Castroneves fuming after IRL ruling

DETROIT (AP) — Helio Castroneves surely had another fence-climbing celebration running through his mind as he raced toward victory Sunday at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.

Then came a caution flag that cut his lead over rookie Justin Wilson to less than a second.

With Wilson breathing down his neck, Castroneves moved his race car into Wilson’s path three times on lap 72, forcing IndyCar Series officials to make the rare and controversial decision to compel Castroneves to allow Wilson to speed ahead of him into first place.

Wilson held the lead the rest of the way, taking his first IndyCar Series victory and sending Castroneves into a tizzy.

“I’m very surprised — very much surprised about this call,” he fumed.

Wilson had an altogether different take on the decision to penalize the flamboyant Brazilian.

“In my mind, it was so clear and so obvious that something had to be done,” he said.

Castroneves led for the majority of the road race on the Belle Isle course, holding the top spot for 53 of the 87 laps.

Series points leader Scott Dixon finished fifth. That result, coupled with Castroneves’ strong showing, means the IndyCar championship will be decided at next weekend’s final points race at the Chicagoland track.

The odds of winning the series title still favor Dixon, who entered the Detroit race 43 points ahead of Castroneves. Dixon needs to finish eighth or better next week to win his second title and first since his rookie year of 2003.

Dixon’s lead now stands at 30 points.

Wilson, an Englishman who started in the race’s fourth position and drives the No. 02 car for the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team, started the day in 16th place in the series standings.