Photo Credit: Joe Skibinski/IndyCar
Max Chilton is a rookie in the IndyCar Series, but proved on Saturday night at Phoenix that he could get the job done.
Driving the No. 8 Chevrolet car for Chip Ganassi Racing in his second career race with only prior testing experience at the track, he drove a clean solid race and ended up finishing seventh. It marks his first top-ten in his career.
“Chip Ganassi gave me a fantastic car,” Chilton said. “Obviously, Scott won this event, TK (Kanaan) flew past me with about 10-15 (laps) to go, so maybe I didn’t have necessarily the fastest car, but I think as a team we had a very, very strong car.”
Chilton credits his crew for making the decision to come in on their last stop and get fresh Firestone tires, which helped him hold on to his position at the end.
“It was difficult. But the last stint was easier with new tires,” Chilton told NBC Sports. “TK made it look easy. But it wasn’t that easy! I was just happy to get the result. I never did a lap flat, today. I was literally just fuel saving.”
