Castroneves wears the tall hat at Texas IndyCar race

Team Penske's Helio Castroneves raced to a fourth career victory at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night in taking the win at the Firestone 550 IndyCar Series event ahead of Andretti Autosport's Ryan Hunter-Reay and KV Racing Technology's Tony Kanaan.

Castroneves roared to a 4.7 second margin of victory ahead of Hunter-Reay on this 1.3 mile oval that has traditionally provided some of the closest races in IndyCar history. Castroneves was so dominating--he led a total of 132 laps--that Helio's trademark climbing of the fence at the conclusion of the competition seemed a mere afterthought.

"I'm excited because our team deserved this win," said Castroneves. "We battled and held onto our lead for the championship and I feel great!"

Castroneves victory preserved his lead in the series yearly championship race over Hunter-Reay by 27 points.

"Great job to Helio," said Hunter-Reay. "It was wild out there. The tires would go away and it was like treading water in a hurricane. I'm pretty jacked up from the excitement right now."

Tony Kanaan, KV Racing Technology Chevrolet

Photo by: Michael C. Johnson

"It was a good race," added Kanaan, who is only one race removed from his first Indianapolis 500 victory. "I think the race was positive for us, but I believe we could have a closer race next year with more downforce."

Ed Carpenter raced his own car to fourth place, followed by Marco Andretti in fifth place in the race. Pole-sitter Will Power finished seventh, behind Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti. Sarah Fishing Racing's Josef Newgarden was eighth, just ahead of James Hinchcliffe (also of Andretti Autosports) and teammate EJ Viso.

Ganassi's Scott Dixon was plagued by mechanical gremlins, finishing a disappointing 23rd. Pippa Mann also suffered an equipment setback to trail the field home in last place.

IndyCar returns to the track in a short six days at the historic Milwaukee Mile in Allis, Wisconsin.