Castroneves rolls at Indy Japan 300

He crossed the finish line over six seconds ahead of Dan Wheldon.
MOTEGI, Japan (AP) -- Helio Castroneves knew he had a strong car going into the Indy Japan 300.
He proved it Saturday, claiming his second straight IndyCar Series win of the season.
Castroneves, who won the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg earlier this month, dominated throughout the 200-lap race and crossed the finish line 6.3851 seconds ahead of defending champion Dan Wheldon.
"It's great to finally win here in Japan," Castroneves said. "We had a very strong car. Ever since we got off the plane, the car has been responding well."
Climbs fence
After securing the victory, the Brazilian driver jumped out of his Honda-powered Dallara and, as is his tradition, climbed the fence in a victory celebration.
Rain disrupted practice and wiped out qualifying Friday, but conditions were perfect for Saturday's race at the 1.5-mile Twin Ring Motegi circuit north of Tokyo.
Castroneves, who led for 184 laps, started from the pole position because he led the IRL championship with 93 points heading into the race.
Wheldon was bidding to become the first IndyCar Series driver to win three years in a row at the same track, but couldn't close the gap on Castroneves, who won for the first time in Japan.
"It was an up-and-down day," Wheldon said. "My pace just wasn't consistent and that's what cost me. Helio has a got a bit of momentum, but it certainly can be stopped and I'll do my best to stop it."
Dixon falls back
Scott Dixon was in second place for most of the race, then fell out of contention after a delay during his last pit stop after 148 laps.
Brazilian Tony Kanaan finished third, followed by Sam Hornish Jr., Buddy Rice and Bryan Herta.
Castroneves said the win will give him confidence heading to the next race -- the Indianapolis 500 -- but that it's too early to start thinking about the 2006 championship.
"Indy is the next race and it's part of the championship and ... it's kind of special," Castroneves said. "I know the team and everything is going in the right direction, but it's too early to get emotional."
Japan's Kosuke Matsuura finished seventh.
Enge, Cheever crash
Czech driver Tomas Enge, a late substitute for Eddie Cheever Jr., crashed during the 27th lap with Ed Carpenter. Both drivers walked away from the accident, but were unable to continue because of the damage to their cars.
At the season-opening event in Homestead, Fla., Carpenter's car was stopped when it was slammed into by Paul Dana in warmups, killing Dana.
Seconds after this race restarted, there was a three-way crash involving 2003 Indy Japan winner Scott Sharp, Jeff Simmons and P.J. Chesson.
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