That is going to be all for today. It was a pleasure sticking around for this outstanding race. Stay tuned to VAVEL USA for race recaps and in depth analysis of today's MAVTV 500 in Fontana, California. See you in two weeks time for the ABC Supply Wisconsin 250 at the Milwaukee Mile!
This is Honda's 3rd win of the year, after Hinchcliffe's Louisiana triumph and Carlos Muñoz's Detroit victory. Honda engines were fast all weekend long, and Rahal's win with Marco also in the podium crowns their speed.
Well deserved win for Rahal also. Already had two runner-up finishes and one third-place effort to his name this season. A triumph was missing, but not anymore. Solidifies his place as the best Honda-engined car in the standings, in 5th.
Great comeback for Graham Rahal today, after a troubled pitstop on which a crew member left the refuelling hose attached to his car.
Briscoe, Hunter-Reay, Sato, Power, Newgarden, Carpenter and Castroneves failed to complete the race today, all of them because of accidents.
Coletti, Muñoz, Mann and Bourdais also finished in the lead lap. Vautier and Chaves were also running when the checkered flag was waved.
James Jakes in 7th, Charlie Kimball in 8th, Simon Pagenaud in 9th and Jack Hawksworth in 10th complete the top-10.
Juan Pablo Montoya finished 4th, increasing his points lead. Sage Karam is 5th, with Scott Dixon in 6th. Ganassi narrowly misses his 100th IndyCar win.
Graham Rahal wins the race! It's his second career IndyCar win, after the 2008 St. Petersburg Grand Prix. Tony Kanaan finishes second and Marco Andretti, third.
Last lap - Big crash! Hunter-Reay and Briscoe. Briscoe takes off. Rahal was the leader entering last lap and is the MAVTV 500 2015 winner!
2 laps to go - Rahal keeps the lead, but Kanaan is pressuring him! But here comes Andretti, on newer tires.
3 laps to go - Green, green!
4 laps to go - Pagenaud, Karam, Hunter-Reay, Andretti, Muñoz and others are stopping. Will restart on new tires. Big gamble with only this few laps to go.
5 laps to go - Red flag uplifted. Cars are rolling back to the track, Graham Rahal leading the pack. Briscoe is second. Kanaan, 3rd. Dixon, Montoya are in the top-5. Pagenaud, Karam, Jakes, Hunter-Reay and Kimball complete the top-10.
RED FLAG - Race is stopped until the safety crew cleans the track.
6 laps to go - A red flag does not seem likely. Neither does a cleanup of the track in the remaining laps. If it keeps this way, Graham Rahal will win for the second time in his career, first since 2008.
8 laps to go - Replay shows Sato lost control and bumped into Dixon, which propelled him Power's way. The two then crashed. A shame, really, as both drivers were up for a strong finish.
9 laps to go - Big crash! Will Power and Takuma Sato. Rahal leads with Kanaan second and Briscoe third. Will a red flag be waved here?
10 laps to go - Inside line looks to be the prime.
11 laps to go - Briscoe leads one more lap, with Rahal and Kanaan closely stalking him.
12 laps to go - Dixon is up to second, but Montoya is giving him a hard time. Briscoe escapes a little up front, Rahal is second.
13 laps to go - Almost a five-wide as Sato almost runs over the grass. Briscoe prevails, crosses the line first.
14 laps to go - Dixon and Sato looking to join the party as well. The gap between first and seventh is a mere formality.
15 laps to go - Tony, Will and Ryan three-wide! Briscoe on the inside, Power up the middle and Tony on the outside. Here comes Rahal to make it a four-wide!
16 laps to go - Briscoe on the inside, takes the lead! Great, great comeback for the No.5 SPM driver.
17 laps to go - It's Kanaan on the outside trying to snag the first place off Power, but Will retains the lead.
18 laps to go - Here comes Briscoe! He moves on the inside past Rahal and Kanaan, up to 2nd. Meanwhile, Power tries to build on the situation and increase his lead.
19 laps to go - Will Power widens the gap in the final turn, but Rahal dives for the lead. Power retains it, however. Dixon tries to charge from behind.
20 laps to go - Montoya and Power wheel-to-wheel for the lead. Rahal, Marco and Kanaan three-wide for the third place.
21 laps to go - Power, Montoya, Marco is the running order.
