EmailEmail
PrintPrint
Auto Racing Roundup: Power wins; Kanaan hurt
Monday, July 27, 2009

Will Power led from the pole and won under a caution flag at the Rexall Edmonton Indy yesterday in a race marred by a pit fire that burned driver Tony Kanaan's hands and face.

It was the first IndyCar series win for the 28-year-old from Australia, in his first season with Penske Racing.

"That's close to a perfect weekend -- a pole position and a win. I'm just really happy for the guys," said Power as he climbed out of his No. 12 yellow Dallara Honda. "When you are knocking on the door every week, eventually you are going to have a win."

Power finished 1.094 seconds ahead of teammate Helio Castroneves in Edmonton, Alberta. Target Chip Ganassi driver Scott Dixon was third, 1.321 seconds off the pace, but reclaimed first place in the overall IndyCar driver points race.

The race featured few lead changes and battles for position. Dixon, Castroneves and Penske's Ryan Briscoe, who finished fourth, spent the afternoon trading spots behind Power for 95 laps on the 1.96-mile airport/road course.

Kanaan, the Brazilian driver for Andretti Green, was injured on his first pit stop on the 34th lap when the ethanol fuel hose failed to shut off properly, showering him and his car in fuel.

Kanaan said he pulled out to protect his crew members from a fire, but seconds later his cockpit was in flames. Nearby Penske crew members hopped the wall to spray the car with fire extinguishers and dump a bucket of water on Kanaan.

"I do have second-degree burns on both of my thumbs and a little bit on my face," said Kanaan, who waved as he was driven off for medical tests.

He said more tests have to be done and wouldn't say if the injury will cause him to miss time in the car.

Target Chip driver Dario Franchitti, who was new to the Edmonton track and began the weekend in first place in the driver standings, started and finished fifth.

Other races

• Hungarian Grand Prix: McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won the Formula One race in Budapest, Hungary, that was overshadowed by the absence of Felipe Massa. The Ferrari driver remained sedated in a hospital with multiple skull fractures after a crash in his Ferrari in qualifying Saturday. Hamilton, Formula One's defending champion, picked up his first victory of the season to snap a streak of 11 races without a top-three finish, dating to his win at China last year. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was second and Red Bull's Mark Webber finished third to move into second in the overall title race, after teammate Sebastian Vettel retired with an engine problem. Massa, whose place on the grid was left vacant, was listed in life-threatening but stable condition yesterday.

• NHRA Nationals at Infineon Raceway: Antron Brown complete a sweep of the NHRA's Western swing, racing to a victory in Top Fuel in Sonoma, Calif. Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car), Jason Line (Pro Stock) and Andrew Hines (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won their categories. Brown, who won at Denver and Seattle the last two weeks, drove his dragster to the win against Cory McClenathan in the final round. Brown posted a 3.990 second run at a top speed of 299.06 mph to finish in front of McClenathan.

First published on July 27, 2009 at 12:00 am