Helio Castroneves, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda, won Sunday’s PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway in a thrilling fashion, not only did he fight back from a last-place starting position, but, pushed by teammate Ryan Briscoe, he took the checkered flag a mere 0.0033 seconds, or 12 1/8 inches, ahead of second-place finisher Scott Dixon. 

The finish; second-closest in IndyCar Series history – was not without controversy. Scoring monitors initially showed Dixon as the winner, but video replays showed Castroneves hitting the finish line first. Whenever scoring monitors show a margin of victory of 0.006 or less, IndyCar Series officials revert to photo evidence to determine or clarify the winner and the precise margin of victory. Within minutes of the cars reaching the finish line and Dixon being declared the unofficial winner, Castroneves was declared the official winner. He received the news from a reporter and immediately began jumping with joy on live television.

“I won!” Castroneves screamed. “I knew I’d won!”

Sunday marked Castroneves’ first win at the 1.5-mile oval track and his second win of the 2008 IndyCar Series season. Castroneves closes out the 2008 IndyCar Series championship second in the standings, 17 points behind champion Dixon. 

“What a wild race,” said Castroneves about the 200-lap event, which included multiple laps of three-wide racing and the photo finish. “What a great effort by Team Penske, we did everything we could to win the championship and executed our plan to win and take the extra points (three) for the most laps led (80). We couldn’t catch up to Dixon in points, but we definitely tried!”

For Castroneves, however, the race win and runner-up finish in the championship were the testament to teamwork and dedication. “I want to thank the entire team – they did a hell of a job,” said Castroneves, who recorded 15 top-five finishes in 2008. “Ryan (Briscoe) was a great help today. Without him, there was no question that I would not have won this race. I did what I could. He really helped me out.”

While the championship has been decided for 2008, one race remains for Helio this year. On October 26, the team will compete in Surfers Paradise, Australia in the Nikon Indy 300. The non-points event will be telecast live at 10:30 p.m. EDT Oct. 25 by ESPN Classic and will re-air at 11 p.m. Oct. 26 on ESPN2. The race will also be broadcast on the IMS Radio Network. 

The 2009 IndyCar Series season will begin next March in St. Petersburg, Fla. 

Results Sunday of the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 IndyCar Series event Sept. 7 at the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (28) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
2. (2) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
3. (1) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
4. (4) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
5. (10) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
6. (6) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
7. (23) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
8. (5) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
9. (16) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
10. (3) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
11. (21) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
12. (19) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
13. (15) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
14. (20) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
15. (24) Franck Perera, Dallara-Honda, 198, Pits
16. (9) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
17. (12) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 196, Running
18. (17) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 187, Running
19. (14) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 186, Contact
20. (25) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 184, Running
21. (27) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 181, Contact
22. (11) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 177, Pits
23. (26) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 136, Running
24. (18) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 116, Contact
25. (22) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 110, Contact
26. (7) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 87, Mechanical
27. (8) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 74, Contact
28. (13) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 36, Contact

In Sunday’s Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone IndyCar Series event, Helio Castroneves, driver of the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda, finished in second place for the record eighth time this season, further closing the gap between himself and his first 2008 IndyCar Series driver championship.

A controversial call by IndyCar Series officials might have cost Helio Castroneves a win on Sunday afternoon in Detroit, but the Team Penske driver still managed to move closer to the series championship. Castroneves was leading the race when, on lap 72, he was ordered to surrender the position to Justin Wilson as penalty for impeding. Wilson went on to win, while Castroneves came home solidly in second. The finish, coupled with current points leader Scott Dixon’s fifth-place finish, brought Castroneves within 30 points of the lead for the championship with just one race remaining in the 2008 IndyCar Series season. 

“We finished second for the eighth time, but the point is we’re still in the hunt for the championship, and Team Penske is going to try everything we can to win it,” said Castroneves, who made his 111th consecutive start on Sunday, passing former teammate Sam Hornish Jr. for the second-longest streak all time. 

While Castroneves was visibly upset after Sunday’s race, he congratulated his crew on its effort. “Our Team Penske guys did a great job in the pits, and it’s too bad we couldn’t win for them,” he said.

The 2008 IndyCar Series season finale, the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300, will take place on Sunday, Sept. 7 at Chicagoland Speedway. The race will be telecast live at 3:30 p.m. EDT by ABC and be broadcast live on the IMS Radio Network.

Results Sunday of the Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone IndyCar Series event, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (4) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
2. (2) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
3. (8) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
4. (3) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
5. (1) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
6. (7) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
7. (24) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
8. (12) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
9. (5) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
10. (17) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
11. (16) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
12. (15) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
13. (6) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
14. (20) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 87, Running
15. (19) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 86, Running
16. (10) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 86, Running
17. (14) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 83, Running
18. (13) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 81, Mechanical
19. (18) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 76, Mechanical
20. (11) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 64, Contact
21. (25) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 56, Running
22. (21) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 54, Mechanical
23. (23) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 46, Handling
24. (9) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 32, Contact
25. (22) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 16, Contact
26. (DNS) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 0, Did not start