Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
HOMESTEAD - Sam Hornish was expected to push new teammate Helio Castroneves, but no one expected it to happen so soon. The IRL season opener turned into a Penske shootout, with Hornish passing Castroneves on the last lap to win Sunday's Toyota Indy 300.
"I just got the right move at the right time," said Hornish, a two-time IndyCar series champion and a three-time winner at Homestead Miami Speedway.
The 200-lap race on the 11/2-mile oval was filled with passing and two- and three-wide racing.
The Toyota-powered Marlboro Team Penske cars dominated early but slipped back as accidents and pit stops shuffled the field.
Hornish took the lead on Lap 173 from Tomas Scheckter, the driver who took his spot at Pennzoil Panther Racing when Hornish moved to Penske to replace the retired Gil de Ferran.
Castroneves moved into second place on the next lap and took the lead from Hornish on Lap 176.
Both made their final pit stop on Lap 180, along with Dan Wheldon. He took the lead at the end of the flurry of green flag stops on Lap 183, trailed by Tora Takagi, Castroneves and Hornish.
The two Penske drivers quickly dispatched Takagi and went after Wheldon, sandwiching him on Lap 188 with a three-wide move - Hornish at the top of the banking and Castroneves on the bottom.
Hornish led that lap, but Castroneves passed on the inside the next time around. It stayed that way until the two crossed the finish line at the end of Lap 199.
Hornish suddenly darted to the bottom of the track and somehow got alongside Castroneves. They stayed wheel to wheel until Hornish barely pulled ahead entering Turn 4.
Castroneves dove to the bottom of the track, but came up short by 0.0698 seconds. It was the 10th closest IRL finish and the sixth time Penske teammates have finished 1-2.
NHRA: Tony Schumacher easily earned his 12th career Top Fuel victory during the 44th annual K&N Filters Winternationals at Pomona, Calif. Doug Kalitta, Schumacher's final-round opponent, could not make the run because his dragster broke on the starting line. Jerry Toliver (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also won at the $2-million race.