THE LINE

August 31, 2011

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Will Power (No. 12 Team Penske Verizon Dallara Powered by Honda with Firestone tires) dominated the Grand Prix of Sonoma IZOD IndyCar Series race on the 2.303-mile, 12-turn Infineon Raceway road course last Sunday, becoming the first two-time winner in seven years of the event. Power paced a Team Penske 1-2-3 sweep as Helio Castroneves (No. 3 Team Penske Guidepoint Systems D/H/F) was second and Ryan Briscoe (No. 6 Team Penske/Penske Truck Rental D/H/F) finished third. The last Penske Racing sweep was in 1994 at Nazareth (Paul Tracy, Al Unser Jr. and Emerson Fittipaldi). The last team to finish 1-2-3 was the former Andretti Green Racing in 2005 at St. Petersburg. "It was just a perfect race," said Power, who earned his series-leading fifth victory of the season. "This one is pretty important. I have been unbelievably motivated after a few bad races this season. I knew that Verizon Team Penske was better than this as a team and we came here with a good set-up, finished strong and we are on the right track now."

(Richard Dowdy/IndyCar)
Showing great form after what up until now has been a dismal season for him, Helio Castroneves drove a confident race and kept Will Power honest throughout. "The Team Penske sweep shows how strong our team is," Castroneves said. "I certainly wanted to win, but Will was in a class of his own. When you look at his lap times in practice and qualifying, you knew he would be strong."

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Ryan Briscoe checks out his mount early on race morning. He completed the Team Penske 1-2-3 sweep at Sonoma.

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Dario Franchitti drops in to his No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing D/H/F machine as he prepares for the start. With the bonus points for his pole start and leading the most laps (71 of 75), Will Power pulled to within 26 points of Franchitti, who finished fourth.

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
The races are dwindling down for Danica Patrick's IndyCar career.

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Tony Kanaan's racing shoes.

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Alex Tagliani's helmet rests on the pit wall at Sonoma.

(Chris Jones/IndyCar)
Oriol Servia (No. 2 Telemundo Newman/Haas Racing D/H/F) gets pit service from his crew. He finished eleventh.

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Dario Franchitti, "Bullseye" the Target Wonder Dog and Scott Dixon ham it up before the race. Dixon, who is third in the standings, finished fifth in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car.

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
Robin Miller looked for a comment from Bullseye as nobody else had anything worthwhile to say, apparently.

(Michael Levitt - LAT Photo)
"The Captain" with his boys. Excellence is expected.

(Shawn Gritzmacher/IndyCar)
A close-up of the nose of Will Power's car after his win. Next up for the IZOD IndyCar Series? The Baltimore Grand Prix on Sept. 4 at Streets of Baltimore. The race will be televised live at 2 p.m. (ET) by VERSUS and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is Baltimore 100 on Sept. 4 at the Streets of Baltimore.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Patrick Long, from Bellaire, Fla., earned a Pirelli World Challenge weekend sweep overall and in the GT class on Sunday at Infineon Raceway in the Cadillac Grand Prix of Sonoma – Round 10 of the 2011 season. The weekend sweep gives Long four wins this season and the GT Drivers’ Championship lead with two races remaining.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Ben Crosland (No. 25 RaceWithRP.com Ford Mustang FR500S), from Salt Lake City, made a late-race pass for the GTS win in the Cadillac Grand Prix of Sonoma. The 18-year-old Crosland passed Paul Brown on the outside in Turn 11 with two laps remaining to earn the Cadillac CTS-V Move of the Race, then held off the GTS point leader to the checkered flag for his second win of the season. Saturday’s GTS winner Peter Cunnigham (No. 1 Acura/RealTime Racing Acura TSX) finished fourth on Sunday.

(Mark Weber/SCCA)
Aaron Povoledo lead every lap in his No. 88 K-Pax Racing Volvo C30 to earn the victory in Touring Car at Sonoma. Povoledo led for 24 laps to the checkered flag for an 8.576-second victory over the No. 71 Compass360 Racing Honda Civic Si of Lawson Aschenbach, who won Saturday’s race.

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Editor-in-Chief's Note: If you really must keep up on all of the latest F1 developments and the potential U.S. GP in Austin, Texas, go here. - PMD

Editor-in-Chief's Note: Check out Michelin's racing website - "Michelin Alley" - and get in on all of the behind-the-scenes buzz. Go here. - PMD

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