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Sixth Place Finish for Hawksworth in Houston

Topics:  Jack Hawksworth, Shell & Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston

Sixth Place Finish for Hawksworth in Houston

Monica Hilton
Bryan Herta Autosport
June 28, 2014

Houston, TX - Jack Hawksworth drove his Integrity Energee Drink car to a season-best sixth place finish on Saturday afternoon in a wild first race of the Shell & Penzoil Grand Prix of Houston double-header.

The race, originally scheduled for 90 laps, was changed to a one-hour, fifty-minute timed competition when rain became a factor at the start of the race. Hawksworth was 21st on the starting grid for the standing start.

The 23-year-old rookie methodically moved up through the field, gaining six spots before the team’s first pit stop on lap 25. By lap 48, he was IndyCar’s “biggest mover of the day,” running in sixth place.

The Integrity Energee Drink crew made one final pit stop on lap 59 and Hawksworth moved inside of the top ten with just six minutes to go in the race. When the checkered flag fell, he earned a P6 finish.

“It was a crazy race but I thought we made the best of it,” said Hawksworth. “The car was quick and we got to the front.”

“It was a little bit unfortunate that we got shuffled back on one of the yellows and then came back through, but all in all, I thought it was a good day. I just want to say thanks to the team for sticking with it. On to tomorrow where we’ll try again.”

Team owner Bryan Herta added, “It was really a challenging weekend up until the race today. Jack hung in there. All the guys hung in there and did a great job.”

“The Integrity Energee Drink car was really a lot better in the race. Jack drove us all the way up to sixth and then we ended up on the wrong end of the pit strategy with all the yellows again, but he drove us back up to sixth. Given where we started, back in twenty-first, and all the challenges that we’ve had to deal with this weekend, he did a great job. We’d like to come back and go five better tomorrow.”

On Sunday afternoon, the Verizon IndyCar Series will do it all over again. Race two of the Shell & Penzoil Grand Prix of Houston is scheduled to begin at 3:50 p.m. ET on the streets around Reliant Park. The race will again be broadcast on NBC Sports Network, IMS IndyCar Radio, Sirius 213 and XM 209.