DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) — Helio Castroneves was forced to give up the lead for blocking Sunday, handing England's Justin Wilson a victory in the Detroit Indy-car Grand Prix and dimming his bid for a season championship.
Race officials penalized the Brazilian racer for blocking, ordering him to allow Wilson to move past into the lead on lap 73. Castroneves could not retake the lead and as a result lost the victory and 10 points in his title fight.
"Usually we get a warning. Race officials chose not to do that this time," Penske Racing team manager Tim Cindric said. "It's unfortunate the race had to end that way. It's difficult when you are in a championship fight."
New Zealand's Scott Dixon finished fifth to retain his season points lead entering the final race of the campaign next Sunday at Chicago, where he will take the crown by finishing eighth or better no matter how Castroneves fares.
"Thank God Wilson won the race. That definitely helped us," Dixon said.
Dixon has 606 points, 30 more than Castroneves entering the final race. Had Castroneves not lost 10 points for the triumph, Dixon would have faced much greater pressure on the Chicago oval in order to claim the crown.
"I do not have anything smart to say," a frustrated Castroneves said after the race. "Chicago to go. We're going to go for it."
Castroneves, who trailed by 43 points when the day began, was ordered to move aside after a blocking move on Wilson.
"He just kept coming over until I had to back out," Wilson said. "I thought that was pretty fair considering the circumstances. We would have been ahead anyway."
Wilson, an Indy-car rookie who moved over to the series in the merger with Champ-car six months ago, called the victory the most important of his career and dedicated it to ailing car co-owner and famed actor Paul Newman.
Race officials invoked a two-hour time limit that trimmed the event to 87 rather than 90 around the 2.906-mile street course at Belle Isle Park.
Wilson became the ninth different Indy-car race winner this season, matching a series record.
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