SPARTA, KY Aug. 10, 2008—Darren Manning and the ABC Supply team were on their way to posting their fifth straight top-10 finish at Kentucky Speedway Saturday evening when the car lost power on lap 146 forcing Manning to the pits.
A water pipe clamp had broken which resulted in the engine losing all its water, causing it to overheat. Manning was credited with a 19th place finish. He is currently 13th in the points.
“The ABC Supply car was good,” said Manning afterwards. “I was able to race with them and it was really quick in the corners. It was a little slow on the straights so we probably had too much downforce in the car. When we lost power , it wasn’t fixable so our race was over. It’s really disappointing to everyone.”
Manning started the race in 17th position and was running 14th by the time of his first pitstop on lap 49. When he rejoined the field, he was in 13th but he was running alone for nearly the entire fuel stint. When the caution flew for debris on lap 82, Manning pitted a couple laps later and emerged in 12th spot.
He was engaged in a heated battle with Ryan Hunter-Reay for over 10 laps before Reay slipped past when they came upon a lapped car. Manning pitted again on lap 134 after a caution came out for Milka Duno on lap 132.
Shortly after his pitstop (and while the field was still under caution), Manning was called to the pits for consultation for moisture seen escaping from his No. 14. Cleared by IRL officials, he returned to the field in the tenth position. When the race restarted on lap 146, however, Manning reported he lost power coming off turn two. He coasted into the pits and the problem was diagnosed as terminal.
Scott Dixon edged out Helio Castroneves for the victory when Castroneves’ fuel strategy fell short by half a straightaway. Castroneves finished second with Marco Andretti, Vitor Meira and Dan Wheldon rounding out the top five.
Manning heads to Europe this week to compete in a LeMans Series race in Germany next weekend. Racing resumes for the IndyCar Series with the PEAK Antifreeze Grand Prix at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA on August 24th. It will be televised live starting at 5:30 ET on ESPN.