythm and we were able to pull away. It feels so good to win here at Lucas Oil Raceway considering we were so close to winning here last year in USF2000 finishing second. I'm really happy with tonight and it's very special. The last few laps were great; Yancy (Diotalevi, race engineer) was counting down. I slowed my pace a little more towards the end to be a bit more careful and not run into the traffic ahead of me. Huge thank you to the Lander Property Management/Bell Helmets crew for an awesome win."
Fellow countryman Scott Hargrove, who turned the trick for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing two weeks ago on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, finished second, ousting front row starter and championship leader Spencer Pigot (Juncos Racing) with six laps remaining in the fast-paced 90-lap race.
Both Grist, 19, from Grimsby, Ont., and Andretti Autosport teammate Shelby Blackstock had struggled during testing and official practice, but suddenly found the required turn of speed in qualifying as Grist took the pole with a two-lap average of 110.615 mph. Blackstock wasn't too far behind in third, sandwiching practice pace-setter Pigot.
Grist took full advantage of his hard-won pole position by holding off Pigot and Blackstock at the start, with Nicolas Costa, making his first start for Pelfrey Racing, jumping into fourth ahead of Hargrove and Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing teammate Neil Alberico.
The race quickly settled into a pattern, with Grist and Pigot setting a torrid pace at the head of the pack and Blackstock gradually slipping behind in third place. On Lap 45, Grist's #27 DaVinci Foods/Lander Property Management car suddenly stepped out from underneath him in Turn Three. The youngster managed to regain control, but suddenly Pigot was alongside as the leaders sped past the grandstands and into Turn One. Grist, however, fought off the attack and soon began to edge clear to cement his victory in style.
Now it was Pigot's turn to struggle. All of a sudden, the steering began to tighten up and the already stern physical challenge became even tougher. By Lap 75, Pigot had slipped back into the clutches of Costa and Hargrove, both of whom had found a way past Blackstock, who also was struggling with a handling imbalance.
Hargrove, who said his car mysteriously found some extra speed in the closing stages, swept past both Costa and Pigot on Laps 83 and 84 to take over second place and earn himself the RePlay XD Move of the Race Award. Hargrove also took home the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award after rising from sixth on the grid to second.
Pigot was virtually exhausted at the finish line after narrowly holding off the attentions of Costa. Afterward it was discovered that the right-front tire on Pigot's car was almost completely flat after having picked up a piece of debris.
Veteran Anders Krohn, making his first start of the season, finished a strong fifth in the second Team Pelfrey car, followed by Alberico, the disappointed Blackstock, and Kyle Kaiser, who edged out Juncos Racing teammate Jose Gutierrez after a race-long battle.
Additional contingency awards included the PFC Award and customized Race Energy charger - the official battery of the ladder series - to the winning team, Andretti Autosport; and the Staubli Award to race winner Grist.
Pigot and Hargrove are now separated by only three points, 180-177, as the Pro Mazda Championship moves on to the streets of Houston, Texas, for Rounds Eight and Nine in conjunction with the Verizon IndyCar Series on June 28/29.
Pro Mazda
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Night before Indy 500 offers plenty of racing action
Next article Top 10 photos of the week: 2014-05-28
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Neil Alberico
Alberico: The rising star who relearned his craft
Indy NXT
Indy NXT
Alberico: The rising star who relearned his craft
Jamin tops Indy Lights field in Spring Training
Indy NXT
Indy NXT
Jamin tops Indy Lights field in Spring Training
Kaiser wins easily, Jones takes points lead
Indy NXT
Indy NXT
Laguna Seca
Kaiser wins easily, Jones takes points lead
More from
Andretti Autosport
Kyle Kirkwood seals career-best IndyCar season with Laguna Seca runner-up
IndyCar
IndyCar
Laguna Seca
Kyle Kirkwood seals career-best IndyCar season with Laguna Seca runner-up
Will Power crashes hard in second IndyCar Markham practice
IndyCar
IndyCar
Markham
Will Power crashes hard in second IndyCar Markham practice
Marcus Ericsson will remain with Andretti for 2027 IndyCar season
IndyCar
IndyCar
Portland
Marcus Ericsson will remain with Andretti for 2027 IndyCar season
Latest news
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 7 min
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
13 Autosport retains unchanged lineup for 2027 IMSA campaign, eyes global expansion
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 25 min
13 Autosport retains unchanged lineup for 2027 IMSA campaign, eyes global expansion
Bourdais, Moss headline second batch of Sebring's 75 all-time greatest drivers
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 42 min
Bourdais, Moss headline second batch of Sebring's 75 all-time greatest drivers
IndyCar driver and Fox Sports reporter Jack Harvey announces cancer diagnosis
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 51 min
IndyCar driver and Fox Sports reporter Jack Harvey announces cancer diagnosis
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 Can-Am drivers
General
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 Can-Am drivers
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe