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The results after nineteen races on sixteen weekends determined the 2013 IndyCar Champion.
The series opened in late-March at St. Petersburg and ended at Auto Club Speedway in mid-October.
The Championship had a good mix of ovals, temporary street circuit and road courses.
The series continued to use the Dallara DW-12 which was introduced in 2012 to replace the Dallara IR5. The philosophy behind a spec car was to control costs ($349,000/chassis). The DW-12 also incorporated many new safety features – most noticeable was the bodywork surrounding the rear tires. The DW designation was in honour of the late Dan Wheldon, who had performed much of the testing on the new car. There were two manufacturers providing engines for the season – Chevrolet and Honda. The twin-turbocharged engines produced approximately the same horsepower – 550-700-hp depending on the turbo boost. There were some changes for 2013:
The penultimate rounds of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series were conducted at Houston’s Reliant Park
in an event called the Shell-Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston. This would be the third and final doubleheader weekend for the series.
Drivers would compete in two ninety-lap races around the ten-turn 1.683-mile temporary street circuit.
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Scott Dixon entered the Houston event second in the championship standings – forty-nine points behind the leader, Helio Castroneves. By the end of the weekend, he led the title chase by twenty-five-markers. Dixon started race one in the third spot but moved to second when Takuma Sato developed handling issues and grabbed the lead and win on lap-73. On Sunday, he qualified and finished second to Will Power. |
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Will Power drove the No. 12 Team Penske entry with backing from Verizon. Power had a victory at Sonoma but was not a championship contender. He qualified second for Saturday’s race at Houston and led until a slow pit stop allowed Scott Dixon to take the lead. Power would drop down the order and finish twelfth. The next day, he redeemed himself. Power started ninth and grabbed the lead on lap-40 of 90 for the win. |
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Simona de Silvestro earned her first IndyCar podium at Houston. De Silvestro qualified fifth fastest for the weekend’s first race driving the No. 78 KV Racing Technology Dallara DW-12. A pass on Simon Pagenaud and issues for Takuma Sato and Will Power allowed her to move to second. Despite pressure from Justin Wilson, de Silvestro finished in the runner-up spot. On Sunday, she collected a ten-place result. |
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It was a disastrous weekend for the points leader, Helio Castroneves, as he dropped from a comfortable first place to second in the championship. Damage caused by a practice incident led to a thirteen-place qualifying spot for round seventeen. It got worse when the gear cluster had to be changed during the race resulting in an eighteen-place finish. More transmission issues in the finale led to a twenty-third place result. |
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Justin Wilson entered rounds seventeen and eighteen sixth in the standings and still looking for his first win of 2013. Wilson was the twelfth quickest for the weekend’s first contest in the No. 19 Dale Coyne Racing Dallara DW-12. An excellent drive was rewarded with the final position on the rostrum. On Sunday, Wilson was gridded in the sixth position. Unable to match the pace of the leaders, he finished fourth. |
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James Hinchcliffe was having a season with mixed results. He was usually at the top or bottom of the results sheet. Hinchcliffe arrived at Houston with three victories and an equal number of DNFs, placing him eighth in the standings. He qualified sixth fastest in race one at Houston but stalled on the start and was the contest’s first retirement. With the car repair for Sunday, Hinchcliffe finished third. |
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Round eighteen at Houston would mark the end of Dario Franchitti’s IndyCar career. The four-time series champion drove the No. 10 Dallara DW-12. He was gridded twentieth for the weekend’s first race at Houston and finished fifteenth. Franchitti qualified seventh for Sunday’s contest. On the penultimate lap, he had contact with Takuma Sato and E.J. Viso, which resulted in serious injuries that led to his retirement. |
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| FIN. | START | DRIVER | CAR | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Scott Dixon | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Target Chip Ganassi Racing | 90 | - |
| 2 | 5 | Simona De Silvestro | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Nuclear Entergy Areva KVRT | 90 | - |
| 3 | 12 | Justin Wilson | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Dale Coyne Racing | 90 | - |
