Kanaan Scores Infineon Win
Reigning series Champion Tony Kanaan gave his slim hopes of retaining his title a boost as he took his second victory of 2005 at Infineon Raceway today
Kanaan took the lead for the first time on lap 46 just before pitting on lap 50, regaining the lead three laps later when other cars pitted under caution. Kanaan held the lead uncontested to the end, with Buddy Rice finishing second and Alex Barron third.
Kanaan's win was in contrast to teammate and points leader Dan Wheldon, who ran towards the back of the field after refuelling problems at his first stop, before Wheldon's day ended on lap 52 when he coasted to a halt with a a fuel line problem.
Pole sitter Ryan Briscoe led the first sixteen laps before pitting under yellow. His day turned sour soon after the race restarted when he braked too late at a hairpin, taking to the dirt before hitting Danica Patrick, who was then forced into Helio Castroneves on her outside. Patrick and Castroneves were out on the spot while Briscoe was out at the end of the lap.
Castroneves's Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr didn't have a good day either, spinning on lap one with a driveline problem. The team fixed the problem but Hornish ended the race in seventeenth, 24 laps down.
Pos Driver Make-Engine Laps 1. Tony Kanaan Dallara-Honda 80 2. Buddy Rice Panoz-Honda 80 3. Alex Barron Dallara-Toyota 80 4. Patrick Carpentier Dallara-Toyota 80 5. Tomas Enge Dallara-Chevrolet 80 6. Kosuke Matsuura Panoz-Honda 80 7. Scott Dixon Panoz-Toyota 80 8. Dario Franchitti Dallara-Honda 80 9. Vitor Meira Panoz-Honda 80 10. Jeff Bucknum Dallara-Chevrolet 80 11. Roger Yasukawa Dallara-Honda 80 12. Scott Sharp Panoz-Honda 80 13. Bryan Herta Dallara-Honda 79 14. Giorgio Pantano Panoz-Toyota 78 15. Ed Carpenter Dallara-Toyota 77 16. Tomas Scheckter Dallara-Chevrolet 57 17. Sam Hornish Jr Dallara-Toyota 56 18. Dan Wheldon Dallara-Honda 52 19. Ryan Briscoe Panoz-Toyota 20 20. Danica Patrick Panoz-Honda 19 21. Helio Castroneves Dallara-Toyota 19
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