Helio Castroneves dominated the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway to take sole possession of first place in the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings through eight of 19 races.
Driving the Chevrolet-powered No. 3 AAA Insurance Team Penske car, Castroneves led 132 of 228 laps on the 1.5-mile, high-banked oval and won by 4.6919 seconds over reigning series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay in the No. 1 DHL car for Andretti Autosport.
Castroneves is the seventh different winner in eight races this season, and the first to win four IZOD IndyCar Series races at Texas Motor Speedway. It was his first win on an oval since 2010 at Twin Ring Motegi.
“It was just the setup; we did a lot of homework. Awesome job everyone,” said Castroneves, who broke a tie with Johnny Rutherford for 12th on the all-time Indy car list with his 28th victory.
Castroneves broke a tie with Marco Andretti, who led 57 laps early and placed fifth, to move 22 points clear heading to the Milwaukee IndyFest on June 15 at the Milwaukee Mile.
It was the first victory of the season for Team Penske and the sixth different team to hoist a trophy in Victory Circle.
“Helio drove a flawless race and a key victory in our season based on where we were in the standings,” team owner Roger Penske said. “It probably was the best execution we’ve had in a long time. Helio now leads the points and that’s critical as we are in this stretch of oval races.”
Tony Kanaan, who started 13th in the No. 11 Sunoco “Turbo” car, finished third and Ed Carpenter posted his best finish of fourth at the track.
Results Saturday of the Firestone 550 IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 1.455-mile Texas Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (6) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 228, Running
2. (3) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 228, Running
3. (13) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 228, Running
4. (9) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 228, Running
5. (2) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy, 228, Running
6. (4) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 227, Running
7. (1) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 227, Running
8. (7) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 227, Running
9. (12) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy, 227, Running
10. (5) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy, 227, Running
11. (21) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 227, Running
12. (10) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 227, Running
13. (23) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 226, Running
14. (18) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 226, Running
15. (20) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 226, Running
16. (22) Simona De Silvestro, Dallara-Chevy, 226, Running
17. (8) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 226, Running
18. (24) Tristan Vautier, Dallara-Honda, 225, Running
19. (16) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Chevy, 225, Running
20. (15) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 224, Running
21. (17) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 223, Running
22. (14) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 223, Running
23. (11) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 61, Mechanical
24. (19) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, 2, Mechanical
Race Statistics
- Winners average speed: 177.257
- Time of Race: 01:52:17.4594
- Margin of victory: 4.6919
- Cautions: 3 for 27
- Lead changes: 4 among 5 drivers
Lap Leaders
- Andretti 1 – 53
- Power 54 – 57
- Hunter-Reay 58 – 92
- Andretti 93 – 96
- Castroneves 97 – 228
IZOD INDYCAR SERIES POINT STANDINGS
- Helio Castroneves 259
- Marco Andretti 237
- Ryan Hunter-Reay 232
- Tony Kanaan 195
- Takuma Sato 194
- Simon Pagenaud 194
- Scott Dixon 193
- Justin Wilson 184
- James Hinchcliffe 176
- Dario Franchitti 168
IZOD INDYCAR SERIES MANUFACTURER POINT STANDINGS
- Chevrolet 63
- Honda 57
Source: IndyCar • Photo: John Cote
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