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IRL : Pit gamble favors Wheldon in Iowa

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Khatir Soltani
Dan Wheldon and his Team Ganassi took a surprise victory in Iowa as a reward for a late fuel gamble that paid off in the end.

Wheldon was followed to the checkered flag by Andretti Green's Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti.

With 90 laps to go, the team decided to leave Wheldon on the track while most of the leaders pitted.

The Briton had then to conserve fuel to make the strategy work but two further yellow flags at the end of the race allowed Wheldon to proceed without problems.

Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves had dominated the majority of the race, and staged an astonishing side by side battle for much of the opening 25 laps.

Neither would feature at the finish, however, with Kanaan crashing out of third while chasing Wheldon and Mutoh with 39 laps to go, and Castroneves finishing 14th after a late pitstop with a puncture.

Race Results:

Pos Driver Team Time
1. Dan Wheldon Ganassi 250 laps
2. Hideki Mutoh Andretti Green + 0.1430
3. Marco Andretti Andretti Green + 0.9028
4. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 1.2726
5. AJ Foyt IV Vision + 1.3564
6. Danica Patrick Andretti Green + 1.9115
7. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 3.9780
8. Ryan Hunter-Reay Rahal Letterman + 4.4888
9. Will Power KV + 5.6158
10. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 7.7886
11. John Andretti Roth + 8.4639
12. Justin Wilson Newman/Haas/Lanigan + 8.7225
13. EJ Viso HVM + 12.5775
14. Helio Castroneves Penske + 2 laps
15. Vitor Meira Panther + 2 laps
16. Oriol Servia KV + 3 laps
17. Enrique Bernoldi Conquest + 8 laps
18. Tony Kanaan Andretti Green + 39 laps
19. Mario Moraes Dale Coyne + 58 laps
20. Jaime Camara Conquest +117 laps
21. Darren Manning Foyt +156 laps
22. Buddy Rice Dreyer & Reinbold +172 laps
23. Ed Carpenter Vision +212 laps
24. Milka Duno Dreyer & Reinbold +224 laps
Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
As a car enthusiast, he tests and compares vehicles from different categories through the eyes of the consumer, ensuring relevant and objective reviews.
  • Over 6 years experience as a car reviewer
  • Over 50 test drives in the last year
  • Involved in discussions with virtually every auto manufacturer in Canada