Tony Kanaan

IZOD IndyCar Series driver

INDYCAR Begins Busy Off-Season

Posted by chadsmith5 on November 2, 2011
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The 2012 Indianapolis 500 will have a different look and sound than what we have seen in the past decade. Testing began today with Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti taking laps on the legendary 2.5 mile venue.

Kanaan is participating in the Chevrolet engine development program this week at IMS. Franchitti will be testing the new Honda machine this week as well. The 2012 engines move from the normal V8, to the turbocharged V6 engine that will utilize E85 fuel. Chevrolet and Lotus are both being powered by twin turbos.

Thanks to this video from AndyBakerIUPUI on YouTube, we have this video from both drivers as they turned laps around the track today. The sound is incredible, especially when you consider there will be 31other variations of it come May.

It was also announced this week that Bobby Rahal is returning fulltime, fielding two cars in 2012. There is also the possibility of a third car for Indianapolis. Rahal/Letterman Racing won the 2004 Indy 500 with Buddy Rice, and gave Danica Patrick her start in the Series in 2005. Since 2009, they have only been a part-time team.

The team hasn’t named a driver or even an engine choice for their program, but they did confirm that they are using their shop in Columbus, Ohio with the possibility of using a satellite shop in Indianapolis during the season.

Possibly the biggest news of this week was announced today when Ed Carpenter revealed his plans to create his own team. Carpenter will be leaving Sarah Fisher Racing, with a three-year committment from sponsor Fuzzy’s Vodka.

Carpenter has been a part-time driver for each of the past two seasons, but he will be back full-time next year with his new team. He won his first race this year at Kentucky with Sarah Fisher Racing. Ed Carpenter Racing will be owned and operated by Ed Carpenter and Tony George.

Andretti Autosport Already Looking for Next Driver

Posted by chadsmith5 on October 29, 2011
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As the IZOD INDYCAR Series continues to cope with the loss of Dan Wheldon and trying to move forward, so does Michael Andretti’s team.

Wheldon had just signed to drive for Andretti Autosport for the 2012 season, just one day before his tragic death at Las Vegas. There never really was a backup plan, because they had been discussing the move for quite some time. The question now is who will be driving the Go Daddy car next season?

Andretti Autosport executive vice president and chief operating officer J-F Thormann said that finding the next driver for the Go Daddy machine became an immediate priority last week. He said the plan is to announce the new driver within the next six weeks.

While Thormann wouldn’t say who was on their short list of drivers, he did say that there is a mixture of both young and veteran drivers they are looking at. There are a lot of options out there, but which ones are considered “realistic” possibilities?

Probably the guy in the highest demand right now is Justin Wilson. He did suffer a season-ending back injury at Mid-Ohio this year, but he is fully recovered and has been cleared to return to racing. Rumor has it he has been linked to about six or seven teams for next year, so he will have many options to weigh this off-season.

A surprising name on the list is Ryan Briscoe. While rumors have been swirling for the past few months about his tenure at Penske Racing, he performed well enough this season to keep his ride in my opinion. Before his crash on pole day at Indy this year, he had arguably the fastest car in the field. A few other unfortunate incidents (none of his own doing) also kept him out of victory lane this year.

James Hinchcliffe is also a hot name going around right now. He had an incredible rookie season, finishing 12th in the point standings, despite missing the first race of the season. He finished above drivers like Takuma Sato, Alex Tagliani, Vitor Meira, EJ Viso, Simona de Silvestro, and fellow Rookie JR Hildebrand.

Speaking of Hildebrand, he is also a candidate for this position. He won the Firestone Indy Lights Championship for Andretti before making the move to Panther Racing. It is unlikely that he would leave, but his name will be out there in the rumors.

Many people feel that Tony Kanaan should go back to Andretti Autosport, but I just don’t see it happening. It would be a heart-warming story, filling in for his best friend Wheldon, but it just seems like the Kanaan and Andretti days are officially over.

Simona de Silvestro is a driver that could really start to compete if given the ride at Andretti. She is marketable, just as Danica was, and she is actually a better driver than Danica ever was. She had a series of unfortunate injuries last season, but she fought through them and still had some great moments in 2011.

Vitor Meira is a guy I think could quietly sneak up and get this ride. He obviously has the talent to run up front, especially in Indianapolis. He has been an underrated driver for quite a while now, and if he can get hooked up with a quality ride from Andretti, he could make some noise in 2012.

