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Dixon prevails in controversial Edmonton finish

Sun 25th, July 2010

Edmonton, Canada (Sports Network) - Scott Dixon won the Honda Indy Edmonton IZOD IndyCar Series race in a bizarre and controversial finish.

Helio Castroneves held the lead for the final restart with four laps remaining, and Castroneves and his Team Penske teammate Will Power ran side- by-side for the top position as they entered the first turn. Castroneves then moved from the outside lane to the inside and interfered with the progress of Power.

When Indy Racing League official Brian Barnhart charged Castroneves for blocking and issued a drive-through penalty to the Brazilian driver, Dixon darted past Power to take the second position.

Officials black-flagged Castroneves for failing to serve his penalty and placed him at the end of the lead lap in 10th at the finish of the race.

"I never moved my line," Castroneves claimed. "I actually did move him outside. When you go side-by-side like that with your teammate, and they just take it away from you, it's just absurd."

Castroneves was furious with the decision, and at the conclusion of the 95-lap race at Edmonton's City Centre Airport course, he confronted IRL officials along the pit area. He grabbed the shirt of one of the officials. Further penalties could be forthcoming to Castroneves for his post-race altercation.

"I said it once in Detroit in 2008, and I'll say it again, I have nothing smart to say," Castroneves said. "The only thing I can say is talk to my attorneys."

Two years ago in Detroit, Castroneves had to give up the lead to Justin Wilson when he was penalized for blocking with less than 20 laps to go. Wilson picked up his first career win, while Castroneves settled for second.

Power, who finished second at Edmonton, believed his teammate blocked him.

"I got a run on him and he blocked me," said Power, who started on the pole and led a race-high 76 laps. "I would say a black flag is a pretty harsh penalty, but it is what it is. It was just one of those racing things. When you're leading on the last restart, you want to keep the lead."

Dixon captured his second victory of the season and the 23rd of his IndyCar career. He has won two of the first three races at Edmonton. Power won here last year.

"All in all, it's not what I expected to happen at the end," Dixon said. "In some ways, I knew Will and Helio were fighting pretty hard. You could see that the first time Helio passed Will...I just continued on with the regular line where it's nice and clean and figured or hoped that they picked up a lot of debris and were going to make it tough through [turns] one and two. That's kind of what happened. Pretty strange to not lead a lap and actually win the race."

Dixon's Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Dario Franchitti, finished third, with Ryan Briscoe from Penske and Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay rounding out the top-five.

Canadian Paul Tracy finished sixth, while his fellow countryman Alex Tagliani crashed just past the half-way point and wound up 23rd in the 25-car field.

Danica Patrick finished 15th after starting 21st.

Power now holds a 50-point lead over Franchitti, the defending series champion, and a 71-point advantage over Dixon.

Just hours before Dixon's victory at Edmonton, his team owner, Chip Ganassi, picked up the win with driver Jamie McMurray in the Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ganassi became the first owner to win the Daytona 500, Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same season.