Team Penske's Will Power took his fifth win of the season at the Indy Sonoma Grand Prix at Infineon and therefore extended his lead at the top of the standings.
Power, who took yesterday a record eighth pole position, had to resist numerous attacks from Scott Dixon (Ganassi) in the final laps of the race.
Even though Power was in front and in control most of the time during the event, in the end, Dixon was able to put some real pressure on the Australian.
After a late yellow, Dixon was all over the back of Power's car, before the Penske driver started to pull away to win but by only 0.7 seconds.
Franchitti retained third ahead of Penske's Ryan Briscoe while front row starter Helio Castroneves took fifth resisting Dreyer & Reinbold's Justin Wilson and Andretti Autosport duo Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Not an easy outing for Alex Tagliani, whose Fazzt car fell off the pace as the tyres wore in the first stint. He lost several positions from his early fourth before picking up a puncture.
IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma - Results
Pos Driver Team Gap
1. Will Power Penske 75 laps
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 0.7432s
3. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 6.6132s
4. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 7.8607s
5. Helio Castroneves Penske + 10.4594s
6. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 10.9095s
7. Tony Kanaan Andretti + 11.5246s
8. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti + 11.8938s
9. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas + 17.5019s
10. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne + 18.2069s
11. Mario Moraes KV + 20.2411s
12. Marco Andretti Andretti + 20.6759s
13. Simona de Silvestro HVM + 21.8239s
14. Alex Tagliani Fazzt + 22.4858s
15. Vitor Meira Foyt + 24.2879s
16. Danica Patrick Andretti + 46.1339s
17. Hideki Mutoh Newman/Haas + 1 lap
18. Takuma Sato KV + 1 lap
19. EJ Viso KV + 1 lap
20. Francesco Dracone Conquest + 4 laps
21. Raphael Matos De Ferran Dragon + 8 laps
22. Milka Duno Dale Coyne + 8 laps
Retirements:
Bertrand Bagutte Conquest 65 laps
JR Hildebrand Dreyer & Reinbold 38 laps
Dan Wheldon Panther 0 laps
IndyCar Standings - After 13 of 17 rounds
Pos. Driver Team Points
1. Will Power Team Penske 514
2. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 455
3. Scott Dixon Team Penske 419
4. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 384
5. Helio Castroneves Team Penske 370
Etc.
Power, who took yesterday a record eighth pole position, had to resist numerous attacks from Scott Dixon (Ganassi) in the final laps of the race.
Even though Power was in front and in control most of the time during the event, in the end, Dixon was able to put some real pressure on the Australian.
After a late yellow, Dixon was all over the back of Power's car, before the Penske driver started to pull away to win but by only 0.7 seconds.
Franchitti retained third ahead of Penske's Ryan Briscoe while front row starter Helio Castroneves took fifth resisting Dreyer & Reinbold's Justin Wilson and Andretti Autosport duo Tony Kanaan and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Not an easy outing for Alex Tagliani, whose Fazzt car fell off the pace as the tyres wore in the first stint. He lost several positions from his early fourth before picking up a puncture.
IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma - Results
Pos Driver Team Gap
1. Will Power Penske 75 laps
2. Scott Dixon Ganassi + 0.7432s
3. Dario Franchitti Ganassi + 6.6132s
4. Ryan Briscoe Penske + 7.8607s
5. Helio Castroneves Penske + 10.4594s
6. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold + 10.9095s
7. Tony Kanaan Andretti + 11.5246s
8. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti + 11.8938s
9. Graham Rahal Newman/Haas + 17.5019s
10. Alex Lloyd Dale Coyne + 18.2069s
11. Mario Moraes KV + 20.2411s
12. Marco Andretti Andretti + 20.6759s
13. Simona de Silvestro HVM + 21.8239s
14. Alex Tagliani Fazzt + 22.4858s
15. Vitor Meira Foyt + 24.2879s
16. Danica Patrick Andretti + 46.1339s
17. Hideki Mutoh Newman/Haas + 1 lap
18. Takuma Sato KV + 1 lap
19. EJ Viso KV + 1 lap
20. Francesco Dracone Conquest + 4 laps
21. Raphael Matos De Ferran Dragon + 8 laps
22. Milka Duno Dale Coyne + 8 laps
Retirements:
Bertrand Bagutte Conquest 65 laps
JR Hildebrand Dreyer & Reinbold 38 laps
Dan Wheldon Panther 0 laps
IndyCar Standings - After 13 of 17 rounds
Pos. Driver Team Points
1. Will Power Team Penske 514
2. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 455
3. Scott Dixon Team Penske 419
4. Ryan Briscoe Team Penske 384
5. Helio Castroneves Team Penske 370
Etc.