A few other names that could be considered are Sebastian Bourdais, Alex Lloyd, and Connor Daily. Bourdais and Lloyd both have good experience and performed well last year. Daily would be a driver they could “break in”, but that normally involves some wrecked machines.

While it is too early to see any of these drivers as being the “favorite” to drive the Go Daddy machine in 2012, there are certainly plenty of options. One thing is certain, there are going to be a lot of rumors over the next six weeks.

Hearts Break With Dan Wheldon’s Death

Posted by chadsmith5 on October 16, 2011
Posted in: Chad Smith, History, News, Photos, Race Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 6 comments

The season-ending IZOD IndyCar Series race at Las Vegas did not go the way anyone wanted it to. Mayhem struck just 11 laps into the event, as 15 cars were involved in one of the scariest looking crashes in the history of the sport. Tragically, Dan Wheldon lost his life in the accident.

The 2005 series Champion and two-time Indy 500 winner came up behind a pack of cars in the wreck, and his car went airborne. His car spun end over end, and the cockpit went directly into the catch fence at 220 mph. Wheldon, who was just 33, is survived by wife Susie and two young boys.

Dan started at the rear of the field in 34th position, and if he won, he and a fan would have split $5 million. He had passed ten cars before the accident that claimed his life occurred on lap 11.

The day was supposed to be about the conclusion of the battle between Dario Franchitti and Will Power for the series Championship. Power was caught up in the accident, so we already knew that Dario had won the title for the third straight year, his fourth in the last five years.

This was one Championship that nobody wants to celebrate.

Drivers had been concerned about the high speeds on the 1.5-mile oval after they reached nearly 225 mph during practice. In addition to those speeds, there were more cars in this race than the Indianapolis 500, and the track is one mile smaller.

The race was red-flagged for over two hours, and a drivers only meeting was called just before we learned the fate of Wheldon. The race was officially ended, and the drivers chose to go back out and give Wheldon a five lap salute in a three-wide formation.

Dan had been testing the 2012 IndyCar that will now be the standard for all teams. Ironically, the new car design protects the rear wheels to prevent launches like the ones that Wheldon and Power experienced today.

Dan was excited about the opportunity to test the new car, and even helped out on some of the IndyCar broadcasts for the Versus channel. Whether he was behind the wheel or in front of the camera, he always had a smile on his face.

Michael Andretti announced earlier this morning that Wheldon had signed a contract to drive the GoDaddy car for his team in the 2012 season, replacing Danica Patrick.

The scene was described as “scary” and “unreal” by many of the drivers.  Davey Hamilton, who was seriously injured in a 2001 crash at Texas, said it was “Without a doubt the worst thing I’ve ever seen in my racing career.”

Ryan Briscoe had this to say about the incident; “I’ve never seen anything like it. The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from Terminator or something. I mean, there were just pieces of metal and car on first in the middle of the track with no car attached to it and just debris everywhere. So it was scary.”

Dan loved racing, and he loved Indianapolis. His love and appreciation for the Indy 500 is something we wish every driver had. His enthusiasm and excitement after winning his second 500 this year really proved that. He was overjoyed and charismatic in everything he did. He truly had an infectious personality that everyone loved.

Wheldon’s racing career began at the age of 4, when he began driving go karts. While racing in England, he won eight British National Titles, and moved to the U.S. in 1999. In 2002 he finally made it to the IndyCar Series, where he would go on to win 16 races, and the 2005 series Championship.

A few years later, NASCAR and Formula 1 were trying to land the rising star, but in the end he decided that the IndyCar Series was where he was supposed to be. “The biggest thing for me is the Indianapolis 500,” Wheldon said in 2005. “It would be really difficult to leave this series because of that race.”

That kind of appreciation and love for this sport is what made him so popular with fans, teams, and other drivers. He is already missed by us all.

I think Chip Ganassi described this somber day the best; “What can you say? We’re going to miss him. Everybody in IndyCar died a little today.”

Las Vegas Closes Season With A Bang

Posted by chadsmith5 on October 14, 2011
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This weekend, the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season will wrap up in dramatic fashion in Las Vegas. There are so many storylines entering this final race of the season, with all of the changes coming after Sunday’s race.

