Honda Car Forum

Circuit: The Raceway at Belle Isle (2.07-mile temporary street circuit) Detroit,
MI

2007 Winner: Tony Kanaan (Andretti Green Racing Honda) 83.841 mph average

Weather: Sunny, warm, 87 degrees F

Race Results:

R - Series Rookie

Wilson Stands Tall in Detroit

At nearly 6'4", Justin Wilson towers
above most of the other drivers in the IndyCar Series, and at The Raceway at
Belle Isle on Sunday, the Newman
Haas Lanigan driver once again stood head and shoulders above the field, setting
the two fastest laps of the race in the closing minutes of the two-hour contest
to win the Detroit Indy Grand Prix.

Starting on the outside of the second row
in fourth, Wilson gained one position when pole qualifier and early race leader
Scott Dixon's Target Chip Ganassi
Racing team made the unusual call to pit the championship points leader during
an early, Lap 18, caution. That dropped Dixon deep in the field, and he did
well to recover to fifth by the finish. Wilson then moved up to second during
the first scheduled round of pit stops on Lap 32.

Helio Castroneves, who had
taken over the lead with Dixon's early stop,
dominated the middle stages of the race, pulling out a lead of up to 12 seconds
at one point. But after the final caution period of the race, from Laps 66-68,
it was clear Wilson had the fastest Honda Dallara on the circuit. On Lap 70,
Wilson made a move for the lead, which was firmly blocked by Castroneves.

Upon reviewing video of the incident, IndyCar Series officials
penalized Castroneves for blocking, and ordered him to surrender
the lead, which he did on Lap 73. Once in front, Wilson promptly extended his
advantage by setting the fastest two laps of the race, and a half-dozen more
that were nearly as quick, to take his career first IndyCar victory and the
second street-course win of the season for his Newman Haas Lanigan team. Teammate
Graham Rahal won the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in April.

On a hot day
on a tight and twisting city-park circuit, 26 drivers and teams completed 8,350
miles this weekend at the Detroit Indy Grand Prix without a
single failure for the Honda Indy V-8 engine used by all competitors in the
IndyCar Series. So far this season, the IndyCar field has completed 217,699
miles without a single race-day failure, extending a record-setting season
for Honda, dating to when the manufacturer started supplying the entire IndyCar
field in 2006.

Today's results sets up a championship-deciding finale
at Chicagoland Speedway on September 7 between Dixon and Castroneves, with
30 points separating
the pair and a race victory worth 50 points. Dixon can clinch his second IndyCar
Series title [his first was in 2003] with a finish of 8th or better, but problems
for the points leader combined with a strong finish by Castroneves could still
lead to an upset in the championship battle.

IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship Standings (after 17 of
18 races):

Justin Wilson (#02 Newman Haas Lanigan Racing Honda) (Started
4th, finished 1st, first career IndyCar win, also has four Champ Car victories;
closes to
within three points of Hideki Mutoh in battle for IndyCar Rookie of the Year
award: "This is the most important win of my career. A lot of things
have happened with the team this year [including the late change from Champ
Car to the IndyCar Series, and the death of long-time team member Davie Evans];
and a lot of things are still going on [the health issues of team co-owner
Paul Newman]. It's been a long, difficult year and it's just great
to repay the team with a win near the end of the season."

Helio Castroneves (#3 Team Penske Honda) Started
2nd, finished 2nd, led a race-high 53 laps, closed to 30 points behind championship
points leader Scott Dixon: "I
don't have anything smart to say right now [about the call from race
control to cede the lead to Justin Wilson]. I had a fantastic car. The good
news is we've made the championship [race] tighter. Let's go to
Chicago. For sure, we're going to push as hard as we can, just as we
do at every race."

Scott Dixon (#9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started
1st, finished 5th, led first 18 laps; can clinch his second IndyCar Series
championship with a
finish of 8th or better at Chicagoland Speedway next Sunday: "It was a
tough day. The car was fantastic. But once again we got out of sequence on
our pit stops and stuck in traffic. It's very hard to try and dive underneath
people here, while saving fuel and not getting caught up in a crash. We had
the quickest car all weekend, and should have won but didn't. That's
disappointing."

Erik Berkman (President, Honda Performance Development)
on today's race: "It's
exciting to see the season championship once again going down to the final
race in Chicago. Congratulations to Justin Wilson and the entire Newman Haas
Lanigan Racing team on their rise through adversity this season and a hard-fought
victory today. Congratulations as well to our friends at Firestone for their
150th IndyCar Series victory today. We're looking forward to an exciting
season-championship finish next week."