Motegi win important for AGR

The Brazilian believes that his Japanese win was proof of the team's step forward in performance on 1.5-mile ovals, where Penske and Ganassi have been so dominant for the past year.

"This was a very important win for the entire team," said Kanaan, who had not won on a 1.5-mile oval since 2005.

"Our team worked very hard over the winter to improve our performance on big tracks like Motegi, and that makes this win very sweet for us."

After winning back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005, Andretti Green were unable to battle Penske and Ganassi for the title last year, and the drivers had admitted over the winter that they needed to find some pace on 1.5-mile tracks.

"Ganassi and Penske have been so strong on the 1.5-mile tracks for the past year or so, while it was an area we had to make some improvements," said Kanaan.

Andretti Green's only wins last year came courtesy of Kanaan on the 1-mile Milwaukee oval, and Marco Andretti on the Sears Point road course.