MOTEGI, Japan (September 19, 2009) - Ryan Briscoe and his Team Penske crew held on after an untimely incident to remain in the thick of the IndyCar Series drivers' championship heading into the final race of the season.
Briscoe was leading Saturday's Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi when his No. 6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda slid out of control and struck a retaining wall while Briscoe was exiting the pits on the 106th lap of the 200-lap race. His crew repaired the car and Briscoe returned to the track to finish 18th and keep him in contention for the championship.
Briscoe is eight points behind race winner Scott Dixon going into the Oct. 10 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and just three points behind Dario Franchitti, who finished second in Saturday's race.
The crash, which occurred as Briscoe appeared to be on his way toward a finish that could have put him in position to win the championship, was devastating but not disastrous.
"I just gassed it too much leaving my box, and the car spun," Briscoe said. "I hit the wall. We had to change the front upright. The team did a great job doing it in the time they did, but unfortunately that was our day done pretty much. I just sort of brought the car home without pushing too hard at the end.
"The good thing is that it's only eight points to Scott. I feel real good going into Homestead. We've been strong on all the (1.5-mile ovals) this year. At Homestead, I'm confident that Team Penske is going to be the team to beat."
Meanwhile, Helio Castroneves finished 10th in the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda after starting 21st on the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi oval.
"We were shooting for a top-10 finish for Team Penske here in Japan, and we got it today," Castroneves said. "It was very difficult to pass out there, but we did the best job we could. The team made some great calls and we had good pit stops. It's a shame that Ryan lost the points lead, but we know we will be strong at Homestead. Our goal is to bring home a championship for Team Penske."
Briscoe said his focus is solely on making up for the Motegi mistake at Homestead.
"I'm feeling good going to Homestead," Briscoe said. "I'm going to put it behind me in just a minute, and my focus will be 100 percent on Homestead. It's exciting for us and all the fans. It's going to build up a lot of hype going into Homestead. It's going to be a tough one. It's a flip of a coin as to who's the favorite. All of us are fully capable of winning at that track. I'm going to be as motivated as ever after this race."
Briscoe, who came into the Motegi race with a 25-point lead over Franchitti, needed a strong finish to clinch the championship. He had just taken the lead when the No. 6 car slid sideways under throttle and struck the wall. The incident forced Briscoe to return to the pits twice for extensive repairs.
"I was pretty upset with myself when it happened," Briscoe said. "I apologized to the whole team. I was really disappointed. I knew at the time that the car was broken and we were going to have to lose laps fixing it."
The season finale will feature one of the closest points races in IndyCar history. Eight points between the top three going into the final race of the season is the second-closest margin among the top three in league history.
Qualifying coverage for the Firestone Indy 300 begins Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. ET on Versus. Race coverage is scheduled for Oct. 10 at 4 p.m. ET on Versus.
