Double Plays
In the CART/ChampCar era (1979-present), only eight drivers have followed up their first career win with a second straight win. See table below:
|
Following Up the First Win with Another Win |
|||
| Driver | First Win | Follow-Up Win | Career Wins (through Houston 2007) |
| A. J. Allmendinger | Portland 2006 | Cleveland 2006 | 5 |
| Sebastien Bourdais*† | Brands Hatch 2003 | Lausitz 2003 | 25 |
| Kenny Bräck | Motegi 2001 | Milwaukee 2001 | 5 |
| Dario Franchitti | Elkhart Lake 1998 | Vancouver 1998 | 10 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya† | Long Beach 1999 | Nazareth 1999 | 10 |
| Greg Moore | Milwaukee 1997 | Detroit 1997 | 5 |
| Johnny Rutherford† | Atlanta 1 1979 | Atlanta 2 1979 | 10 |
| Bobby Unser | Trenton 1 1979 | Trenton 2 1979 | 10 |
| *Active driver 2007; †CART/ChampCar champion | |||
This feat is rarer than even this suggests. Rutherford's and Unser's "double play" happened in the first season of the CART/ChampCar era, around when twin-heat races were fairly common in champcars. If we exclude those oddities, we're down to just six drivers who have started off their careers as race winners with two straight victories. Of the 58 race winners (as of Houston 2007) in CART/ChampCar history who competed in a race after winning their first event (only Hector Rebaque failed to appear in a race after winning; after the Mexican won at Elkhart Lake in 1982, in his fifth and final start, he apparently had seen enough), the average finishing position in their following race was 8.24, or about 8th place. This is just one way of seeing just how hard it is to win these races.
WDA
posted 16 May 2007