Tony Kanaan won his first Pole of the season today, the 15th of his career. Oriol Servia will start beside him on the front row. He is the seventh different Pole winner this year. Five different teams are represented in the top 5, and eight in the top 10.

For the 12th time in the past 16 years, the Championship winner will be determined during the final race of the season. Once again it will come down to Dario Franchitti for Chip Ganassi, and Will Power for Roger Penske. Franchitti holds an 18 point lead heading into Las Vegas.

Dario is looking to win his third Championship in a row this weekend. Power will be looking to finally win his first, and the first for Penske since Sam Hornish won it in 2006. Both of these drivers have won their fair share of Pole Awards this year, yet they will both be starting from row nine on Sunday.

Another battle that will play out on Sunday is the Rookie of the Year award between James Hinchcliffe and JR Hildebrand. He currently sits just six points ahead of Hinchcliffe, although James missed the first race of the season.

Dan Wheldon will of course be trying to win the $5 million challenge in Las Vegas. Although he won the Indianapolis 500 in dramatic fashion this year, this might be even tougher. He will be driving Alex Tagliani’s number 77 machine, and will have to start from the end of the field, back in 34th position.

This will be the final race for Danica Patrick in the IZOD IndyCar Series, where she really made a name for herself. It is well documented that she only has one win, which she won on fuel strategy. Even though she may come back to try her hand at Indianapolis, this could be the last time we ever see her in an open-wheel car.

Not only will this be the final race for Danica, but it will also be the final race for the current IndyCar machines. When they take the green flag on Sunday, it will be the last time they ever see the track. The new concept car will be thrust into the sport beginning next year.

Helio Castroneves will be trying to keep an eleven-year streak alive on Sunday. He has won at least one race every year since 2000. This is his final shot at getting a win to extend it into next season.

We have had one of the most memorable finishes in Indy 500 history, heated rivalries, many new faces in victory lane, and many other surprises along the way. This season has been very special, and it will all conclude this Sunday. One driver will leave with bitter disappointment, while the other hoists the Championship trophy.

Dixon Dominates in Japan, Teammate Franchitti Loses Championship Lead

Posted by chadsmith5 on September 18, 2011
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The IZOD IndyCar Series made the long trip to Japan perhaps for the final time today. The series was forced to run on the road course at Twin-Ring Motegi, instead of the usual oval that was damaged by the earthquakes earlier this year.

Scott Dixon dominated the final event in Japan, winning the Pole award and leading nearly every single lap of the race in route to his second win of the season.

The Indy Japan 300 was the final road course of the year, with just the 1.5 mile ovals of Kentucky and Las Vegas remaining on the 2011 schedule. Once the 63 laps were complete on the 2.9 mile road course, the Mario Andretti Road Course Championship was officially decided. Much to the surprise of no one, Will Power came away with the trophy this year.

Scott Dixon started on the pole, and Will Power joined him on the front row. It was a bad break for Power, who just missed on picking up the bonus point in the overall Championship standings that comes with winning the Pole.

The race got off to a shaky start, as half the field didn’t seem to realize that the green flag was already out. Helio Castroneves went off into the sand entering the first turn, but he didn’t suffer any damage. Dixon held on to lead the first lap; the first of many.

On lap 21, Joao Paulo De Oliveira ran out of fuel on track, bringing out a full-course caution on lap 22.  The top five remained the same for the first 20 laps, but Ryan Briscoe had a quicker pit stop than Graham Rahal just before the caution came out. Briscoe moved to third, Rahal back to fourth, and Franchitti remained in fifth.

The restart on lap 26 was the biggest part of the race. Heading into turn one, Franchitti went under Briscoe making it three-wide as their cars made contact. The move damaged both cars, in addition to Graham Rahal and Charlie Kimball. It was a huge break for Power in the Championship standings.

In one bad move, Franchitti took himself out of contention for the race, as well as two other Ganassi cars, belonging to Rahal and Kimball. All three drivers were running in the top six at the time of the incident.

Franchitti was “penalized” by race control. He was told to go to the back of the field; a place where he already was. He was able to work his way back into the top ten, as he finished where he started in ninth place.

Tony Kanaan was given a drive through penalty for speeding on pit road late in the race. That penalty cost him over a dozen positions on the track. Dario lost zero positions for his “penalty” for taking out three other cars.

