Motor Sports
Roundup: Honda gets Indy-car triumph in Japan

By Seattle Times news services

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MOTEGI, Japan — Dan Wheldon won the Indy Japan 300 for his first Indy Racing League victory and Honda's first Indy-car win on its home track.

Wheldon, the 2003 Indy Racing League rookie of year, started from the pole and led 192 of 200 laps on the 1-1/2-mile Twin Ring Motegi circuit.

"It was an awesome day," he said yesterday. "To get my first win is great, and it's a great day for Honda, too."

The Japanese manufacturer was winless in six previous Indy-car races on the track, going 0 for 5 in CART events and also losing an IRL race.

Wheldon averaged 166.114 mph in a race slowed by three cautions. His Andretti Green Racing teammate, Tony Kanaan of Brazil, finished second, 1.4454 seconds back.

"Dan drove a perfect race," Kanaan said. "He's a championship contender. He was a rookie last year but isn't anymore, and we'll treat him as a real driver."

Wheldon is the first driver from England to win an Indy-style event since Mark Blundell in 1997 at California Speedway.

"Having the experience of the first year and being able to work with my engineer was the biggest difference," Wheldon said. "I was 16th fastest on Thursday and talked to Eddie Jones about what we needed to do to make the car faster and everything came together."

Wheldon finished third March 21 in the Copper World Indy 200 in Arizona, also starting from the pole.
 
"I didn't win at Phoenix because I wanted to save it for Motegi," said Wheldon, joking. "I thought the Honda people would appreciate it more."

Wheldon leads the standings with 123 points, six more than Kanaan.

"It's huge for the team and for Honda," said Michael Andretti, co-owner of Andretti Green Racing. "They've been trying so hard and I'm so happy we were able to do it. The way we did it by dominating with Dan and Tony was just a perfect weekend."

Helio Castroneves finished third after starting 15th.

"It was tough out there," Castroneves said. "The car was difficult to handle. There was a lot of downforce and I just had to pace myself. ... I made so many revs today I thought the engine was going to blow."

Scott Dixon, the 2003 IRL champion, finished fifth, and defending champion Scott Sharp was ninth. Sam Hornish Jr., who won the season-opening race in Homestead, Fla., crashed on the 87th lap and didn't finish.

Crawford wins truck event

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Rick Crawford held off Dennis Setzer during a two-lap sprint to the finish at Martinsville Speedway, making a midrace gamble with his tires pay off for his third career victory.

Crawford pulled away on two restarts in the final 34 laps, then had to do it again after Steve Park hit the wall with about three laps to go in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

Because series rules provide for a two-lap, green-flag finish, Crawford had to wait until the 253rd lap to do it again.

"I didn't need that last one because I had six or seven car-lengths on Dennis and I know how good he is here," Crawford said of Setzer, the defending Kroger 250 champion.

Crawford broke his left foot in a crash in Hampton, Ga., on March 13, the previous race in the series. Crawford drove with a plastic brace on his foot that allowed him to brake better.

"There was a little pain there, but having a truck like (crew chief Gene Nead) and the team prepared, that was the best medicine," he said.

Notes

• Jeff Gordon has the pole for today's Advance Auto Parts 500, a Nextel Cup race at Martinsville.

• Bruno Junqueira has the pole for today's Champ Car World Series season opener, the Long Beach Grand Prix in California. Sebastien Bourdais also has a front-row spot.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company