KANSAS CITY Herta defies the skeptics to score first IRL triumph

Bryan Herta prevented Scott Dixon from winning his third straight race.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Though critics said he was finished in oval racing, Bryan Herta knew he couldn't believe them.
"If I did, I wouldn't be here today," Herta said Sunday after winning the Kansas Indy 300.
In only his third race since signing with Andretti Green Racing, the former CART driver kept his focus on the track -- and fuel.
Herta drafted off of the lapped Robbie Buhl and took the lead with five laps remaining, earning his first Indy Racing League victory.
"We were looking for someone to hook up with to save fuel," Herta said. "I need to send [Buhl] a nice bottle of champagne."
Dixon is denied
Herta's victory at Kansas Speedway denied Scott Dixon the circuit's first three-race winning streak since Kenny Brack in 1998.
Dixon, who started from the pole, finished sixth and lost ground to points leader Tony Kanaan.
Herta was hired late last month by longtime friend Michael Andretti after Dario Franchitti, who broke his back in a motorcycle accident in April, had season-ending surgery.
"I don't ever cry in a race car, but I was crying when I crossed the finish line," said Herta, whose last victory came in 1999 in a CART race at Laguna Seca.
Kanaan, whose late pit stop gave Herta the lead, finished fourth and increased his lead over Dixon from 27 points to 31.
Castroneves second
Helio Castroneves finished second despite losing his top two gears. He closed within one point of Dixon in the standings. Gil de Ferran, another late pit casualty, was third. Brack finished fifth, one lap down.
Herta was running third with 16 laps remaining in the 200-lap race and moved up to second when de Ferran pitted. After crossing the finish line, Herta ran out of fuel and had to be pushed into Victory Lane.
"That's the way it goes sometime. There's no way to predict that sort of outcome," said de Ferran, who led 93 laps.
Herta credited team manager Kyle Moyer with making the call to conserve fuel.
"Tony dragged me around for a while, which was great," Herta said, "but he pulled away from me and I said I needed more fuel to stay with him. We had a choice right then -- we could either race Tony or save fuel. Kyle said, 'Let him go.' "
Felipe Giaffone crashed on the 56th lap and broke his pelvis and right thigh, said Dr. Henry Bock, the IRL's medical services director.