Dan Wheldon, aka Mr. Opportunity, solidified his IndyCar Series points lead, tied Sam Hornish Jr.'s single-season victory record and delivered the engine manufacturer title to Honda on one lap in the Honda Indy 225 source: Indy Racing League - Dave Lewandowski All in all, it was a decent afternoon's work for the steady Brit who recorded his first victory since the 89th Indianapolis 500 by leading Hornish under the checkers at a sun-drenched Pikes Peak International Raceway. All came at the expense of Andretti Green Racing teammate and 2004 race winner Dario Franchitti, whose final pit stop problem opened the door for Wheldon to slam the door on his fifth victory. While Wheldon might commiserate briefly, that's racing. "It's very important to me to be in Victory Lane, for everybody involved," said Wheldon, who started fifth in the No. 26 Klein Tools/Jim Beam Dallara/Honda/Firestone. "It just happened to work out for me. It's a nice time for a victory to come. Dario was really strong. I think he was my strongest competitor today. I was a little bit better in traffic at some points. It was a shame for him. He's had some bad luck." Shown as the leader when Wheldon and others at the front of the field made their final pit stops on Lap 159, Franchitti remained on the 1-mile tri-oval until Lap 164. But the promise of retaking the point after a routine stop for fuel and tires literally stalled in his pit box because of a clutch problem. His crew attempted to push-start the No. 27 ArcaEx Honda-powered Dallara to no avail. So they pulled the car back within the confines of their stall and used the electrical starter. The miscue dropped Franchitti to ninth, though he was able to advance two spots at the end. He was shaking his head near his transporter while Wheldon was shaking hands in Victory Circle.
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