Patrik Sandell wins at Red Bull Global Rallycross in Dallas, Texas on June 4, 2016. [Louise Yio / Red Bull Content Pool]
Bryan Herta Rallysport driver Patrik Sandell gave his Indianapolis 500-winning team owner his second win in a week at Red Bull Global Rallycross Dallas, the series’ inaugural visit to Fair Park. Sandell became the first driver to break points leader Tanner Foust and Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross’ dominance by jumping out to the lead from the second row in the final and never looking back.
“I wouldn’t say it was easy, but they lined the cars up so I had a straight shot between the two front row cars,” Sandell said. “Mentally, I was just focusing on that spot. I never saw those two Volkswagens for 10 laps, and I’m pretty happy with that!”
While Foust continued his dominance during the race’s early stages by winning the pole, both of his heats, and his semifinal, Sandell would have to come from a third-place semifinal run. He muscled through the traffic to grab an early lead, with Chip Ganassi Racing’s Steve Arpin taking second and the Volkswagen duo of Scott Speed and Foust following in third and fourth. Foust took the Joker Lap to reclaim third, but despite going two-wide in the dirt and making bumper-to-bumper contact, he couldn’t get past Arpin for second as Sandell extended his lead to over seven seconds at race’s end.
In GRC Lites, defending series champion Oliver Eriksson became the series’ third winner in three races after he passed polesitter Tanner Whitten for the lead on the fifth lap of the main event. Rookie Cabot Bigham also got past to take his second consecutive runner-up finish and become the new Lites points leader, with Whitten holding on for third in only his first start of the year.
Red Bull Global Rallycross Dallas results are as follows:
- Patrik Sandell, #18 Bryan Herta Rallysport Ford Fiesta ST
- Steve Arpin, #00 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST
- Tanner Foust, #34 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle
- Scott Speed, #41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle
- Joni Wiman, #31 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Civic Coupe
- Austin Dyne, #14 AD Racing Ford Fiesta ST
- Brian Deegan, #38 Chip Ganassi Racing Ford Fiesta ST
- Rhys Millen, #67 Rhys Millen Racing Hyundai Veloster
- Jeff Ward, #07 SH Rallycross/DRR Ford Fiesta ST
- Sebastian Eriksson, #93 Honda Red Bull Olsbergs MSE Civic Coupe
The Red Bull Global Rallycross season resumes in two weeks with a doubleheader event at Daytona International Speedway on June 18-19. Visit www.redbullglobalrallycross.com for race tickets and more information. Red Bull GRC Daytona will be shown on Sunday, June 19 at 2:30PM ET on NBC and 3:30PM ET on Red Bull TV.