Castroneves claims fourth victory
He also took over the series points leadership with the win in Michigan.
BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) -- Helio Castroneves took advantage of a superior car and an aggressive strategy to win the Firestone Indy 400 on Sunday, ending team owner Roger Penske's open-wheel drought at Michigan International Speedway.
Castroneves beat Vitor Meira by 1.62 seconds, picking up his series-high fourth victory of the season and moving past teammate Sam Hornish Jr. for the points lead in the Indy Racing League.
The average speed of the race was 193.972 mph, the third-fastest event in the IRL's 11-year history. The race took 2 hours, 10 minutes -- 20 minutes less than the rain delay.
"Our car was very fast," said Castroneves, who won the pole with a lap 2 mph faster than Tony Kanaan, who started third.
Castroneves took the lead for the last time on lap 177 after his final pit stop. He navigated through a pack of drivers a lap behind to build a 3-plus second lead over Meira, who cut his deficit in half, but couldn't get closer.
11th career win
He won the 11th IndyCar series race of his career, and first at MIS.
Meira, who led more than a third of the race, was followed by defending champion Dan Wheldon, Kanaan and Tomas Scheckter in the top five.
Penske won his 10th open-wheel race at MIS, a track he owned for more than 25 years, and his first since 1991 when Rick Mears earned his last career win.
The famed owner used to have his drivers rely on fuel-saving strategy at the second-longest race on the Indy Racing League circuit, but wanted Castroneves and Hornish to get in front and stay there.
It worked -- early.
Hornish has engine problems
Hornish finished just 61 laps because of an engine problem. Hornish started the race with a 25-point lead over Scott Dixon, but he earned just 12 points with his season-worst, 19th-place finish and has 368 points with three races left. Castroneves has 376 points.
"I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I know it was an issue with the engine," he said. "It's a shame to end a day like that."
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.