Meira Races to 2nd One Handed

But the Rahal-Letterman driver, who passed teammate Danica Patrick for second place in the final laps, said the handicap did not affect his race pace.

"It was kind of one and half handed," Meira said in a press conference after the race. "But it didn't affect anything. What made the difference today was my 17-car crew.

"When you turn your hand it goes kind of out of the cockpit. Right after the yellow something hit it coming out of Wheldon's car. It was a piece of debris of the previous crash, but it was nothing.

"I just felt a little tick and then we went again. Then I took off my glove and it was all bloody and everything."

The result was Meira's best in IRL since he joined the series in 2002.

"At the beginning of the race we were really weak. We really had to wait for the traffic. I mean, the car was fine, the balance was fine, but there was just no grip.

"The track came back to us a little bit from lap 110, our car really got good. From that point on I really started to make the positions. I mean, it was one of the most entertaining races I've ran."