Castroneves captures third Texas IndyCar title

Helio Castroneves, who racked up his third Indianapolis 500 title in May, nabbed a third career victory at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Brazilian edged Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe by 0.3904sec. He beat the Australian to the punch after the final pit stop and held him off over the final 46 laps for the triumph.

Briscoe dominated much of the race, leading a field-high 160 laps.

But in the final round of pit stops, Castroneves beat Briscoe and New Zealand's Scott Dixon out of pit lane by more than half a second.

"We did the best we could, I just didn't have enough for Helio in the final stages," said Briscoe, who admitted it was a "frustrating night" although he took the lead in the IndyCar Series standings with 199 points, three ahead of Dixon.

"The last 20 laps were some of the most frustrating I've ever driven," Briscoe said. "To lead the whole race and have the quickest car out there, I just couldn't pass Helio. The high line was slower."

Castroneves paid tribute to the work Briscoe put in.

"Having first and second at Texas is not easy, so that's a compliment for everyone," Castroneves said.

Dixon, who won this race last year, was third and Marco Andretti finished fourth. Scotland's Dario Franchitti, who started from pole position, was fifth.