Sebastien Bourdais and Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact with just six laps remaining, which brought out the third caution of the race. At the time of the caution, there was a 22 second gap between Power (2nd) and Andretti (3rd).

Dixon and Power ran first and second virtually the entire way. Marco Andretti joined them on the podium, while Alex Tagliani and Servia rounded out the top five. The top three drivers in the Championship standings all finished the race in the same position where they started.

Entering the race at Motegi, Dario held on to a five-point Championship lead. Heading into the next-to-last race in 2011 at Kentucky, he now trails leader Will Power by 11 points.

Power Dominates at Baltimore, Championship Lead Cut to Five Points

Posted by chadsmith5 on September 4, 2011
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Will Power dominated yet another race on Sunday, putting him one step closer to the Championship. With his sixth win of the season, he now trails Franchitti by just five points with just three races remaining.

Power crushed the competition in the inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix. His margin of victory over second place Oriol Servia, was ten seconds. After winning the race from Pole position last weekend, he did the same in Baltimore, which has set up another great battle for the Championship as we enter the final races.

Joining Power and Servia on the podium was Tony Kanaan. Ganassi teammates Franchitti and Dixon rounded out the top five. There were a few drivers that had cars capable of finishing in the top five, but ended up further back in the pack.

Graham Rahal had arguably the second-best car in the field, but the fuel strategy they ran ended up biting them as he came home in 10th. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Ryan Briscoe were running in fourth and fifth, when Briscoe made a bad move trying to go under Hunter-Reay in turn three. That move on lap 38 not only took both of them out of contention, but also caused a 12-car pile up.

Briscoe was given a drive through penalty. These two had some issues at Barber earlier in the year, when Hunter-Reay took out Briscoe while running up front. Briscoe claimed that Hunter-Reay was blocking him, but the Andretti Autosport driver didn’t agree with that assessment.

What started out as an incredibly scary day for Tony Kanaan, ended up with a podium finish. In the early morning practice, Kanaan lost his brakes going more than 170mph heading into turn one. Luckily for Kanaan, Castroneves was just ahead of him, and crashing into the right side of him, actually saved his life. Tony started at the back of the field, and passed 24 cars on the way to a third place finish.

The inaugural race in Baltimore was a huge success. The fans came out in masses to attend the event, and the drivers praised them all weekend long. The circuit was bumpy and extremely challenging for the drivers. Power said that it was the most demanding race he has ever driven.

The next race on the schedule is a particularly interesting one. The Indy Japan 300 has always been run on the oval track, but due to the earthquake in the area earlier this year, they will be running on the road course at Motegi. This likely gives the Penske team (especially Power) a big break, as they struggled on the oval there last year.

Power has two more wins and five more poles than Franchitti on the season. While Dario has led more laps than the Penske driver, Power has earned more bonus points throughout the year. With Scott Dixon sitting 77 points back in the standings, it appears that the final three races will determine this year’s Championship, between Franchitti and Power.

Power, Team Penske Dominate Sonoma as Championship Tightens

Posted by chadsmith5 on August 28, 2011
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Will Power dominated the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday. For the second year in a row, he started on the pole, and won the race.

In what was largely an uneventful race, Power led 71 of the 75 laps. The four laps he did not lead came while he was making his pit stops. It was a great day for him in the championship standings, and he has his Penske teammates to thank for that.

Speaking of Team Penske, they had the perfect weekend at Sonoma. They qualified and finished first, second, and third. It was the first 1-2-3 finish for the team since 1994.

The best part was that the one driver they have in the Championship hunt, actually won the race. Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe were second and third, finishing just in front of Dario Franchitti.

Scott Dixon finished in fifth place, meaning that the top five drivers all finished in the exact same order they began the race.

There wasn’t much passing during the race, as it was mostly follow-the-leader. Tony Kanaan had a mechanical problem that took him out of the race on lap 40, and Marco Andretti and JR Hildebrand made slight contact late in the race, but neither of those events resulted in a caution.

The one caution that we did have, came with just ten laps remaining, as Ho-Pin Tung went off course while trying to overtake Alex Tagliani. The restart came with just six laps to go, but no passes were made between the top five cars.

Castroneves and Briscoe keeping Franchitti away from Power was big for him in the Championship, but he also helped himself out in a big way. By grabbing the pole (1) and leading the most laps (2) during the race, Power picked up three valuable bonus points.

