Nightmare for Penske
After crushing the opposition at Mid-Ohio just a week ago, Marlboro Team Penske had a disastrous race at Road America
Gil de Ferran started from the front row but was taken out by a gearbox problem before he could complete a lap while team-mate Helio Castroneves lost a lap after a first corner collision and could only recover to ninth.
"It's very unfortunate," said de Ferran. "Coming out of turn two I got a box full of neutrals. We don't usually have that sort of failure.
"It's disappointing but that's racing. You've just got to turn the page. Some days are good, some days are bad."
Castroneves was squeezed to the outside in the charge down to turn three on the opening lap. He flew off the course after tagging the back of Michael Andretti's Newman-Haas Lola, bouncing through the gravel trap but somehow avoiding contact with the wall.
The Lexington winner dragged his car back onto the track and struggled on for nine laps with a mangled front wing before pitting for repairs. He had lost a lap by that time but ran at the same pace as the leaders for the rest of the race en route to a distant ninth place finish.
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