AUTO RACING Castroneves wins, leads IRL standings

NAZARETH, Pa. (AP) -- Helio Castroneves claimed the top spot in IRL the driver standings, and gave Toyota its first series championship with a victory Sunday at Nazareth Speedway.
Castroneves held off Sam Hornish Jr. by 0.169 seconds as both stretched their fuel over the last 102 of 225 laps. Late cautions that permitted the economy runs, and crashes and mechanical failures by the other contenders helped both immensely.
Castroneves sprinted away when the race went green for the final time with 13 laps to go. A lapped car held up Hornish briefly, but he closed the gap and made a bold run over the final five laps.
Hornish, who announced last week that he's leaving Panther Racing at the end of the season, is fifth. He's 71 points behind Castroneves, who leads teammate Gil de Ferran by 25, Kanaan by 32 and Scott Dixon by 42.
Biggest break
Aside from the fuel-stretching cautions, the biggest break both got was when second-running Kanaan was hit by close pursuer Tomas Scheckter on lap 120.
They all got a break on lap 56, when polesitter Scott Dixon stalled on pit road, eliminating him from contention. Castroneves had taken the lead three laps earlier with a quicker pit stop.
Two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Castroneves gave Penske his 118th open-wheel victory and seventh at Nazareth.