22 laps to go - Pagenaud powers on the outside, but fails to go first. Power still retains the lead, Rahal and Kanaan battling for second. Montoya prevails, however.
23 laps to go - Kanaan also charges to 3rd. And here comes Montoya as well.
24 laps to go - Green, green, green! Power retains the lead, but Rahal pressures Andretti to move up to 2nd.
27 laps to go - Montoya, Karam, Hunter-Reay and Dixon complete the top-10 still under caution.
27 laps to go - Rahal and Kanaan rejoined the track 3rd and 4th, respectively. Briscoe is 6th, one spot behind Pagenaud.
28 laps to go - Power wins the race off the pit road by a good margin. Andretti is second, but the biggest mover is Pagenaud, who went from 9th to 5th.
29 laps to go - As soon as the boxes open, the pack will hit pit road for the last scheduled stop of the day. Then, it's flatout to the checkers.
30 laps to go - Caution is finally waved. Caused by debris off Muñoz's car - Dixon crashed into his back, and his sidepod flew.
31 laps to go - There are debris on the backstretch. Caution will be waved soon.
32 laps to go - Rahal is up to third again. Andretti and Power still alternating the lead ahead of him.
35 laps to go - Power and Andretti have established themselves up front. Kanaan comes third, but can't challenge them the same way he could only a few laps back.
36 laps to go - Montoya, Dixon and Pagenaud are currently 9th, 10th and 11th.
38 laps to go - Sage Karam, who had a poor stint between the second and fourth pit windows, is already up to fifth again. Has been strong throughout the weekend as well.
39 laps to go - Power and Andretti try to widen the gap to the competition. Power keeps the lead with Marco on his tail. Briscoe is 3rd, holding off Kanaan.
42 laps to go - Graham Rahal, on the comeback trail after that pitstop miscue, is already up to 7th, but way too close to the leaders to be discarded.
43 laps to go - Marco Andretti is looking strong again. Up to fourth, but just one corner away from taking the lead.
44 laps to go - Kanaan, Briscoe, Power, Hunter-Reay and Montoya are alternating the lead at the moment.
45 laps to go - Ryan Briscoe emerges as the leader after a four-wide in turn 1. Great comeback for the No.5 SPM entry!
46 laps to go - Hunter-Reay's two laps in the lead today are his first laps led this season.
47 laps to go - Ryan Hunter-Reay is the new leader! It's his first lap led today, as Kanaan dives to take the 2nd place off Briscoe.
48 laps to go - Scott Dixon moves past Power and Hunter-Reay to take the lead. Great move from the Kiwi driver.
49 laps to go - Power, Andretti and Briscoe are fighting wheel-to-wheel for the lead. Montoya powers past them on the outside, and here comes Hunter-Reay too!
50 laps to go - Andretti leads as green comes up again! Montoya is, in fact, second, with Power third and Dixon right behind him!
Lap 198 - Sato and Karam collided somewhere along the way, causing a front wing change for Karam and a rear wing switch for Sato.
Lap 197 - Juan Pablo Montoya is currently in the lead. Andretti is second. Power, Dixon, Briscoe, Jakes, Hunter-Reay, Kimball, Hawksworth and Karam are P3-10.
Lap 195 - Josef Newgarden and the No.67 CFH entry are back in the boxes. Could rejoin the track soon, 34 laps down.
Lap 194 - The top-8 now hit pit road, with 55 laps to go. Power leads the race off it, with Dixon behind him.
Lap 192 - Power, Dixon, Hunter-Reay, Briscoe, Jakes, Hawksworth and Kimball are the top-8, but none of them has stopped before caution was waved.
Lap 191 - Caution again. All caused by the mechanic responsible for refuelling Rahal's car. As Graham was rejoining the track, he reattached the hose, causing Rahal to rip it off and dropping the fuel component on the track.
Lap 190 - The leaders are stopping. Kanaan, Montoya, Marco Andretti, all in, as it is a matter of time a caution for debris on the backstretch.
Lap 188 - Carlos Muñoz stops, opening a new round of pits. Rahal follows, being the first frontrunner to hit pit road.
Lap 187 - And Montoya tries to join him, but Rahal stands his ground to retain the 2nd position.
Lap 186 - Marco swipes past Rahal and Kanaan, retakes the lead.
