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Race report

Servia finishes 11th in record-breaking Indianapolis 500

Servia started 500 Mile Classic from the inside of Row 5 in 13th position.

Oriol Servia, Panther DDR Chevrolet

Oriol Servia, Panther DDR Chevrolet

XPB Images

Oriol Servia finished 11th in yesterday's 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500. Servia started 500 Mile Classic from the inside of Row 5 in 13th position.

Oriol Servia, Panther DDR Chevrolet
Oriol Servia, Panther DDR Chevrolet

Photo by: XPB Images

The No. 22 crew completed their first pit stop on lap 31. The only change to the car was taking out a half of turn of front wing. Servia gained three positions on his second pit stop on Lap 58 and came out of the pits in 14th.

Servia traded positions with a pack of cars and ran between positions 13 and 19 until his third pit stop on Lap 90. A large change in the downforce on the No. 22 Mecum Auction machine allowed Servia to move towards the front.

In the next 17 laps, Servia was able to pass multiple cars and move all the way up to 7th place.

No changes were made to the car during the next pit stop on Lap 121. Servia cycled out in 9th.

On Lap 153, Servia came into the pits from 5th position for his next stop. The team repeated the previous downforce adjustment and Servia came out of the pits in 9th place. The team completed their final pit stop on Lap 181, a timed stop to add just enough fuel to finish the race. A half turn of front wing was also added.

Servia was running in 13th when a yellow came out on Lap 193. A restart on Lap 196 helped him gain two positions to finish 11th, but another yellow on Lap 198 halted his move towards the front. The 97th Running of the Indianapolis 500 featured 68 race-record lead changes among a race-record 14 drivers.

The race was also the fastest on record with an average 187.433 miles per hour. There were only 21 caution-flag laps, the fewest on record in an Indianapolis 500.

The IZOD IndyCar Series will return to the track this weekend in Detroit, MI for the Chevrolet Duel in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans.

Oriol Servia, No. 22 Mecum Actions Panther DRR Chevrolet: "I'm proud of the job we did. The Mecum car was as good as anyone else's. It was just really hard to get to the front. There were not many yellows at all so there was no magic to be done on restarts.

They didn't have time to sweep the before the restart at the end so it was basically impossible to try any moves. It is what it is. It was just hard to pass. The moment we started taking the downforce off the car it was really fast. Honestly, I could pass some cars, but it was not enough to go to the front. I thought we were going to have a shot at the end!

I'm happy for Tony (Kanaan) and KV Racing. I drove for KV three different times and I've been a great friend of Tony's for ten years. He's been so close to winning it. I'm not only happy for him, but it also proves that when you try hard enough the door opens. It gives me hope to keep trying!"

Panther DRR

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