Now with just four races remaining in the season, Dario’s lead over Power in the standings has been reduced to just 26 points.

There are two road/street courses (Baltimore and Motegi), and two ovals (Kentucky and Las Vegas) remaining on the schedule. Next weekend’s race in Baltimore is a brand new event, and it will play a huge role in determining the Championship.

Roger Penske has a lot to celebrate this weekend. The 1-2-3 finish on Sunday for his IndyCar program came just hours after his Sprint Cup driver, Brad Keselowski, won at Bristol Motor Speedway.

IndyCar Debacle: Dominant Dario Taken Out, Disaster Finish in Loudon

Posted by chadsmith5 on August 14, 2011
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From the threat of rain, to the tables turning in the Championship standings, to the unbelievable finish, it was a wild day in Loudon, New Hampshire. The IZOD IndyCar Series was back at the oval track for the first time since 1998.

Dario Franchitti led the first 71 laps of the race, before green flag pit stops began. As drivers cycled through the stops, Ryan Briscoe led two laps. By the time the caution came out on lap 76 for rain drops, the top 15 cars had all made their stops, giving Dario the lead once again.

The race was started about a half hour earlier than what was scheduled, due to the treat of rain. The cars took the green flag at 3:37 pm, but two early caution flags got the race off to a slow start. The first yellow was thrown on the first lap, when Mike Conway lost control of his car and spun, taking out Graham Rahal.

Rahal had one of the best cars all weekend, as they were never outside of the top three in practice, and were only in the back of the field after he had a slip on his qualifying run. He had a car capable of getting to the front and winning the race, but lady luck dealt his team another blow.

After the restart, Helio Castroneves lost control of his machine in the exact same place on track where Conway did. He managed to avoid contact with the other cars, but it was not the way he envisioned his 200th race going.

After running about 30 laps under caution for the light sprinkles, the race was able to resume. After the green flag came back out, all hell broke loose.

Just a few laps after the restart, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and Tomas Sheckter were all trying to go three-wide in the corner, which sent Kanaan and Sheckter into the inside retaining wall. Marco suffered suspension damage, and all three were out of the race.

As the cars were coming to take the green flag for the restart on lap 119, Takuma Sato (running in second) touched tires with race leader Franchitti. Dario had been dominating the race, but coming to the start/finish line, he seemed to veer over into Sato’s lane, but he wasn’t quite clear of him.

Sato and JR Hildebrand suffered cut tires, but Dario ended up against the pit lane wall, ending his day. Dario had gone 43 starts since his last DNF. While watching the replay from his pit stall, Dario insisted that Sato was to blame for the accident. It was fairly obvious that this was 100 percent Dario’s fault.

At one point during the race, Franchitti’s championship lead over Will Power was 98 points. Now after Power’s fifth place finish, the points lead is down to just 47 with five races remaining.

One more caution came out for moisture with just 19 laps to go, with Ryan Hunter-Reay still in the lead. With less than ten to go, IndyCar officials called for the green flag to be waived. Many drivers, most notably Will Power, were begging and pleading with them to waive off the restart. The drivers were saying they couldn’t even see, and that the track was too wet.

They waived the green flag anyway, and chaos ensued.

Danica Patrick spun her rear tires, which caused her to spin in front of the entire field. Power, Sato, Ana Beatriz, and others were all trying to avoid contact, but all of them ended up wrecking. Power got out of his car and was furious. He stormed to the infield, trying to find someone to scream at. On his way back to the Penske trailer, he gave the “double bird” to the race officials in the booth.

Team owner Michael Andretti was also livid at the situation that took place. He was upset because not only did three of his cars get taken out of the race, but the one that was in the lead got passed on the restart. He called this the “worst officiating I have ever seen”.

Luckily for Michael, the officials reverted the order of the field back to where it was before the restart, giving Hunter-Reay the lead again. They also called the race due to the rain, despite just five laps remaining. Hunter-Reay was declared the winner, Oriol Servia and Scott Dixon joined him on the podium.

In the end, it was the right call because so many cars were torn up for no reason. The officials made the mistake of trying to go back to green, when the drivers were all pleading them not to. From the crazy start, to the Dario and Sato incident, to the unbelievable finish, it was a very busy day in New Hampshire.

