Helio Castroneves ended a 30 race winless streak after winning the latest round of the Indy Racing League at Infineon Raceway. The win closed the gap at the top of the series championship table to only 43 points. Kiwi driver Scott Dixon, finished back in 12th place as Castroneves beat his Penske teammate, Australia’s Ryan Briscoe, to the finish line by 5.2926 seconds.

The 1-2 finish by Team Penske was a great comeback for the team after its two primary cars & millions of dollars of equipment were damaged by fire earlier in the week.

Andretti Green Racing’s Tony Kanaan, who recently re-signed with the team for 2009 finished third, Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dan Wheldon was fourth as he tries to hang on to a drive for ‘09 and AGR’s Danica Patrick was fifth.

It was a tough weekend for Team Australia’s Will Power. The Queensland driver’s race ended after brake failure when the rear master cylinder failed early in the race while Power was running third.
Power was trying to nurse his car home to the finish, but with three laps remaining he hit the tyre wall at the chicane with his brakes all but gone.

“My rear master cylinder failed early in the race and that pretty much ended any chance we had of competing for a podium finish,” said Power. “It’s a real shame, the Aussie Vineyards crew worked so hard and we had a really good car in qualifying and early in the race.”

Pablo Donoso becomes the 9th different winner in Indy Lights

In the Indy Lights race, Pablo Donoso earned his first Indy Lights victory, winning the Valley of the Moon 100 by 2.0601 seconds over Logan Gomez. Ana Beatriz, was third. Australia’s James Davison finished down the field in 13th spot. Raphael Matos finished sixth, extending his points lead to three over Richard Antinucci, who finished seventh. Donoso becomes the record-setting ninth driver to win a race this season. Other one off winners include Dillon Battistini, Raphael Matos, Richard Antinucci, J.R. Hildebrand, Bobby Wilson, Ana Beatriz, James Davison and Franck Perera.

The 2008 IndyCar Series season continues with the Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone Aug. 31 at The Raceway at Belle Isle Park. The race will be telecast live in the USA in High Definition at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) by ABC. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio and www.indycar.com. The 2008 Firestone Indy Lights season concludes Sept. 7 with the SunRichGourmet.com 100 at Chicagoland Speedway. The race will air live at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 7 on ESPN2. The Carneros 100 and Valley of the Moon 100 at 5 p.m. Aug. 28 on ESPN2. No telecast details are available for Australia but all the latest news will be here on the In Pit Lane website and for Melbourne viewers on the new seasons premiere of In Pit Lane LIVE on C31, 9.30 pm Tuesday September 9th. 

:with Indycar Media