Photo: Will PowerHelio Castroneves took a surprising victory at the Kentucky Speedway today. It was surprising because a pit lane miscommunication on lap 89 forced the team to bring him back in three laps later with a final opportunity to pit under caution.
Then with 35 laps remaining Castroneves was running 10th and while others made a splash and dash with five laps to go, he inherited the lead winning the Kentucky 300, the latest round of the IZOD IndyCar Series.
Pole sitter Ed Carpenter finished second at the track for the second year in a row with Panther/Vision Racing team mate Dan Wheldon was third. Tony Kanaan charged from 26th in the 27-car field to fourth and Dario Franchitti was fifth.
Franchitti closed the IZOD IndyCar Series championship points gap on Will Power, who finished eighth, to 17.
Marco Andretti earned a second consecutive top 10, with Scott Dixon following in seventh. Danica Patrick finished ninth and Bertrand Baguette posted his season best in 10th. Paul Tracy, competing at the track for the first time, was 10th with 10 laps left. But he was one of the fuel-starved and pitted on Lap 194. He finished 12th, one position behind Dreyer & Reinbold Racing teammate Justin Wilson.
The series now heads to Twin Ring Motegi in Japan (19th Sep), where Power hasn’t competed and Franchitti has finished second and third in his past two visits. Then it is back to the finale on 2nd Oct at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Race result (Top 10)
1 Helio Castroneves
2 Ed Carpenter
3 Dan Wheldon
4 Tony Kanaan
5 Dario Franchitti
6 Marco Andretti
7 Scott Dixon
8 Will Power
9 Danica Patrick
10 Bertrand Baguette
Championship Points Table (Top 5)
1 Will Power 552
2 Dario Franchitti 535
3 Scott Dixon 469
4 Helio Castroneves 448
5 Ryan Briscoe 418
