Rookie Saavedra wins at Kansas

Aptil 26, 2009

By indycar.com staff

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Being the leader of the pack was the safest place for Sebastian Saavedra on the 1.5-mile Kansas Speedway oval.

Saavedra, who started second in the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers Inc. car, won the Kansas Lottery 100 under caution after a incident-filled 67-lap race (the first oval event of the season). Ten cars were involved in crashes, resulting in five caution periods. Wind gusting to 30 mph impacted the aerodynamics of the 24 starters' cars.

Saavedra overtook pole sitter Wade Cunningham entering Turn 1 on a Lap 10 restart and held off multiple challenges until a final caution for contact on Lap 58. AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing has won two of the four races. Eight teams were represented in the top 10.

"I cannot be happier than I am right now," Saavedra said. "AFS/Andretti Green did an incredible job and I have to thank the guys. The key was the restarts. I just had perfect timing behind Wade. It's a win for Colombia, but hopefully the first of many more.

"It was really windy out there. I think the last half of the race I was struggling with the back (of the car) because there were so many wind changes. That was the only thing I had a problem with. My car was perfect. It was really fast. Hopefully, we can keep it going for the rest of the season."