TORONTO (AP) - Alex Tagliani vowed revenge if part-time driver Tomas Scheckter shows up next weekend in Edmonton.
“I hope he’ll be back in Edmonton because I have a lot of front wings to damage,” the irate French Canadian said Sunday after Scheckter wrecked him on the final restart in the Honda Toronto Indy.
“With all the attrition, we were in a good position to bring the car home in sixth. On that restart, Tomas just brought us into the wall in Turn 1 and that was it. So, we went from sixth to 17th.”
Tagliani and Scheckter also tangled last year in Toronto after Tagliani ran into the back of the South African’s car.
Tagliani said Scheckter cursed at him after Sunday’s race and said it was payback.
“He was actually happy that he didn’t finish the race and took us out,” Tagliani said, not realizing Scheckter did finish and ended up 15th.
Scheckter left the track without commenting to the media.
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BRAKE CHECK: Helio Castroneves finished 24th after making contact with Vitor Meira and crashing into a tire barrier on the 21st lap.
The faster Castroneves, on new tires after pitting during the first caution period, clipped Meira’s rear wing trying to pass for second place.
“I wasn’t expecting him to brake that early,” Castroneves said. “It’s like the guy stopped right in front of me. … It’s very sad. We had an awesome car and I think we could’ve fought for the win.”
Castroneves dropped from fifth to sixth in the season standings, 92 points behind race winner Will Power.
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INDY LIGHTS: France’s J.K. Varnay raced to his fourth Indy Lights victory of the season, starting from the pole and finishing 1.7469 seconds ahead of Dan Clarke.
Varnay increased his points lead to 68 over James Hinchcliffe, the Toronto-area driver who hit the wall running second on the on the final lap and ended up 10th.
Varnay, also the winner in St. Petersburg, Alabama and Watkins Glen, overcame suspension problems after first-lap contact with Hinchcliffe.
“My front-left suspension was a bit broken,” Varnay said. “It was really difficult. I had to change my driving style to manage my tire.”
Colombia’s Gustavo Yacaman was a career-high third in the 50-lap race.
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