Lap 183 - Rahal finally takes the lead from Kanaan, but the Brazilian recovers it in no time. Graham is the one to cross start/finish first, though.
Lap 182 - Three-wide battle between Sato, Karam and Andretti for 5th. Marco prevails.
Lap 181 - James Jakes is currently 10th. Surprising, given that he had issues throughout the weekend, even losing an engine yesterday.
Lap 180 - Montoya is once again up to the top-5, running 4th. He's ahead of his teammate Power, but still relatively far from Sato in 3rd.
Lap 178 - Rahal is once again working his way to the top on the outside lane, but fails to pass Kanaan - who, one turn later, tries the inside to move past Sato and take the lead once again.
Lap 177 - Power now drops to fourth, as Kanaan and Rahal pass him.
Lap 176 - Sato once again leads, with Power close by. Rahal and Kanaan are wheel-to-wheel for the third place.
Lap 175 - Power is back on the lead, but here comes Kanaan on the inside.
Lap 174 - Sato dives, moves past Power, takes the lead again. Great race from Takuma, regardless of how this plays out.
Lap 173 - The field is so compact that Montoya and Pagenaud, who were fighting for the lead only one lap back, are now 11th and 12th after one subpar turn.
Lap 172 - Takuma Sato is back up front. He's up to third, but not challenging Muñoz and Power right now.
Lap 170 - Power passes Muñoz on the inside, but can't escape the pack. Muñoz, Kanaan, Rahal, Andretti and Montoya all still close, trying to steal the lead from him.
Lap 169 - On new tires, Power is steamrolling the competition. Quickly moving up in the charts in the inside lane, leaps to second.
Lap 168 - Green again! And Andretti already pressures his teammate. Kanaan now charges past Marco, challenges Muñoz for the lead.
Lap 164 - Briscoe in the top-10 looks like a CG mistake. I apologize for that. Power is currently 10th, and Briscoe, 15th, only ahead of Kimball in the lead-lap.
Lap 163 - Muñoz, Andretti, Kanaan, Pagenaud, Rahal, Sato, Karam, Montoya and Bourdais are currently P1-10.
Lap 162 - Despite the penalty, Ryan Briscoe is back in the top-10, at 10th, much because of the yellow flag right after green came up. Power, Hunter-Reay, Jakes, Dixon, Hawksworth and Kimball are the only other drivers in the lead lap.
Lap 160 - Power, Hunter-Reay, Kimball all stop for new tires and fuel. Different strategy for them.
Lap 159 - Replay shows Carpenter was running wide in turn 2 then crashed into Newgarden. Bad luck in ovals continues for driver/owner Ed Carpenter, who also failed to finish in Indianapolis and Texas.
Lap 158 - Caution! Ed Carpenter and Josef Newgarden to the wall. Another disappointing outing for the CFH team, as their two entries crash into one another. It's the end for both.
Lap 157 - Carlos Muñoz is up to fourth place, looking for the lead. He dives past Rahal, Pagenaud and Kanaan to lead the lap. What a move.
Lap 156 - Andretti dives on the inside and passes Power and Pagenaud for the first place! Great comeback from the No.27 Andretti Autosport driver.
Lap 155 - Rahal, Power and Pagenaud running three-wide for the lead. Marco Andretti is once again up front!
Lap 154 - Simon Pagenaud is charging. Just passed Rahal for the 2nd place and Power for the lead! He is back in P1 after starting from pole and dropping back.
Lap 153 - Montoya on the inside for the lead! Meanwhile, Briscoe serves a drive through penalty for the Castroneves collision, and he too is out of contention.
Lap 152 - Green again! Rahal tries to pass Power right away, on the outside, but Power retains the lead. Here comes Montoya and Kanaan for a four-wide turn 2.
Lap 150 - Helio's car is being pushed back to the boxes.
Lap 149 - Caution is still on. Power, Rahal, Montoya, Kanaan, Carpenter, Dixon, Pagenaud, Andretti, Karam and Kimball the top-10.
Lap 147 - Penske has worked in Helio's car, and the No.3 looks ready to run again. He is 11 laps down and out of contention, though.
Lap 145 - And he returns to the boxes once again. If this race gets down to strategy, he may emerge as an underdog contender. Bourdais has already won a race this year, in the second round of the Dual in Detroit.
