Rahal hits the wall, Wilson wins

Associated Press

FORT WORTH, Texas

Justin Wilson won in IndyCar for the first time since 2009 when Graham Rahal hit the wall while leading at Texas Motor Speedway.

Rahal seemed headed to his first win in over five years, but grazed the wall exiting the fourth turn Saturday night. Rahal tried to keep going, and Wilson charged past him with two to go to get his third IndyCar Series win. His last win was at Watkins Glen in 2009.

Rahal held on for second as Honda drivers took the first two spots. Ryan Briscoe was third for Chevrolet.

The race was the first on a high-banked oval since Dan Wheldon’s fatal accident at Las Vegas last October. IndyCar implemented a new formula to try to break up pack racing as drivers were skittish about the return to Texas.

With no deal in place for IndyCar to return to Texas Motor Speedway in 2013, Saturday night’s 24th race could be the last for the series.

Texas has been on IndyCar’s schedule for 16 consecutive years, and its race crowd is second only to the Indianapolis 500. But the relationship between the series and track promoter Eddie Gossage has been strained lately because of a variety of different issues.

IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said he’s made a point of not discussing 2013 with Texas until after Saturday night’s race, but said, “We definitely want to come back if it’s financially worthwhile.”