Servia finishes 11th for Panther DRR’s likely last start of 2013

Tony Kanaan was as popular a winner as you’ll see at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But few would have begrudged his longtime competitor Oriol Servia a chance to drink the milk in what was likely his and the Panther DRR’s team last start of the 2013 season.

Servia did his typical “hang around the fringes of the top 10 without ever being noticed on camera” act in the No. 22 Mecum Auctions Chevrolet. Come half distance, he’d snuck into the top 10, got as high as seventh, and was doing well to position himself for another top-five result.

On lap 90, a large change in downforce allowed Servia to charge, and he moved forward up to fifth by lap 153. He fell to 13th in the final pit stop sequence and ended 11th, not the result he or the team had hoped for.

“The moment we started taking the downforce off the car it was really fast,” Servia said. “Honestly, I could pass some cars, but it was not enough to go to the front. I thought we were going to have a shot at the end!”

He was happy for Kanaan, though. Servia’s stop-start career that has had more unanticipated dead ends than a mouse seeking a wheel of cheese in a maze, has included three different stints with KV Racing Technology through its various guises (2006-’08).

“I’m happy for Tony (Kanaan) and KV Racing,” Servia said. “I drove for KV three different times and I’ve been a great friend of Tony’s for 10 years. He’s been so close to winning it. I’m not only happy for him, but it also proves that when you try hard enough the door opens. It gives me hope to keep trying!”