The second race at the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit at Raceway at Belle Isle Park got off to a rough start for cars in the back of the racing pack.
It started when Charlie Kimball, driver of the No. 83 Tresiba Chevrolet, was on the inside of the cars and moved over, causing Carlos Munoz driver of the No. 26 Magnetti Marelli Honda to shuffle over. The result would be Munoz making contact with James Hinchcliffe , driver of the No. 5 Arrow Electronics Honda, causing Hinchcliffe to hit the wall.
The Canadian, who had come off exuberating May in Indianapolis and moved up to fifth in the standings, had a less than thrilling weekend as in the first race he finished 18th after mechanical issues and would be out of contention from this incident and finish 21st. He took a downward hit in the standings after the weekend putting him in 11th place.
“A silly racing incident ruined our day,” he said. “The Arrow Electronics car had a reasonable start. Charlie Kimball and Carlos Munoz were going at it and we were just victims of circumstance there.
“When you start back there, you open yourself up to stuff like that. In the future, we will focus on making sure we don’t start back there: start up front, finish up front like we should and that way we’re not back in the mess.
“It’s just an unfortunate missed opportunity because the car was quick all weekend and we’ve got two races with very little to show for it. I am gutted for the guys and everyone at Arrow but if we know how to do one thing, it’s come back, so we will be back at Texas next week stronger than ever.”
Also caught in the accident was Max Chilton, driver of the No. 8 Gallagher Chevrolet, who would hit into the back of Hinchcliffe. The Reigate, England native was also done for the day after the accident finishing in 22nd place. He had a frustrating weekend as well as in the first race he would finish in 21st as a result of contact with the wall after an early race spin.
“I am not sure what happen out there at the start but it’s a shame our day ended so quickly,” he said. “We were planning on taking our time at the start and just getting the Gallagher car through cleanly, but that didn’t happen.”
Takuma Sato, driver of the No. 14 ABC Supply Honda, was not able to avoid the accident and contact was made from behind, causing him to spin into the middle of the race track. The Tokyo, Japan native was able to stay in the race, battling back to get a top-10 finish despite the incident.
“Qualifying didn’t work out for us this morning,” he said. “Started mid-pack and at the start I got hit from behind. I stalled the engine and lost a wing and a rear tire.
“Fortunately, we didn’t lose a lap and the guys did a good job to replace both on two consecutive stops. We worked our way through the field. The car was competitive but we’re missing something because it was inconsistent which was difficult.
“Glad to get a top-10 after the start but it’s frustrating because at one stage we were looking good and the strategy was good but it was a difficult race.”