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Filed under: IRL

TORONTO (AP) -- Will Power knew when to be aggressive and when to play it safe Sunday in the wreck-filled Honda Indy Toronto.

After patiently avoiding early trouble, the IndyCar leader boldly passed Justin Wilson on the outside off a restart with 14 laps left, then held off Dario Franchitti for his second straight victory and fourth of the season,

"As I predicted, it was a very wild race," Power said. "It started on the first corner for me when I had Helio (Castroneves) and (Ryan) Hunter-Reay come cruising up the inside. I was like, `OK, I'll let those guys go.' And then I lost a couple of more positions. But I know how this race goes."The key for me when I came to this race was avoiding carnage and accidents, which I know happens every year, and like I said, in the first corner, that right there could have been the finish if I'd just turned in. But I backed off."

Power then gambled and won with the race on the line, moving past Wilson on the outside on the first turn after the fifth of sixth caution periods. Power pulled away, while Wilson spun out moments later and dropped from contention.

 

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Filed under: IRL

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Will Power held off Justin Wilson and his Team Penske teammate, Ryan Briscoe, to win Monday's Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and extend what's been a near perfect IZOD IndyCar Series season for the 29-year old Australian.

Power led every practice session during the weekend, won the pole position and then ran a steady and smart race in the No. 12 Verizon-sponsored Honda to answer his season-opening win in Brazil two weeks ago and become the series' first back-to-back winner since 2008.

He's the first driver since Sam Hornish (2001) to win the first two races of the season.

There were sunny skies and a respectable crowd considering the race was delayed a day because of severe thunderstorms and frequent lightning on Sunday. And the show didn't disappoint.

The race had a record number of leaders (10) and the closing laps featured a passing display rarely seen on tight street courses like this 1.8-mile circuit along the St. Petersburg waterfront.

Power nearly gave up the lead when he brushed the wall with 5 laps remaining, but Wilson still crossed the finish line .8 seconds behind.

Reigning series champion Dario Franchitti had a great drive. He spun on the opening lap and fought his way back to a fifth-place finish. Danica Patrick finished seventh after starting way back in the pack.

 

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