INDY RACING LEAGUE: FIFTH-PLACE FINISH DELIGHTS CASTRONEVES.

Byline: TIM HADDOCK Staff Writer

SONOMA -- Helio Castroneves finished fifth in the Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sunday, but it probably was the best fifth-place finish of his career.

With one race to go in the Indy Racing League season, Castroneves has a one-point lead in the championship standings. All he has to do is finish ahead of Sam Hornish Jr., Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon to win his first IRL championship.

``Right now, I am enjoying this moment,'' Castroneves said. ``I'm very happy. But I won't deny that I would like more.''

The Sept. 10 race at Chicagoland Speedway in Illinois will determine the IRL champion. Four drivers from two teams are still alive.

Castroneves and Hornish are 1-2 in the standings and drive for Marlboro Team Penske. Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Dixon and Wheldon are third and fourth in the standings, 18 and 19 points behind Castroneves.

Hornish came into the Sonoma race with a seven- point lead over Castroneves. But Hornish finished ninth and saw his lead disappear. Castroneves, Dixon and Wheldon all finished ahead of him and now all four have a legitimate shot to win the IRL championship.

``The good news is we ended up a lot better than it could have been, so I'm OK with how we did today,'' Hornish said. ``Now we just have to focus on Chicago and see if we can bring home the championship for Marlboro Team Penske.''

Dixon, who started on the pole, had trouble in the pits and finished fourth.

``We're obviously disappointed as we did everything we were supposed to do starting from the pole,'' Dixon said. ``We had the speed and were pulling away. The car was definitely as dominant as it looked when we were running out front.''

Wheldon, the 2005 IRL champion, finished sixth.

``As fast as we've been all year, as aggressive as everyone knows I can be, no one is going to want to mess with me in Chicago,'' Wheldon said.