| 4 | 4 | Simon Pagenaud | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Schmidt Hamilton HP | 90 | - |
| 5 | 18 | Josef Newgarden | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing | 90 | - |
| 6 | 9 | James Jakes | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Acorn Stairlifts | 90 | - |
| 7 | 24 | Graham Rahal | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Midas/Big-O Tires | 90 | - |
| 8 | 14 | Sebastien Bourdais | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Dragon Racing | 90 | - |
| 9 | 8 | E.J. Viso | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Team Venezuela-CITGO-PDVSA | 90 | - |
| 10 | 7 | Luca Filippi | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Barracuda Networks | 90 | - |
| 11 | 16 | Charlie Kimball | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | NovoLog FlexPen | 90 | - |
| 12 | 2 | Will Power | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Verizon Team Penske | 90 | - |
| 13 | 10 | Marco Andretti | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | RC Cola / Live United | 90 | - |
| 14 | 19 | Sebastian Saavedra | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Dragon Racing | 89 | - |
| 15 | 20 | Dario Franchitti | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | GE Reveal Chip Ganassi Racing | 89 | - |
| 16 | 11 | Mike Conway | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Sonny's BBQ | 85 | Accident |
| 17 | 1 | Takuma Sato | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt Racing | 82 | Handling |
| 18 | 21 | Helio Castroneves | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | PPG Team Penske | 80 | - |
| 19 | 17 | Oriol Servia | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Panter Racing | 63 | Fuel Pressure |
| 20 | 15 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | DHL / Sun Drop Citrus Soda | 57 | Electrical |
| 21 | 13 | Tony Kanaan | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | KV Racing Technology | 34 | - |
| 22 | 23 | Tristan Vautier | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Angie's List Schmidt Peterson | 32 | - |
| 23 | 22 | Ed Carpenter | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter | 30 | - |
| 24 | 6 | James Hinchcliffe | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | GoDaddy | 1 | Accident |
| FIN. | START | DRIVER | CAR | ENTRANT | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Will Power | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Verizon Team Penske | 90 | - |
| 2 | 2 | Scott Dixon | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Target Chip Ganassi Racing | 90 | - |
| 3 | 8 | James Hinchcliffe | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | GoDaddy | 90 | - |
| 4 | 6 | Justin Wilson | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Dale Coyne Racing | 90 | - |
| 5 | 13 | Sebastien Bourdais | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Dragon Racing | 90 | - |
| 6 | 3 | Simon Pagenaud | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Schmidt Hamilton HP | 90 | - |
| 7 | 21 | Oriol Servia | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Panter Racing | 90 | - |
| 8 | 10 | Charlie Kimball | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | NovoLog FlexPen | 90 | - |
| 9 | 16 | Mike Conway | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Sonny's BBQ | 90 | - |
| 10 | 17 | Simona De Silvestro | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Nuclear Entergy Areva KVRT | 90 | - |
| 11 | 22 | Tristan Vautier | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Angie's List Schmidt Peterson | 90 | - |
| 12 | 24 | Sebastian Saavedra | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Dragon Racing | 90 | - |
| 13 | 14 | Josef Newgarden | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing | 90 | - |
| 14 | 15 | Takuma Sato | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt Racing | 89 | Accident |
| 15 | 7 | Dario Franchitti | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | GE Reveal Chip Ganassi Racing | 89 | Accident |
| 16 | 12 | E.J. Viso | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Team Venezuela-CITGO-PDVSA | 89 | Accident |
| 17 | 20 | James Jakes | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Acorn Stairlifts | 89 | - |
| 18 | 19 | Graham Rahal | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Midas/Big-O Tires | 88 | - |
| 19 | 23 | Luca Filippi | Dallara DW-12 / Honda | Barracuda Networks | 88 | - |
| 20 | 4 | Marco Andretti | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | RC Cola / Live United | 88 | - |
| 21 | 5 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | DHL / Sun Drop Citrus Soda | 87 | - |
| 22 | 18 | Ed Carpenter | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | Fuzzy's Vodka/Ed Carpenter | 61 | Clutch |
| 23 | 1 | Helio Castroneves | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | PPG Team Penske | 53 | - |
| 24 | 11 | Tony Kanaan | Dallara DW-12 / Chevrolet | KV Racing Technology | 32 | Accident |
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