WEST ALLIS, Wis. — Report by Race Chaser Online Managing Editor Jacob Seelman — Chris Jones/IndyCar photo —
The near-Cinderella run for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ — for both 27-year-old Englishman James Jakes and veteran substitute driver Ryan Briscoe — ended with a bang during Sunday’s ABC Supply Company Wisconsin 250 at the Milwaukee Mile.
After the pair were the two fastest Honda cars in qualifying, with Briscoe timing on the outside pole and Jakes slotting in fifth on the grid, their days both ended within 20 laps of one another and in back-to-back cautions on America’s oldest speedway.
Jakes, who was sixth in combined practice speeds from Friday and Saturday and felt he had race pace to contend inside the top five, was crushed following an engine failure that ruined his day in a cloud of smoke off the exit of turn four.
“I don’t really know what to say,” Jakes admitted. “The whole team worked really hard this weekend and we had a great car. We got caught in lapped traffic a little bit, but we were running sixth, seventh, eighth, and we really could’ve had a good day. … It’s a shame because this isn’t our first engine issue, but we’ll bounce back strong at the next event.”
Briscoe’s day ended in more spectacular fashion after his car got aero loose on the bottom of turn three and washed across the race track into traffic, collecting defending series champion Will Power in the process and sending a shower of debris and metal fascia flying after heavy contact with the outside SAFER Barrier.
The incident was one that Briscoe described as “a shame” for his Arrow Electronics/Lucas Oil team.
“We had an awesome race car, again,” Briscoe said. “I’m really proud of the whole Arrow Electronics team for their hard work, and for giving me a car that I can go out and race hard. It [just] wasn’t meant to be today. We had a couple of malfunctions during the pit stops that set us back and we ended up going off strategy and staying on the lead lap, which was huge. With half the race to go, we were still in a fighting position to go for the win today.”
“On the restart, we had a lot of cars behind us on new tires and we just sort of got put in a box there in turn three. It felt like I drove into a vacuum and next it felt like the tires were off the ground and I was doing a slow pirouette. It was a real shame. I hate bringing home a busted race car, but we’ll fight again next week.”
Jakes added that the parity at the front of the field was enormous for much of the first stint — something that had him extremely excited before his issues arose.
“I think anybody could’ve finished in the top three today. The guys that run up front just [had] to manage the situation,” Jakes said. “For us, qualifying was great and we had a quick car. It’s a shame we don’t get any points, but we’ll move on.”
Following the double retirement for SPM, Jakes currently sits 15th in the IndyCar driver points standings, while the No. 5 car, driven by the injured James Hinchcliffe, Briscoe and Conor Daly this season, falls one spot to 11th in the entrant points standings leaving Milwaukee.
The Verizon IndyCar Series is next in action on July 18 for the Iowa Corn 300 from Iowa Speedway.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network. Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s. He is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for both the United Sprint Car Series and the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: speed77radio@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