Lap 144 - Sebastian Bourdais, the last driver in the lead lap, stops again under caution.
Lap 143 - Castroneves retires as the driver with most laps led today: 43. Sato comes second with 27. Power, currently running first, is on 18 laps up front.
Lap 142 - Charlie Kimball is the new face in the top-10. The No.83 Ganassi driver is up to 10th. Karam and Andretti are back in the group as well, in 9th and 8th, respectively.
Lap 141 - The Safety Car is still out as Helio's car is being towed away.
Lap 140 - The race is over for Helio Castroneves. The first driver to retire today.
Lap 139 - Will Power wins the race off pit road, climbing two positions and leading the pack as they rejoin the track. Rahal is second, Montoya also up two spots to 3rd place. Kanaan down to 4th, Carpenter complete the top-5.
Lap 138 - Everybody in for another round of stops, the first under caution. Rear-wing change for Briscoe will majorly hamper his chances today.
Lap 137 - Castroneves hit Briscoe's rear wing as the driver of the No.5 SPM car sandwiched him between Power and himself. Helio almost collected Montoya in the process.
Lap 136 - And the first accident! Rahal scrapes past Castroneves, almost touching the No.3 Penske. He then drops back and collides with Ryan Briscoe, spinning and bringing the first caution of the afternoon.
Lap 134 - Rahal closes in on Helio again. His best lane is the outside. Good in turn 1, but advantage Castroneves in the final turn.
Lap 133 - Power and Pagenaud are currently running 7th and 8th. The driver of the No.22 Penske is still to contend for the lead after starting from pole.
Lap 131 - It's time for Takuma Sato to drop back. He is currently 12th, after running in front for a good part of the first half of the race.
Lap 130 - Rahal's failed attempt allows Kanaan to close in on him and move past, taking over the 2nd place. Kanaan now targets Helio in the lead.
Lap 129 - Rahal still trying to move past Helio and lead for the first time today, but the Penske driver retains his lead on the inside lane.
Lap 128 - Still no cautions or accidents so far today, despite close, wheel-to-wheel racing all around.
Lap 126 - Marco Andretti is back in the top-10, at 10th. Meanwhile, Rahal battles Helio for the lead.
Lap 125 - Halfway through. Helio leads the pack, 0.5 ahead of Rahal.
Lap 123 - Castroneves escapes a bit up front. Briscoe and Rahal fight wheel-to-wheel for 2nd place. Dixon, Montoya watch them from a distance.
Lap 122 - Rahal is up to 2nd. Great race from the driver of the No.15 RLL entry.
Lap 120 - Briscoe won't budge. He's glued to Helio's tail, as Montoya tries to rise again, passing Kanaan on the inside, and Rahal, Dixon and Briscoe go three-wide.
Lap 119 - Montoya and Power have dropped to the edge of the top-10, currently 10th and 11th.
Lap 117 - Briscoe challenges Castroneves for the lead. Despite running up front for the majority of the race, he is yet to lead a lap today.
Lap 116 - Power is dropping back into the field. From first to seventh in the blink of an eye. Rahal, on the rise, up to 5th. Ahead of him, Sato and Briscoe, making it three Hondas in the top-five.
Lap 115 - Ryan Briscoe is 4th, while Carlos Muñoz and Ryan Hunter-Reay have leaped into the top-10.
Lap 114 - After the third round of stops, Power leads, but is closely stalked by Castroneves and Kanaan.
Lap 113 - Dixon as leading before stopping. Will his strategy be as good as Power's in the last window?
Lap 112 - Ed Carpenter clocks 7.7 in his third stop. As he leaves, Dixon and Montoya head in.
Lap 110 - Race leader Sato, Pagenaud and Marco Andretti in for their stops. Sato faces issues with his rear left tire, but rejoins without any major trouble.
Lap 109 - Briscoe, Power in as well. New strategy for Will, who was the last to stop in the last window. Sage Karam, Kimball and Hawksworth also pitting.
Lap 108 - Wheel-to-wheel dispute between Power and Sato for the lead, as Rahal stops. Tires, fuel and he's out again. Newgarden, who was running 19th, also in.
Lap 107 - Kanaan and Helio hit pit road at the same time, with Tony ahead. They rejoin the track in teh same order.
Lap 106 - Sato moves on the inside, takes over the lead as Kanaan gets ready to pit again. Power, Carpenter and Briscoe complete the top-5 at the moment.
