Tony Kanaan kept his outside shot at an IndyCar Series title alive Saturday night, blistering the field to win the Meijer Indy 300 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.
Kanaan roared by A.J. Foyt IV with less than 10 laps to go for his second straight victory, his fourth win of the year and first by an Andretti Green Racing driver at the 1.5-mile tri-oval.
Kanaan overpowered the weekend, taking the pole on Friday and leaving little doubt about his car’s dominance in the twilight. He beat Scott Dixon by 1.745 seconds to become the second polesitter to win in the race’s eight-year history.
“We definitely don’t need him winning anymore,” Dixon said. “We’ll stay aggressive. We’ve just got to stay on top of our game and keep the pressure on those boys.”
Series leader Dario Franchitti ran with his Andretti teammate for much of the race before a couple of bizarre incidents dropped him to eighth. He was battling for second with Dixon when he swung out too high and fell to sixth, then lost a couple more spots when he clipped a flag entering pit road, damaging the nose of his car.
Things only got worse after the race, as Franchitti once again went airborne a week after a harrowing crash in Michigan.
Moments after the checkered flag, Franchitti rode up the back of Kosuke Matsuura’s car and flipped. The car pirouetted on its nose and landed against the outside wall in the first turn.
Franchitti appeared to be accelerating as he ran into Matsuura, perhaps thinking the race wasn’t over.
Danica Patrick, seeking her first career victory, was struck by tire problems for the second straight week. She had rallied from 11th and was running near the front when she spun out trying to leave the pits with 20 laps to go. After regaining control of her car, she blew her right rear tire and nearly collided with a safety vehicle, finishing 16th.
Foyt finished third, the first top-five finish of his career. Marco Andretti started 15th but worked his way up to fourth. Tomas Scheckter was fifth, followed by Scott Sharp, Ed Carpenter and Franchitti.
Busch Series: Kevin Harvick had Victory Lane to himself, using perfect pit strategy to win the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.
Harvick, the defending series champion, led 37 laps and beat Jeff Burton by 3.5 seconds for his second consecutive win, fifth this season and 31st of his career. That ties him with Jack Ingram for second all-time behind Mark Martin’s 47.
Champ Car: Chasing three-time series champion Sebastien Bourdais may prove to be futile, but Robert Doornbos is giving it his best shot.
The Dutch rookie, coming off a victory two weeks ago in San Jose, Calif., trails Bourdais by just 12 points heading into today’s Generac Grand Prix at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.
But Bourdais has dominated this week, leading both qualification rounds on the way to his 29th career pole. After struggling Friday, Doornbos made an improvement Saturday, jumping from seventh to third.
NASCAR Trucks: Travis Kvapil led 47 of the final 48 laps to win the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway in Gladeville, Tenn.
Kvapil beat Ron Hornaday, Jr. by 2.403 seconds for his third win in six races and enabled the 2003 series champion to preserve his chances for a second title.
Series leader Mike Skinner was third with David Starr and Todd Bodine rounding out the top five.
Kvapil advanced from fourth to third in the standings.
