MILWAUKEE —
Sebastien Bourdais pulled away following a late caution to win Sunday at the Milwaukee Mile, his second IndyCar victory of the season.
Bourdais was dominating before the caution flag came out on Lap 222 after Justin Wilson’s car stalled. He held on when racing resumed for an 18-lap sprint to the finish, turning aside a brief challenge from second-place Helio Castroneves to win by 2.2 seconds.
New Zealand's Scott Dixon came seventh in the race.
It was Bourdais’ 34th Indy victory, and first at an oval since winning at Milwaukee in 2006.Castroneves had a remarkable run after starting last in the 24-car field. Graham Rahal was third.
Sebastien Bourdais. of France, wears a cheese head after the IndyCar Series race at the Milwaukee Mile in Wisconsin. Picture/AP.
Bourdais won what overall was a relatively clean race — but far less stressful for drivers than the frantic, five-wide scrums two weeks ago at the super speedway in Fontana.
Points leader Juan Pablo Montoya was fourth. Penske teammate Will Power, who won at Milwaukee last year, got knocked out in lap 131 after appearing to get clipped around Turn 4 by Ryan Briscoe’s spinning car.
Briscoe, who started second, said traffic around the third turn took away his air.
Power was among the leaders after a restart two laps earlier off caution. Second in the driver standings coming into the race behind Montoya, Power will fall back on the leaderboard going into next week’s race at Iowa after finishing 22nd.
It’s going to be more difficult for the defending series champion to repeat with four races left in the season.
Chevys held the top two spots and six of the top seven, with Rahal’s Honda being the exception.
Series Points: Montoya 439, Dixon 385, Rahal 370, Castroneves 370, Power 369, Bourdais 343, Andretti 332, Kanaan 314, Newgarden 309, Pagenaud 278.
-AP