Lap 105 - Sato and Power racing side-by-side for two laps now. Takuma prevails and now looks to catch Tony Kanaan, who escaped a bit up front.
Lap 103 - As the leaders complete another lap, Carlos Muñoz and Hunter-Reay are leaving the pits after another round of stops.
Lap 101 - Power and Kanaan are alternating in the lead at the moment, with Ed Carpenter surging and charging past Sato to take over the 3rd place.
Lap 100 - Sebastian Bourdais pits for his 3rd stop.
Lap 99 - Kanaan passes Power, regains the lead as we are entering lap 100.
Lap 98 - Power leads as we close in the first 100 laps of the race. Helio now falls back a bit, as Sato, Kanaan and Briscoe pass him.
Lap 97 - While Power and Castroneves battle for the lead, Sato and Kanaan are locked in a dispute for the 3rd place, with Briscoe close by.
Lap 96 - Sato also closing in on the Brazilian, but Castroneves not only retains his place but also passes Power again.
Lap 94 - Once again, Power tries to pass Castroneves, but Helio holds him at the backstretch, but not in turn 2. Power to the lead again.
Lap 92 - Briscoe passes Sato. Only Castroneves and Power ahead of him, as the Brazilian fends off Will one more time.
Lap 91 - Briscoe tries to charger. Passed Montoya and Sato in the same turn, up to 6th place. Carpenter is his next target.
Lap 89 - The same way Kanaan established himself up front in the first stint and Sato in the second, Castroneves looks set to do the same before the third pit window. Currently holding a comfortable lead.
Lap 87 - A tight, but clean battle up front as Castroneves passes Power for first. Sato and Pagenaud on their tail, as Takuma tries to move past Will for 2nd.
Lap 86 - Andretti and Karam do not look to have enough pace to contend again. Still running 14th and 15th after a strong first stint.
Lap 85 - Power, Helio, Sato and Pagenaud are the top-4 at the moment.
Lap 83 - Gabby Chaves pulls to the side of the track and slows down, allowing the pack to go past him. Tristan Vautier does the same.
Lap 82 - Graham Rahal is on the rise. Fighting Dixon for 8th position, but closing in on the leaders.
Lap 81 - The leaders are closing in on Pippa Mann. The No.18 Dale Coyne driver is already a lap down.
Lap 80 - The four Penske are in the top-5 positions. Takuma Sato is sandwiched between them in 3rd. Power and Helio battling for first.
Lap 79 - Marco Andretti and Sage Karam are the biggest losers of the second window. They are down to 14th and 15th, respectively. Meanwhile, Graham Rahal is up to 9th.
Lap 78 - Helio already made the move on his teammate. He leads, as Takuma Sato approaches the trio to join the party.
Lap 77 - Power pitted from the lead and rejoined ahead of the pack as well. He is the current leader, but Helio and Kanaan are strongly and quickly gaining on him. He led the lap, though.
Lap 76 - Will Power also clocks 7.5 on his second stop.
Lap 75 - Carpenter, Pagenaud, Carpenter, Dixon and Montoya in as well. Dixon rejoins ahead of the pack, but had a troubled exit and lost all the gained positions.
Lap 74 - As Dixon exits the pits, Sato and Sage Karam enter the boxes. The No.14 and No.8 rejoin the track without any problems.
Lap 73 - Sato inherits the lead, but Pagenaud dives on the inside of him. Briscoe is in for his second stop, meanwhile.
Lap 72 - Bourdais, Kanaan in too. Untroubled for both.
Lap 71 - Castroneves hit pit road! Untroubled stop for him this time, 7.5.
Lap 70 - Kanaan passes Sato, snapping Takuma`s strak of laps led. Pagenaud, currently third, pressures the Foyt driver to take over the 2nd place.
Lap 69 - Ryan Hunter-Reay is in for a fresh new set of Firestones and fuel.
Lap 68 - Tony Kanaan is expected to be the first driver from the frontrunners to hit pit road again, as he did so in the first window.
Lap 67 - Pagenaud closes in on the front group. Currently sixth, but the gap to the leaders is short. Muñoz also stops.
Lap 65 - Sato under pressure from Dixon as their second pitstops approach. Currently on 27 laps with the same set of tires and fuel.