Dixon Dominates at Mid-Ohio, Will Power Loses Ground in Championship

Posted by chadsmith5 on August 7, 2011
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On Saturday Scott Dixon won his first Pole Award of the season. Today he followed that up with his first win of 2011.

Dixon clearly had the best car all weekend, as he started on the pole and led 50 of the 85 laps in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. His teammate Dario Franchitti was six seconds behind, giving Target/Chip Ganassi another one-two finish on the year.

Ryan Hunter-Reay got a podium finish, coming across in third place, while KV Racing teammates Takuma Sato and Tony Kanaan rounded out the top five.

It was a rough day for Team Penske, especially Will Power who came home in 16th position. All three of the team cars were running up front for most of the race, but they had an unlucky break during a caution when they tried to pit. They went to the back, and couldn’t get around all of the traffic.

Power has finished 14th or worse in three of the past four races. He now trails Dario Franchitti by 62 points heading into next weekend’s race at New Hampshire. Dixon trails by 93 points.

It was also a frustrating day for hometown kid Graham Rahal. Graham had trouble on his first pit stop, then made contact with Danica Patrick, sending him spinning off the course.

In the five IndyCar races here at Mid-Ohio, Scott Dixon has now won three of them.

With more oval races coming up on the schedule, it looks like the championship could be Dario’s to lose. Power is slightly better on the road and street courses, while Dario is a bit better on the ovals.

Next Sunday’s MoveThatBlock.com Indy 225 from Loudon, New Hampshire is set for 3:30 pm, and can be seen on ABC.

Power Fends Off Helio and Dario to Win at Edmonton

Posted by chadsmith5 on July 24, 2011
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For the second consecutive race, the IndyCar Series was in Canada, with all eyes on the championship contenders. Will Power and Dario Franchitti got together again, but this time it was after the race, as they both celebrated on the podium.

While everyone was watching Franchitti and Power’s every move, Takuma Sato went out on Saturday and won the pole for Sunday’s race in Edmonton.

Sato led the first 18 laps of the race, in what was a great run for KV Racing. All three of the Lotus cars were running in the top ten. On lap 19, Power was able to get under Sato to take the lead, and the Ganassi cars followed. Scott Dixon and Franchitti both were able to follow Power, putting Sato back into fourth.

It was a rough start for two of the three Canadian drivers, and Graham Rahal. Surprisingly, all 26 cars made it through turn one without any contact, but soon after, Alex Tagliani pressed hard going into turn five, and locked up his wheels. He slid into the back of Rahal, cutting his left-rear tire. Rahal eventually spun off the track, and came back on directly into the path of Paul Tracy.

Both Rahal and Tracy were out of the race on the first lap, and Tagliani had to serve a drive through penalty, although he was already set to restart in the back of the field after changing his damaged wing.

On lap 25, Oriol Servia got put into the tire barrier after Mike Conway attempted to make a pass. Conway got under him, but there really wasn’t much room to make a pass. Servia had just made his first pit stop of the race. Conway was given a drive through penalty.

On the restart, Dixon had problems when he and EJ Viso got together. Dixon’s car was smoking, and he brought his car into pit lane. The team discovered the problem was with the radiator, and he had to go behind the wall for the repair. He finished the race in 23rd, and is now more than 100 points behind in the championship.

Once again turn five was the center of attention on lap 39, when Ryan Hunter-Reay got into pole sitter Takuma Sato. Both drivers were running in the top five, but Sato fell back into 19th position. Ryan was given a drive through penalty, which put him back into 13th position.

Alex Tagliani came into pit on lap 49, which gave the top three positions in the race to team Penske. The team has had quite an up and down season, but they all looked good in Edmonton.

Dario got by Briscoe as the final pit stops cycled through, and both he and Castroneves closed the gap on race leader Power. These three separated themselves from the rest of the field, and it was a three-car shootout from there on.

Power was able to fend off his teammate to win the race, and Franchitti settled for third. Tony Kanaan finished in fourth after Briscoe had to come in on the final lap for fuel. Justin Wilson had a solid day as he rounded out the top five.

Will led 58 of the 80 laps on Sunday, which was his fourth win of the 2011 season.

Power was able to make up a few points on Dario in the championship as they head to Mid-Ohio for the next race on August 7th. The gap between the two now is just 38 points, with seven races remaining.