HILLIARD, Ohio (June 13, 2011) – Qualifying 28th for the IZOD Indy Car Series event in Texas Saturday night left Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver Jay Howard with just one option as the first of two 114-lap events started – pass everything you see.
Trying everything he could to do just that, Howard piloted the #88 Service Central Dallara/Honda/Firestone past 13 cars in the first of two 114-lap events around the 1.5-mile TMS oval in the first race to come from 28th on the grid to finish 15th. His climb through the field was the best of the opening race and earned him a nomination for the Firestone Tire-ific Move of the Race Award.
Fans can go to www.indycar.com and vote for the winner of the Firestone Tire-ific Move of the Race Award. The nominees for the award and the voting application are found on the right-hand side of the front page of the Indy Car Series’ website.
“All in all, I was encouraged by how things went Saturday,” Howard said. “We passed a lot of cars, especially in the first race and I think we proved that this is a team that can be a threat. I am hoping that all of our fans will go to indycar.com and vote for us!”
Howard started 28th in the first race, but gained four spots on the first lap and passed five more competitors on the second trip around the tricky Texas oval. He passed James Hinchcliffe on Lap 33 to claim 14th before falling back on his way to his first pit stop. He ran in the lower half of the top 20 during his second stint, but made a strong charge after his final stop, passing four cars in the last 10 laps and fighting off Danica Patrick over the last two laps to hold onto 15th.
“I thought Jay did a really great job Saturday, we passed a lot of cars and the team overall did a nice job,” said RLL Chief Operating Officer Scott Roembke. “Just like at Indianapolis, once the flag drops Jay knows where he wants to go and works hard on getting there.”