Narrowest of wins in Texas for Rahal
Graham Rahal made a last-lap pass and just held on to beat James Hinchcliffe in the closest finish ever for an IndyCar race at Texas.
The only time Rahal led the race — competed over 2½ months — was when he sliced to the bottom of the track coming off the backstretch on the final lap Saturday night. He won by 0.008 of a second, crossing the line side by side with Hinchcliffe, with Tony Kanaan right behind them.
Rahal almost celebrated a bit too early, pumping a fist over his head just before getting the checkered flag with Hinchcliffe still making a final push.
“When I got to the stripe, I started to raise my arm and then I was like, make sure,” said Rahal. “I thought I was clear. I knew it was going to be very close.”
Hinchcliffe had led the Firestone 600 for 76 days. He was leading when the race was initially red-flagged June 12 because of rain after 71 of 248 laps, and dominated after it resumed until three late restarts.
Hinchcliffe led 188 laps overall in the race, including 157 of the 177 laps run Saturday night.
Series points leader Simon Pagenaud was fourth, and extended his lead from 20 to 28 points over Team Penske teammate Will Power with two races left. Power, who won
four of the previous six races with runner-up finishes in the other two, was eighth at Texas.
It was the fifth-closest finish in IndyCar Series history and the closest of any race at the Fort Worth track, which has hosted NASCAR and IndyCar races since 1997. At one point, the top four finishers were running side by side on the backstretch. NASCAR XFinity Series: Michael McDowell edged Richard Childress Racing teammate Brendan Gaughan by 0.534 of a second in overtime on an overcast, sometimes misty Saturday afternoon at the sprawling
Road America road course in Elkhart Lake, Wis., for his first career Xfinity Series victory. NASCAR Trucks: Brett Moffitt passed Red Horse Racing teammate Timothy Peters and William Byron on the final lap to win the NASCAR Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway. Formula One: Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg clinched the pole position for Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix ahead of 18-year-old Dutchman Max Verstappen, while championship leader Lewis Hamilton will start from the back of the grid after being assessed penalties Friday.