Will Power felt like Infineon Raceway owed him one after he suffered season-ending injuries in an accident at the track last year.
He capped a picture perfect return to the track by becoming the sixth different winner at Infineon Raceway in as many IZOD IndyCar Series races on the 2.303-mile, 12-turn natural-terrain course. Power held Scott Dixon of Target Chip Ganassi Racing by 0.7432 of a second in the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.
Power, the pole sitter in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske car, increased his series championship points lead over third-place finisher Dario Franchitti to 59 with four oval races remaining in the season. Power was also officially crowned the first Mario Andretti Road Champion by the award’s namesake, racing legend Mario Andretti, in Victory Lane after the event.
Franchitti finished third, with Team Penske teammates Ryan Briscoe and Helio Castroneves next across the line. Justin Wilson was sixth and Tony Kanaan finished seventh. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Graham Rahal and Alex Lloyd (season-best road/street finish) completed the top 10.
Results Sunday of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 2.303-mile Infineon Raceway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (1) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
2. (6) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
3. (3) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
4. (5) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
5. (2) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
6. (7) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
7. (9) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
8. (8) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
9. (16) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
10. (22) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
11. (20) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
12. (18) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
13. (11) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
14. (4) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
15. (21) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
16. (23) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 75, Running
17. (14) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 74, Running
18. (17) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 74, Running
19. (15) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 74, Running
20. (25) Francesco Dracone, Dallara-Honda, 71, Contact
21. (10) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 67,
22. (24) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 67, Running
23. (13) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 65, Contact
24. (19) J.R. Hildebrand, Dallara-Honda, 38, Contact
25. (12) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 0, Contact
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 92.063
Time of Race: 01:52:34.1915
Margin of victory: .7432 of a second
Cautions: 4 for 10 laps
Lead changes: 2 among 2 drivers
Lap Leaders: Power 1-55, Dixon 56-57, Power 58-75
Point Standings: Power 514, Franchitti 455, Dixon 419, Briscoe 384, Castroneves 370, Hunter-Reay 360, Kanaan 330, Wilson 290, Andretti 284, Wheldon 269.
| 
|