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[LenAshburn]

DIXON WINS WILD EDMONTON RACE; HINCHCLIFFE WINS ON HOME SOIL

EDMONTON, Alberta (Sunday, July 25, 2010) - Scott Dixon was surprised, Helio Castroneves was steaming and Will Power continues to lead the IZOD IndyCar Series championship standings though he was thwarted again in seeking his third consecutive victory.

Dixon prevailed in the 95-lap race on the 1.973-mile, 14-turn City Centre Airport circuit courtesy of a black flag issued to race leader Castroneves for blocking on a Lap 92 restart.

Castroneves and Power entered Turn 1 side by side, with Castroneves hitting the apex a car length ahead. As Dixon slipped past Power into second place, race chief steward Brian Barnhart immediately called Castroneves for blocking his Team Penske teammate.

The black flag call was radioed to the No. 3 car, but Castroneves failed to take the drive-thru pit lane penalty. Following the race, he was penalized 20 seconds and placed at the end of the lead lap (10th). A black flag cannot be appealed, according to Indy Racing League rules.

Castroneves overtook Power, the pole sitter, in Turns 1-2 of Lap 78 and recorded his fastest race lap on 79 (1 minute, 2.3139 seconds) to put a 1.5-second gap between him and Power. It appeared that Castroneves would go on to his second victory. His first of the season - at Barber Motorsports Park in mid-April -- derailed Power's bid for a series record-tying third consecutive victory.

But a full-course caution was called on Lap 89 after the No. 78 car driven by Simona de Silvestro ran out of fuel and pulled off course in Turn 7. Castroneves led the field into Turn 1 of the restart, with Power making a bid to regain the lead he had for 76 laps.

Power recovered to finish second, while Dario Franchitti finished third and Ryan Briscoe was fourth. Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay finished fifth.

Also on July 25, James Hinchcliffe outdueled J.K. Vernay to claim his second Firestone Indy Lights win in the Edmonton 100.

Hinchcliffe, who won his first race on home soil, closed to 55 points of the championship leader Vernay heading to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 8.

Martin Plowman finished third in the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers/KEP Printing car for AFS Racing Andretti Autosport - his season high on a street/road circuit. He's the only driver in the series to finish in the top 10 in all races and the only one to complete every lap.

DAY 3 NOTEBOOK:

The following rules in the IZOD IndyCar Series rule book were applied concerning Helio Castroneves' penalty:

Drivers were warned by Brian Barnhart during the pre-race drivers meeting on blocking: "You have plenty of options on where to put your car and we should not have any defending or blocking. Again we will be visually dividing the braking point through the entry into the corner in half. You can only be on the inside half if you are attempting to pass someone. If you are on the inside half because you are under attack from someone else, it is blocking. Don't move your car in reaction to a following car and don't impede the progress of a car with a run on you."

Rule 9.3 (B) A driver must not alter his/her racing line based on the actions of pursuing Drivers or use an abnormal racing line to inhibit or prevent passing. Blocking will result in a minimum of a black flag "drive through" penalty.

Rule 7.1 (B) (4) (C) (4) The senior official shall determine the type and length of any black flag. The penalized car shall proceed to pit lane as directed by Officials and may return to the Race only upon the declaration of Officials. In the case of the Driver Violating the Rules, no work may be performed on a Car during the execution of a black flag penalty. Should any such work occur, the conditions of the penalty are unfilled and the penalty procedure must be executed again in its entirety on a subsequent lap. The penalty may not be protested and/or appealed.

Rule 9.2 (A) Race Procedure Penalties are a result of on track conduct and are generally imposed during on Track activity. If the imposition of a penalty is near or at the end of on Track activity and Driver/Car does not fulfill it, the Senior Official may reposition the Driver/Car in the posting of results or apply the penalty to subsequent on Track activity to reflect the fulfillment of the penalty. The penalty including without limitation any repositioning in a posting is non-protestable and/or appealable.

Results Sunday of the Honda Indy Edmonton IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 1.973 mile Edmonton Airport Circuit, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (3) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

2. (1) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

3. (4) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

4. (5) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

5. (8) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

6. (15) Paul Tracy, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

7. (14) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

8. (6) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

9. (13) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

10. (2) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 95, Running

11. (16) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 94, Running

12. (24) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 94, Running

13. (10) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 94, Running

14. (20) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 94, Running

15. (21) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 94, Running

16. (23) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 93, Running

17. (11) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 93, Running

18. (18) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 92, Running

19. (12) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running

20. (22) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 90, Running

21. (9) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 88, Running

22. (7) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 87, Out of Fuel

23. (19) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 52, Contact

24. (17) Mario Romancini, Dallara-Honda, 52, Contact

25. (25) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 4, Handling

Race Statistics

Time of Race: 01:50:37.0551

Winners average speed: 101.666

Margin of Victory: 2.6688 seconds

Cautions: 4 for 10 laps

Lead changes: 4 among 3 drivers

Lap Leaders: Power 1 - 34, Dixon 35, Power 36-77. Castroneves 78-94, Dixon 95.

Point Standings: Power 420, Franchitti 370, Dixon 349, Briscoe 324, Hunter-Reay 316, Castroneves 305, Kanaan 291, Wilson 252, Andretti 244, Wheldon 243.
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Len in Indy