* Wade Cunningham
2009 Firestone Indy Lights Championship Series
Rnd 15
Homestead-Miami 100
Homestead-Miami oval
Miami
Florida
USA
Friday
October 09
2009
09-10-09
EVENT REVIEW
Championship points leader Scott Dixon wasn't the only New Zealand driver left rueing his luck at the final round of the 2009 Indycar championship motor racing series at Florida's Homestead-Miami oval on Sunday.
Compatriot Wade Cunningham went into the meeting with an outside chance of climbing from fourth place to second in the Firestone Indy Lights support class championship.
And when the 25-year-old Aucklander joined pole-sitter, Australian James Davison, on the front row of the grid after qualifying on Friday he - like Dixon in the Indycar class - looked like he had every chance of achieving his goal.
However it was not to be.
Though he got the jump on Davison at the start, and led four of the 67 laps early on he wasn't able to capitalise on his single lap speed, eventually crossing the finish line in sixth place, scoring enough points to consolidate fourth place in the championship title chase but not quite enough to earn himself a place in the top three.
"Like Scott," Cunningham said afterwards, "I guess it just wasn't our day. Where he had his issues with fuel we never quite managed to get the mechanical balance right. We had issues here this weekend with the Grand Am (sportscar support) cars laying down rubber through turns three and four and in our case - and pretty much everyone else in the Lights class to some extent - if you got the balance of the car right for Turns one and two it would be wrong for three and four or vice versa. We went backwards and forwards in practice and we can always come up with a qualifying set-up which works (over two flying laps) but in retrospect we never got to the bottom of the problem as far as race trim is concerned which, obviously, is a disappointing way to end the season because if you look back at our record this year Doug (Zister, Cunningham's engineer) and I have been on the money pretty much everywhere else, particular the big ovals like Homestead."
As Cunningham struggled for ultimate race pace in his car, fellow front row starter James Davison squabbled over the lead with series champion-elect JR Hildebrand before Davison himself started to slip back as his low defensive line took a heavy toll on his tyres.
That allowed Hildebrand to prevail only to concede the lead (if not the championship title) to resurgent Brazilian Mario Romancini, the margin at the flag just 0.0057 of a second, the second closest margin in the history of the Firestone Indy Lights championship series.
"I think Mario was sort of biding his time, a gracious Hildebrand told reporters afterwards. " I was sort of waiting for the pass, and he tried a couple of times and almost made it happen, but I was trying to hold him off."
Meanwhile, by working his way from the back of the grid (where he started having been forced to sit out qualifying with an engine problem) to third place at the flag, Columbian Sebastian Saavedra denied Cunningham his place in the top three, scoring enough points to claim the final podium spot in the championship points standings behind Hildebrand and Davison.
Ends Wade Cunningham 2009 Firestone Indy Lights Championship Rnd 15 Homestead-Miami 100 Homestead-Miami oval Miami Florida USA Friday October 09
Qualifying1. James Davison 57.6245
2. Wade Cunningham 57.66133. Pippa Mann 57.6812
4. Brandon Wagner 57.6889
5. Charlie Kimball 57.7164
6. Mike Potekhen 57.7290
7. JR Hildebrand 57.8422
8. Logan Gomez 57.8663
9. Daniel Herrington 57.8985
10. Mario Romancini 57.9591
11. James Hinchcliffe 50.0160
12. Sean Guthrie 58.1539
13. Andrew Prendeville 58.2812
14. Gustavo Yacaman 58.3552
15. Rodrigo Barbosa 58.6187
16. Sebastian Saavedra (no time)
17. Martin Plowman (no time)
Race1. Mario Romancini 43.26.4173
2. JR Hildebrand 43.26.4230
3. Sebastian Saavedra
4. Mike Potekhen 43.26.9079
5. James Davison 43.28.1039
6. Wade Cunningham 43.28.68317. Martin Plowman 43.29.5034
8. Pippa Mann 43.29.5083
9. Logan Gomez 43.29.7850
10. Andrew Prendeville 43.29.8750
11. Sean Guthrie 43.31.5975
12. Daniel Herrington 43.31.7598
13. Charlie Kimball 43.32.8271
14. James Hinchcliffe 43.36.6116
15. Rodrigo Barbosa dnf
16. Gustavo Yacaman dnf
17. Brandon Wagner dnf
Final championship points1. J.R. Hildebrand 545 pts
2. James Davison 447 pts
3. Sebastian Saavedra 446 pts
4. Wade Cunningham 416 pts 5. James Hinchcliffe 395 pts
6. Mario Romancini 392 pts
7. Daniel Herrington 383 pts
8. Ana Beatriz 320 pts
9. Andrew Prendeville 313 pts
10. Charlie Kimball 310 pts
CALENDARRnds 1 & 2: April 4-5 St Petersburg (street doubleheader)
Rnd 3: April 19 Long Beach (street)
Rnd 4: April 26 Kansas (oval)
Rnd 5: May 22 Indianapolis (oval)
Rnd 6: May 31: Milwaukee (oval)
Rnd 7: June 20 Iowa (oval)
Rnd 8 July 4 Watkins Glen (road)
Rnd 9: July 11 Toronto (street)
Rnd 10: July 26 Edmonton (airfield)
Rnd 11: August 01 Kentucky (oval)
Rnd 12: August 09 Mid-Ohio (road)
Rnd 13: August 23 Infineon (road)
Rnd 14: August 29 Chicagoland (oval)
Rnd 15: October 09 Homestead (oval)
Distributed by FAST COMPANY. To find out more about Wade Cunningham contact Ross MacKay on 021 677 919 or via e-mail on
ross@fastcompany.co.nz 
