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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