SPARTA, Ky. — 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.
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-ever 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.
The victory pulled Kanaan within 52 points of series leader Dario Franchitti.
"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."
People are also reading…
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 few 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 waved, 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 led briefly following the caution after Patrick's crash, but Kanaan had little problem passing him soon after the restart. Foyt finished third, the first top-five finish of his career.
NASCAR Busch
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Kevin Harvick used perfect pit strategy Saturday to win the Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International.
Harvick, the defending Busch 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.
"We've won 31 of these races," Harvick said. "But you don't get to race against those guys. All you have is the history."
Polesitter Kurt Busch was third, followed by Paul Menard and rookie Brad Coleman. Juan Pablo Montoya, who started on the front row and was seeking a record third NASCAR road course win of the season, ran up front much of the day but finished 33rd after being caught up in a crash with Jason Leffler on a restart with 14 laps remaining in the 82-lap race.
NASCAR Trucks
GLADEVILLE, Tenn. — Travis Kvapil led 47 of the final 48 laps to win the Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway on Saturday night.
Ron Hornaday Jr. was second, and series leader Mike Skinner, who led the first 102 laps, was third. David Starr and Todd Bodine rounded out the top five.
Champ Car
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. — Sabastien Bourdais will start from the pole in today's Generac Grand Prix after winning the provisional pole Friday by nearly a full second over runner-up Will Power and then stretching the margin to more than two seconds in the final round of time trials Saturday.
Bourdais was clocked at 1 minute 41.535 seconds (145.525 mph) Saturday, while Power remained second despite failing to improve his first-day time of 1:43.116 (141.324).
