Wheldon Wins at Motegi
Dan Wheldon won his second consecutive race at Twin Ring Motegi after a late-race drama for Tomas Scheckter allowed Wheldon through to win the Japan Indy 300
Scheckter was leading the race in the closing laps but with three laps remaining he ran out of fuel, gifting the lead to Wheldon. Ironically, Wheldon ran out of fuel on his victory lap after he took the win, while Scheckter finished two laps down in tenth place.
Letterman Rahal teammates Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick filled the next two places, Patrick showing her front row qualifying performance was no fluke, with Bryan Herta in fifth. It was a Honda day at Honda's own track, the Japanese marque powering the first six finishers.
After his crash in qualifying, Tomas Enge failed to start the race. Two other drivers didn't last much longer, with rookie Jeff Bucknum spinning on the first lap and collecting Scott Dixon. Both drivers visited and were released from the infield care center.
Wheldon's win extends his points lead over Andretti Green teammate Tony Kanaan to 46 points, with Penske's Sam Hornish seven points behind Kanaan. Bryan Herta and Helio Castroneves are the only two other drivers with more than 100 points to their name.
Result of Japan Indy 300, Twin Ring Motegi:Pos Driver Car Laps 1. Dan Wheldon Dallara-Honda 200 2. Scott Sharp Panoz-Honda 200 3. Buddy Rice Panoz-Honda 200 4. Danica Patrick Panoz-Honda 200 5. Bryan Herta Dallara-Honda 200 6. Tony Kanaan Dallara-Honda 199 7. Sam Hornish Jr Dallara-Toyota 199 8. Darren Manning Panoz-Toyota 199 9. Kosuke Matsuura Panoz-Honda 199 10. Tomas Scheckter Dallara-Chevrolet 198 11. Helio Castroneves Dallara-Toyota 198 12. Ryan Briscoe Panoz-Toyota 197 13. Patrick Carpentier Dallara-Toyota 196 14. A.J. Foyt IV Dallara-Toyota 196 15. Vitor Meira Panoz-Honda 166 16. Ed Carpenter Dallara-Toyota 136 17. Dario Franchitti Dallara-Honda 123 18. Roger Yasukawa Dallara-Honda 112 19. Alex Barron Dallara-Toyota 57 20. Paul Dana Dallara-Toyota 56 21. Scott Dixon Dallara-Toyota 0 22. Jeff Bucknum Dallara-Honda 0 23. Tomas Enge Dallara-Chevrolet DNS
About this article
| Series | IndyCar |
The Indycar season that proves Michael Andretti is better than F1 showed
Often unfairly characterised as a car-breaker, judged for his lack of an Indianapolis 500 win and a disappointing part-season of Formula 1 in 1993, Michael Andretti was highly respected by his rivals and only thwarted greater success by ill-fortune. When it all came together in 1991, he was a truly formidable force
How McLaren is striving towards IndyCar's elite
The second year of McLaren's full-time IndyCar return is looming, with Patricio O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist leading its line-up. Strong team personnel and work behind the scenes means that 2021 could be the year it joins the established elite
The enigmatic legacy of a misunderstood Indy stalwart
Flashes of brilliance amid spells of obscurity have been too common for Marco Andretti. While the third-generation racer has opted to bring his full-time IndyCar career to a close, his peaks and troughs have never been for want of trying
Why American racing's top dog is without equal
A byword for success in business and in motorsport for over 50 years, Roger Penske's importance to the US scene cannot be understated. In an exclusive interview, the custodian of the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway reflects on his journey
The McLaren that rendered its Indy rivals obsolete
When founder Bruce McLaren died in June 1970, his team could have folded. Instead, his loyal band rallied to produce a string of winners - including an Indycar game-changer that won its third Indianapolis 500 five years after its debut
Why Newgarden's best IndyCar season yet wasn't enough
Josef Newgarden feels he didn't put a foot wrong in 2020, yet his finest season-long run of performances failed to yield a third series championship. But in a warning shot to Scott Dixon, Team Penske's team leader has vowed to redouble his efforts in 2021
How Dixon held on in IndyCar's most unpredictable season
Three wins on the trot gave the Chip Ganassi Racing superstar the cushion he needed to hang on for a sixth title in the face of Josef Newgarden's late challenge. Here's the rundown of a typically frantic IndyCar campaign in an extraordinary year
The balancing act required for improving racing at Indy
Calls for an improvement in the racing spectacle at the Indianapolis 500 have been met with small aerodynamic tweaks from IndyCar on superspeedways. But where such high speeds are involved, even minor adjustments require significant planning
