Motegi: Dan's maiden win

Wheldon, in his second full season of IndyCar racing, also gave Honda its first win in seven races at the track it built in the mountains north of Tokyo.

Penske's Helio Castroneves, who briefly held second place after a quick pit stop on the 177th lap, settled for third place. Another Briton, Darren Manning, who moved up to third in the middle of the 200-lap race, finished fourth. Reigning champion Scott Dixon was fifth and Buddy Rice finished sixth. Dario Franchitti, Kosuke Matsuura, Scott Sharp and Tora Takagi rounded out the top 10.

The win was a major coup for Honda, which watched in frustration as the first five CART races at the 1.5-mile Motegi oval went to Ford and Toyota. The first Indy Racing League event at the track last year also went to Toyota, leaving Twin Ring's owners 0-for-6 at their own facility.

That changed Saturday with emphasis. Wheldon led all but eight laps in the Honda-powered Dallara, surrendering the lead only when he pitted. Kanaan tried to close on Wheldon after a restart with 23 laps remaining in the race, but eventually settled for second place.