LEXINGTON, Ohio (AP) — Graham Rahal won the IndyCar race today in his home state of Ohio, and in the process made up considerable ground on series leader Juan Pablo Montoya with two events remaining in the season.
Graham Rahal, winner of the IndyCar race at his home track in Mid-Ohio. Picture/AP.
Rahal held off Justin Wilson on the final restart, on the 84th of 90 laps in the 203-mile race at Mid-Ohio.
Wilson ended up finishing second, 3.4 seconds behind. Simon Pagenaud was third, followed by pole winner Scott Dixon. Montoya, who came into the race with a 42-point lead over Rahal, finished 11th.
Rahal now trails by only nine points.Rahal is a native of New Albany, which is about 45 miles south of the Mid-Ohio course.
This was the third IndyCar win of his career and second of the season.
Race Results:
1. (13) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
2. (14) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
3. (15) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Chevrolet, 90, Running.
4. (1) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Chevrolet, 90, Running.
5. (8) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevrolet, 90, Running.
6. (24) Tristan Vautier, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
7. (7) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
8. (11) Jack Hawksworth, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
9. (23) Carlos Munoz, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
10. (12) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
11. (10) Juan Pablo Montoya, Dallara-Chevrolet, 90, Running.
12. (21) Gabby Chaves, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
13. (5) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Chevrolet, 90, Running.
14. (2) Will Power, Dallara-Chevrolet, 90, Running.
15. (4) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevrolet, 90, Running.
16. (17) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
17. (3) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevrolet, 90, Running.
18. (20) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
19. (18) Stefano Coletti, Dallara-Chevrolet, 90, Running.
20. (22) Rodolfo Gonzalez, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running.
21. (9) Luca Filippi, Dallara-Chevrolet, 89, Off Course.
22. (19) Sage Karam, Dallara-Chevrolet, 89, Running.
23. (6) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevrolet, 87, Running.
24. (16) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 60, Contact.
Race Statistics:
Time of Race: 1:55:20.0864.Winners average speed: 105.720.
Margin of Victory: 3.4049 seconds.
Cautions: 4 for 16 laps.
Lead Changes: 7 among 7 drivers.
Lap Leaders: Dixon 1-22, Vautier 23-32, Wilson 33-38, Montoya 39-40, Newgarden 41-42, Castroneves 43-48, Montoya 49-67, Rahal 68-90.
Series Points: Montoya 465, Rahal 456, Dixon 431, Castroneves 407, Power 406, Bourdais 379, Andretti 378, Newgarden 370, Kanaan 354, Pagenaud 329.
-AP