BROWNSBURG, Ind. – The traditional Visit Hendricks County "Night Before the 500" at Lucas Oil Raceway Indianapolis lived up to its billing as a light but persistent drizzle forced the race to be delayed for over two hours and ensured it wasn’t completed until almost 11:30 pm. It was worth the wait for Team Pelfrey drivers Spencer Pigot and Anders Krohn, who worked well together and emerged with solid second- and fourth-place finishes.
Pigot, 19, from Orlando, Fla., and 25-year-old Norwegian teammate Krohn, who lives in Indianapolis, worked hard with their engineers throughout the two days of testing and practice, and while Pigot did well to claim a front row starting position in the single-car qualifying session, Krohn had to be content with sixth place on the grid.
The race began on schedule but a light rain already had begun to fall, so the cars merely circulated behind the pace car until the drizzle worsened and the red flags flew with just 11 laps in the books. After a delay of more than two hours, the contest finally was resumed shortly after 11:00 pm.
Pigot stayed in touch with race leader Matthew Brabham for a few laps – and again following a restart on Lap 30 after Colombian Juan Piedrahita had crashed out of fifth place – but was unable to threaten the championship leader’s advantage. Pigot’s second podium finish of the year maintained his current fourth position in the championship standings and allowed him to creep closer to Diego Ferreira and Shelby Blackstock.
A fine start enabled Krohn to jump from sixth to fourth, which he held to the finish despite race-long pressure from Scott Anderson.
Team Pelfrey will see more action today as Katherine Legge flies the team colors in the 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500-Mile race, driving the No. 81 Dallara-Honda DW12 for Schmidt Peterson Pelfrey Motorsports. She will start her second Indy 500 from the 33rd position. The Pro Mazda team will return to action on Friday, June 14, for Round 6 on the historic Milwaukee Mile.
WHAT THE DRIVERS SAID:
Spencer Pigot (#81 Team Pelfrey/Doug Mockett & Company/Gap Guard/Parathyroid.com/California Scents/OMP) – qualified second, finished second: "It is good to be back on the podium. We worked hard all throughout practice and kept making improvements to the car. We’ve made very good progress during the recent tests. In the end it was a good result but we’ll go on to Milwaukee and try to go one step better."
Anders Krohn (#82 Pelfrey Performance/www.GetGapGuard.com) – qualified sixth, finished fourth: "I think overall it was a very positive weekend for Team Pelfrey. The goal for the weekend was for Spencer to win the race, something he came quite close to doing so that was good. From my side, our race chances were somewhat dashed by a poor qualifying result, but fourth isn't bad considering the race being massively shortened. The team did an excellent job throughout the weekend and I really think the whole crew will be ready to go even stronger in Milwaukee."
ABOUT TEAM PELFREY:
Dale Pelfrey’s race team, based in the St. Petersburg, Fla., area, is built upon the same principles he used 35 years ago when establishing his business career – hire the best, acquire the best and expect the best in order to achieve the most. After fielding cars in the IZOD IndyCar Series from 1998 until 2000, Team Pelfrey was reformed in 2011, winning on its Pro Mazda debut and going on to earn the Team Championship as well as second and third in the drivers’ title-chase with Connor De Phillippi and Nick Andries. Team Pelfrey went one better in 2012, guiding Jack Hawksworth to the Drivers’ Championship and earning a second successive Team Championship.