Castroneves wins Kentucky Indy 300

Second victory for Castroneves this season

Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves won the Kentucky Indy 300 on Saturday 4 September, ahead of Panther Racing’s Ed Carpenter and team mate Dan Wheldon, using every last drop of fuel in his fuel tank.

It was Castroneves second victory of the 2010 season, and careful fuel conservation played a large role. The Brazilian driver ran the last 53 laps of the race on one tank of fuel, taking advantage of the race leaders who were forced to make late pits stops to fill up. Castroneves passed the chequered flag 13.159 seconds ahead of pole sitter Ed Carpenter.

Series leader Will Power finished the race in eighth after dominating the majority of the event, but with 552 points to his name he is still ahead of Dario Franchitti (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) in second place with 535 points.

Firestone tires fantastic in Kentucky
"The Firestone tires were fantastic! The beginning part of the race was slippery, but the tires just kept getting better and better through the night. I felt like we could even leave the tires on and not change them, because the car was really, really good on the tires. So, Firestone tires - good job!"
Race winner Helio Castroneves, #3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/ Firestone

200th IndyCar Series event at Kentucky
"Congratulations to Helio and Team Penske for their off-sequence gamble that paid big dividends. Tonight's race marked the IZOD IndyCar Series' 200th event, and Firestone Racing is proud to have been there for each and every one of those 200 races. It's amazing to watch these drivers go wheel-to-wheel for 200 laps, and it's gratifying to know that they have the confidence in their tires to allow them to make moves all over the race track. We saw a few great "saves" out there tonight as well. The drivers have that confidence in their tires because we have been around since the very beginning, and they've witnessed our passion and dedication to the sport over the years."
Joe Barbieri, Manager, Firestone Racing