Lap 63 - Helio is steamrolling the competition. He is currently up to 4th, challenging Tony Kanaan for the 3rd place. Meanwhile Coletti opens the second pit window of the afternoon.
Lap 61 - Carpenter gets past Dixon and will challenge Sato for the lead. The ex-F1 driver currently holds a good gap ahead of the pack.
Lap 60 - Pagenaud also quietly trying to work his way to the top again. Up to 6th after lots of ups and downs in his first stint.
Lap 59 - Down the field, Helio Castroneves is trying to rebound after his disastrous stop. He is currently up to 12th place, closing in on Graham Rahal and is the fastest car on track at the moment.
Lap 58 - Dixon partially loses ground, falling to 4th. Montoya is now the closest competitor to Sato's lead.
Lap 55 - With Stefano Coletti 26 seconds behind the leaders, he will soon find himself going a lap down. A backmarker who could change the entire outline of the order.
Lap 54 - Carpenter is quietly making his way to the top. Currently fourth, but pressuring Montoya for the last podium spot.
Lap 53 - Andretti and Sato are locked in a tight battle for P2, showing Honda is on par with Chevrolet this weekend. The Japanese have won only two races so far this season.
Lap 52 - Scott Dixon tries to move past Sato, and he easy does it. Another driver to win an extra point for a lap led today.
Lap 50 - Despite the wheel-to-wheel disputes between the drivers, we are enjoying a clean, fast-paced race so far. No accidents or cautions.
Lap 49 - Tony Kanaan, who led before the stops, is now down to 10th.
Lap 47 - Takuma Sato leads! The No.14 A.J. Foyt driver is another driver to lead at least one lap today.
Lap 46 - The biggest loser, also without a shade of doubt, is Helio Castroneves. He is all the way down to 17th after his troubled stop.
Lap 45 - After the first pit window, the biggest winner is undoubtely Takuma Sato. The Japanese is up to fourth , battling Dixon and Andretti to climb to 2nd.
Lap 44 - Montoya powers past Andretti to take the lead. The top-six drivers are separated by only 1 second, all fighting for the top-spot.
Lap 42 - Replay shows Tristan Vautier hit a crew member during his stop. The mechanic seems to be ok, but is being taken to the medical center.
Lap 41 - Kanaan and Andretti are back battling for the lead. Montoya and Karam are on their sweepstakes, though.
Lap 39 - Kanaan is back in the lead, as his teammate Dixon makes his stop. Tristan Vautier is in, but his pitstop is troubled. Looks like the end of contention for the Dale Coyne French.
Lap 38 - Power misses his boxes, but Helio's stop is even more catastrophic. He stalls before leaving the pits, losing ground to his teammates.
Lap 37 - Karam rejoins ahead of Andretti, and the two get back to the track ahead of Carpenter. Meanwhile, the four Penske are in at the same time!
Lap 36 - Briscoe is also in. 8.0 stop for him. Andretti hits pit road as well, and he is followed by Karam, Carpenter and Rahal.
Lap 35 - The leader is in. Kanaan stops for tires and fuel. Andretti inherits the lead.
Lap 34 - Will Power is on the rise! As Carlos Muñoz stops, the Aussie is challenging Karam for the third position.
Lap 33 - Stefano Coletti is the first driver to hit pit road. Untroubled 8.9 stop for him.
Lap 32 - Tony Kanaan slingshots his way to an over half a second lead on Marco Andretti. The driver of the No.27 is not ready to budge, however.
Lap 31 - The entire field is separated by only 16 seconds, with Pippa Mann running last.
Lap 29 - As the first pit window approaches, it is likely the first round of stops will be under green. Watch out for a reshuffling of the race order.
Lap 28 - Pagenaud regained some of the lost ground, up to 7th. Dixon is a discreet 8th, while Will Power is on the edge of the top-10.
Lap 26 - Intense, but uneventful race so far. No crashes and the only driver out of contention is Chaves, who had issues prior to the start. Karam, Kanaan, Andretti, Montoya and Carpenter your top-5.
Lap 25 - That didn't last long. Kanaan passes him again to regain the lead. The battle is intense up front.
Lap 24 - Karam dives on the inside of Kanaan, trying to pass him and Marco in the same corner. And he does it! The Ganassi rookie, back in the No.8 entry, leads for the first time this season.
