Briscoe doesn’t accept blame for pit contact

Two-time winner Helio Castroneves battled his way to a fourth-place finish, but Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe was involved in the highest profile incident Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Pulling out of his pit with 29 laps to go, Briscoe made contact with the left rear of Danica Patrick's car, causing both cars to spin. Neither returned to the race. Briscoe, who started third, finished 23rd; Patrick, who started fifth, was 22nd. Patrick and her team owner, Michael Andretti, blamed Briscoe.

"It was his fault, not hers," Andretti said on television at the time of the incident.

The official lap-by-lap report said, "#6 Briscoe pulls out of pit into high speed lane."

Briscoe spent nearly a half-hour in his garage with the door closed after the incident, saying he was watching replays.

"From what I could see, there was still plenty of room on the right side for her to get around. There are people pointing fingers, but that's not the way we are in here," Briscoe said.

"We both have a brake pedal in our cars, and from what I could see there was still plenty of room for her to get around me. I'm getting around (Dan) Wheldon in front of me and still staying in the middle lane and get run up the back, so it's a real shame for both of us."