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Kanaan makes up for Indy disappointment with win at Milwaukee

Jun 3, 2007 - 11:55 PM WEST ALLIS, Wisconsin (Ticker) -- Tony Kanaan nearly captured the biggest victory of his career last week at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He would not let his latest opportunity slip away.

Kanaan capitalized on a late crash by Helio Castroneves to win Sunday's IndyCar ABC Supply Co./A.J. Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile.

It was the second victory this season and ninth career for Kanaan, who defended his title here at Milwaukee's one-mile banked oval.

"Sometimes it's not always the best car that wins the race," said Kanaan, who averaged 127.220 miles per hour and won $120,400. "We could say that many times. I just hung there all day."

A native of Brazil, Kanaan was primed for a career-defining victory last Sunday at the Indianapolis 500 after owning the lead on lap 157. But a flat tire off a restart essentially ended his day with just nine laps left in the rain-shortened race.

Kanaan's misfortune proved beneficial to Andretti Green Racing teammate Dario Franchitti, who won his first career Indy 500. However, it was Kanaan's turn this Sunday.

Castroneves, who started from the pole, still owned the lead with 25 laps left when his rear wing mount broke, sending him into the wall and ending his day.

That paved the way for Kanaan, who survived a late restart to win this 225-mile event for the second straight year. He averaged a track-record 133.513 miles per hour here last season en route to the checkered flag.

"It was a difficult race," Kanaan said. "I definitely had to race this race, apart from the last five laps. Before that, I had to be on the charge."

"I had the race won," said Castroneves, who led 169 of the first 200 laps. "It's a shame that something so odd happened there at the end. The car just started spinning when my rear wing broke."

Franchitti finished second, followed by Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon and Vitor Meira. Danica Patrick ran eighth while Castroneves stumbled to 16th.

"We expected a slower pace for the race with more stop and start," said Franchitti, who claimed the lead in the overall series points standings. "It was hard to get positions on the restart with the heavy traffic, but when we got caught back up my car was very good.

"To finish second to Tony is great. He drove a fantastic race to come back from where he did, and I am really proud of the team to get a 1-2 today."

The race featured eight lead changes among four drivers and included six cautions which stalled the event for a total of 51 laps.

Franchitti has placed inside the top five in five consecutive races after finishing seventh in the season opener at Homestead-Miami. The Scot currently has 221 points, three ahead of Wheldon and five in front of Dixon. Kanaan is fourth in the standings with 201 points.