Lap 22 - Karam tries to make a move on the outside of Andretti, but he fails. Montoya, now running 4th, tries to cut the gap.
Lap 21 - The battle is still intense for the top positions. Kanaan finally passes Andretti to take the lead, as Sage Karam keeps closing in the duo.
Lap 19 - The field is not that compact anymore. Only four drivers are within one second of Andretti right now. Helio is currently fourth.
Lap 18 - Andretti and Kanaan try to escape up front, as they reach halfway point of the first stint.
Lap 16 - Briscoe is trying to make a move on Kanaan for 2nd, but the Brazilian retains. Sage Karam also dove on his Brazilian teammate, but also failed to complete the pass.
Lap 14 - Pagenaud keeps struggling. Down to 10th from 1st in only 14 laps, and he is currently under heavy pressure from Takuma Sato.
Lap 13 - The eight best ranked drivers are separated by only second at the moment. Will Power comes ninth, but he is yet to challenge for top positions.
Lap 12 - Meanwhile, Gabby Chaves' woes continue. He is dead last, 10 laps behind the leaders.
Lap 11 - Kanaan, Andretti and Helio are battling for the lead at the moment. Andretti retains P1 for now.
Lap 9 - Ryan Briscoe is showing all the momentum that had him leading the opening practice session in Fontana yesterday. Up to 5th after a poor qualifying.
Lap 8 - After Pagenaud, Montoya falls behind the pack. Sage Karam is on the rise, currently up to 7th. He had a top-5 time in the final practice yesterday.
Lap 6 - Helio tries to escape the pack, but Carpenter and Andretti are charging towards him. Montoya drops back a bit, as Kanaan passes him to take over the 4th place.
Lap 5 - Ed Carpenter is closing in on the leaders, as Simon Pagenaud keeps dropping back. The pole-sitter is currently 7th, behind Dixon.
Lap 3 - Montoya passes Helio and leads his first lap of the afternoon. Kanaan is still fourth, however he doesn't currently challenge the three leaders.
Lap 2 - Three wide in the first turn of the second lap! Montoya fights Andretti and Helio for the lead, with Kanaan closely stalking them.
Lap 1 - Great start by Marco Andretti. He leaps to first in the first turn, as Helio drops to third. The Brazilian then passes Andretti to lead the opening lap.
Green, green, green! The MAVTV 500 is under way in Fontana!
The field is out for installation laps behind the Safety Car! Gabby Chaves, in the No.98 BHA entry, stalls when leaving the pits, dropping to the back of the grid. He was set for a 18th place start.
The command is given exactly at 4h30 p.m. ET. Engines are fired. Cars will be rolling out of the pitlane soon enough, with Simon Pagenaud in the No.22 Penske Chevrolet leading the pack, Helio Castroneves by his side.
Talking about Montoya, he will start from fifth position today. He also posted the fastest time of all drivers who have already won a race this season. Ahead of him, teammates Pagenaud and Castroneves go for their first triumph of 2015. The second row features Marco Andretti, a pole-sitter here in 2012, and Ed Carpenter, who won the race that same year.
The pit window for today's race is expected to be between 36 and 40 laps. If that expectation is fulfilled, drivers are set for 6 pitstops in regular conditions.
Juan Pablo Montoya, the current points leader of the series, is the only man capable of achieving the feat. With a win today, however, Montoya will complete a "virtual" Triple Crown, as he is the defending Pocono (in 2014) and Indy champion.
We are only 10 minutes away from the start of the 11th round of the championship. Fontana is the second 500-mile race of the race, and the second leg of the Triple Crown, also composed by Indianapolis and Pocono.
Good afternoon, everyone! Welcome to the LIVE coverage of the 2015 MAVTV 500, in Fontana, California. Are you ready for a 250-lap thrill under the hot West Coast sun?
A preview with news and notes is in backwards order below (begin reading from the bottom). Be sure to follow @VAVELIndyCar on Twitter and to come back here for the start of the race at 1:30 pm Pacific (4:30 pm ET).
Scott Dixon was the fastest driver of the final practice before qualifying. The veteran Ganassi driver has arguably been the best oval driver of the first and only two races at ovals this season, claiming a pole at the Indianapolis 500 and a dominating win at Texas. Behind Montoya in the standings by 45 points, however, Dixon aims to spark another second-half surge to challenge the Penske duo for his fourth title.
