[h=2]INDYCAR: Rahal pulls out last-lap win at Texas[/h] Marshall Pruett / Images by IMS Photo, LAT
Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' James Hinchcliffe may have held the lead at Texas for 76 long days after the rain pushed the conclusion of the Firestone 600 from June to August, but the Canadian came up 0.0080 seconds short from sealing the victory as Graham Rahal won by a nose to capture the most thrilling IndyCar race of the year.
Rahal led only the final portion of the final lap as he knocked off Hinchcliffe, who took complete command of the race for all but a matter of inches when a restart with eight laps remaining turned the event into an old-school IRL pack race. Swinging high to fake Hinchcliffe before diving low on the run to the checkered flag made all the difference as Hinchcliffe – who led 188 laps – took a few moments to compose himself after Rahal's shocking move in the No. 15 RLL entry.

Rahal and Hinchcliffe finished 1-2, earned Honda's second win of the season, and recorded the fifth-closest finish in series history as Tony Kanaan (-0.093) took third and championship leader Simon Pagenaud (-0.4773) took a step back from the insanity to capture fourth and extend his points lead to 28 over Will Power.
"James did a great job tonight; he deserved to win it, honestly," said Rahal, who dedicated the win to the late Bryan Clauson and Justin Wilson. "It was pretty intense. If Texas Motor Speedway didn't love that, they don't love racing. I'm so proud of this team."
"We started to lose [the tires] maybe with five or 10 [laps] to go but I knew I was going to be better than everybody else. I was just only concerned about TK on the fresh rubber. I didn't realize after he had pitted he'd be allowed to get all the way back up to us. I thought he'd be stuck behind the lapped cars and I thought it would come down to a duel between Hinch and I, but we fended him off. My car, my god, what a machine tonight."
The victory marks Honda's first win since the Indianapolis 500.
Rahal's win was his first sine Mid-Ohio in 2015, and prior to the wild finish, Hinchcliffe appeared set to get his first since New Orleans 2015.


"To lead all day ...," he said as his voice trailed off. "The car was just a rocket ship but those yellows at the end just killed us. Congtrats to Graham; that was a great race. We led 'em all but the one that mattered. Just gutted for everyone."
A decent crowd returned for the conclusion of the Firestone 600, but Kanaan felt bad for all those who skipped the show.
"It was so much fun," he said. "I gotta thank the fans that came back. Whoever didn't come, you missed a hell of a race."


The race was close to being completed caution-free, but all that changed on Lap 213 as second-place Ed Carpenter and Scott Dixon – who was attempting to unlap himself – tangled entering Turn 1. The defending series champion, who held fourth in the championship coming into Texas, was unhurt, but his No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevy was finished after the right side of the car clouted the SAFER barrier.
When the race resumed on Lap 220, the pack racing insanity was back until Carpenter crashed on Lap 224 when the back of his No. 20 ECR Chevy wiggled and rotated. Championship contender Helio Castroneves was following behind Carpenter and incurred damage to his front wing and right-rear wheel pod when he hit the back of the No. 20 and lightly contacted the wall with the back of his car. Stops for repairs under yellow kept the Brazilian in the hunt, but he didn't have the speed to chase and pass down the leaders and settled for fifth.
The restart on Lap 231 saw Hinchcliffe enveloped by the field until teammate Mikhail Aleshin and AJ Foyt Racing's Jack Hawksworth crashed on Lap 232. Aleshin's solo spin took place in front of Hawksworth, who went hard into the wall in avoidance. The Briton received assistance from the Holmatro Safety Team to walk from the car to the ambulance.


Primed for a sprint to the finish line, the choice by Tony Kanaan and all those behind the top three to pit for new tires under yellow and forfeit track position was the big gamble of the race as Hinchcliffe, Rahal and Castroneves stayed out on their used Firestones. The restart with eight laps to go saw Pagenaud and Kanaan motor past Rahal and Castroneves and chase down Hinchcliffe.
The group soon went four-wide down the back straight, Pagenaud wisely backed out and let Rahal, Kanaan and Hinchcliffe take all the risks, and despite the fresh rubber, Kanaan was unable to use the advantage to get by the Honda duo.


Left to chase Hinchcliffe on his own, Rahal had the advantage of using a variety of lines and lanes to search for a way past the SPM driver, and after coming so close to winning in 2012 with Chip Ganassi Racing, redemption was in the air in Victory Lane.
While nine drivers are still mathematically eligible for championship with two races to go, it's most likely a two-horse race between Pagenaud (529) and Power (501). Kanaan now sits third (416) at 113 points back, and Castroneves is one point behind in fourth. Josef Newgarden, who entered the race third in points, slipped to fifth (406 points).