Sam Hornish Jr. reclaimed the Indy Racing League points lead Sunday, passing Scott Dixon with four laps to go to win the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.
The win was Hornish’s fourth of the year and the eighth by Team Penske this season. His second career victory at Kentucky helped him get back the points lead from teammate Helio Castroneves, who finished third behind Hornish and Scott Dixon.
Hornish leads Castroneves by seven points heading into the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma in two weeks. He gave up the lead to Castroneves at Michigan on July 30, when a broken water pump sent him to a season-worst 19th-place finish.
The potential duel between Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher never developed, despite the two becoming the first women drivers to start alongside each other in an IRL race.
Though they began the day side-by-side on row six, Patrick – who collided with Vitor Meira during practice before the race – ran in the top half of the field most of the day before finishing eighth.
Fisher, making her first IRL start since the 2004 Indy 500, needed a late surge to finish 12th, a lap behind the leaders.
“We finished where we started,” said Fisher, who will run in the season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sept. 10. “I wanted to do more. We had some trouble with straight-line speed. I’m not sure what it was.”
NHRA: Brandon Bernstein upset three-time series champion Tony Schumacher in the top fuel final at the Lucas Oil Nationals in Brainerd, Minn., for his third victory of the year.
Funny car driver Tommy Johnson Jr. defeated reigning series champion Gary Scelzi, while Dave Connolly defeated current points leader Jason Line in pro stock.
Antron Brown took the points lead in pro stock motorcycle by winning his 16th career final, this one over Steve Johnson.