Ed Carpenter and Scott Dixon also cannot be ruled out for the race. Carpenter, who only runs at ovals in the No. 20 car, will try to claim CFH’s second win a row and what would be the team’s third in their first year of existence after Ed Carpenter Racing and Fisher-Hartman Racing merged at the end of last season. A past winner in Fontana, Carpenter and the No. 20 entry look to rebound after a slow first half of season. At the Honda Indy Toronto, Josef Newgarden and driver of the No. 20 at the road/street rounds Luca Filippi completed CFH Racing's first ever 1-2 finish.
With Pagenaud and Castroneves looking for their first win of 2015, Marco Andretti – the pole sitter here in 2012 – will try to play spoiler and win Honda's third race of the season, their two triumphs coming in the rain-marred races at the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana and Race 1 in Detroit.
Tony Kanaan, who will open the fourth row, starting from seventh, finished in the top-three in five of his last six races in Fontana. The second best active streak at the track belongs to CFH Racing’s Ed Carpenter, who claimed podium finishes in each of his last three starts at the oval.
Ed Carpenter (2012), Will Power (2013) and Tony Kanaan (2014) are past winners in Fontana who will start the MAVTV 500. If one of them gets the checkers, he will join Jimmy Vasser, Adrian Fernandez and Hornish as the only drivers with multiple wins at Auto Club Speedway.
For the past few seasons, Fontana has been the finale race for the Verizon IndyCar Series. Tony Kanaan won the race last year to finally earn his first win of the season, but Will Power celebrated as he was able to earn his first series title after three runner-up finishes in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Power claimed Team Penske its first championship since 2006 with Sam Hornish, Jr. at the wheel of the No. 6 car.
Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan, who had a dominating performance in Texas with a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing, will start today from seventh and eighth. The four Ganassi cars will be looking to earn the team's 100th win. The team's other two entries, the No. 8 of Sage Karam and No. 83 of Charlie Kimball, will start 10th and 13th, respectively.
Beside Marco Andretti on the second row is Ed Carpenter, team co-owner and driver for CFH Racing. After two disappointing oval appearances at the Indianapolis and in Fort Worth, the No. 20 Fuzzy’s Vodka entry looks forward to rebound and keep the newly-formed team on the rise, after Josef Newgarden’s win at Toronto two weeks ago.
Marco Andretti will start third on the grid as the top Honda following a rather impressive qualifying effort by the Andretti Autosport team. Carlos Munoz, also of Andretti, will start P11.
Pagenaud clocked a two-lap average speed of 218.952 mph, besting the driver of the No. 3 car, Helio Castroneves, who set a 218.540 mph two-lap average.
Qualifying on Friday evening was dominated by Team Penske in the early going, but good attempts by Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, and Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing broke up what could have been another 1-2-3-4 perfect qualifying result for the team. Penske has earned pole position at every race except for the Indianapolis 500 this year - and this time, it was Simon Pagenaud putting the No. 22 car at the front of the grid, earning his second pole position of his career, first at an oval, and first with Team Penske.
As mentioned below, Juan Pablo Montoya leads the points entering the final six races of the year, with 374 points and two wins to his name. His teammate and defending series champion Will Power is second, with 347 and one win. Also a multiple-race winner this season, Scott Dixon is third in the standings, with 329 points.
The Verizon IndyCar Series heads back to an oval for the third time this season after the Indianapolis 500 in May and the Firestone 600 earlier this month. Fontana is the second 500-mile race of the season, and after the 250 laps at the Auto Club Speedway are completed today, there will be only one leg of IndyCar's triple crown to go: the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono, in two months time. Points leader entering the race today, Juan Pablo Montoya of Team Penske, won the Indianapolis 500 and therefore can win the second leg of IndyCar's triple crown today in Fontana. He starts fifth on the grid.
The race starts at 1:30 p.m. local time (4:30 p.m. ET), but from now until then you will find news, notes and a preview to the race all above. Be sure to come back here for live updates of the race, as soon as the cars roll out of the pit lane! The preview begins above.
Welcome to live coverage of the MAVTV 500 here on VAVEL USA! I am Pete Liguori and I will be bringing you live lap-by-lap updates of the 11th round of the Verizon IndyCar Series at Auto Club Speedway.
