TEAM REPORTS (VARIOUS LOCATIONS) - Penske Racing Race Report

IMSA AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES

Germany's Timo Bernhard and France's Romain Dumas combined a perfect drive with precise Penske Motorsports pit stops, a race car with a good set-up, good fuel strategy, and Porsche RS Spyder speed and reliability to repeat their 2006 overall win on Saturday at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the seventh event of the American Le Mans Series season.

Teammates Sascha Maassen of Germany and Ryan Briscoe of Australia drove their Penske Porsche RS Spyder to a second-place finish in the Acura Sports Car Championship, giving Penske and Porsche their fifth consecutive overall win, and sixth straight victory in the LMP2 Class.

Bernhard and Dumas, with three overall and LMP2 wins, have earned 127 points, while Maassen and Briscoe have 114 points. Acura drivers David Brabham and Stefan Johansson are third with 74 points.

Porsche leads Acura in the LMP2 engine manufacturers' points, 139-99.

For Bernhard, Saturday's win was especially rewarding as he and Dumas earned the pole last year, but had to start at the back of the field because of a technical violation. The pair had never won a race after starting on the pole until Saturday.

"I wasn't sure after the start that we could hold the lead going into the first corner, and Sascha and I were side-by-side, but I took the lead and we had a good day," said Bernhard, who won at Mid-Ohio with Dumas in 2004 in the Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT3. This race was won in the pits, as we gained the final advantage by not filling up during our last pit stop. It meant less weight, which allowed us to go faster and save the tires, and less time than the Audi in the pits."

"The Audi was really quick today, so we thought we would just aim for an LMP2 win," Dumas said. "When it became clear we couldn't catch the Audi, we pitted, but then the Audi pitted at the same time. The Penske Motorsports team beat the Audis out of the pits all day, and they never caught us after that."

"Nothing was easy for us today, but the drivers were fast, but careful, following the strategy and guiding the Porsches to victory," said Tim Cindric, president of Penske Performance. "We have won races in the pits all year, and we are really proud of our entire team for their efforts."

The American Le Mans Series next event is Aug. 11 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

IRL IndyCar Series

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 22, 2007) - Helio Castroneves' third-place finish in Sunday's Honda 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course wasn't the result he wanted, but he still was thrilled with his top-five.

It was Castroneves' best finish since the Indianapolis 500 in May and his second straight in the top six, officially ending a run of terrible luck in which Castroneves failed to break the top 10 for four of five races.

This time, Castroneves started on the pole in the No. 3 Team Penske Honda/Dallara and drove to third.

"We didn't have the strongest car, but I was driving the wheels off it. It's just a shame that (Scott) Dixon beat us in the pits, but that's the way it is," Castroneves said. "I made the call to pit early, and TC [Penske President Tim Cindric] thought it was the right decision. There is no resting in this race. We're pushing all of the time, which is fun. Third place is not what we wanted, but we're c oming back from a lot of bad results, so third looks really nice."

While Castroneves was finishing third, teammate Sam Hornish Jr. didn't share in the good fortune. He slid off course late in the race and eventually finished 14th in the No. 6 Team Penske Honda/Dallara.

"I just lost my concentration momentarily and spun off course," Hornish said. "Unfortunately, my mistake put us a lap down and laps are virtually impossible to get back on road courses. I feel bad for the crew because they gave me a great car. Hopefully, they'll do the same for me in a couple of weeks in Michigan, and I'll be able to turn in a better result."

Hornish is fifth in the IndyCar Series standings, while Castroneves is sixth. The season resumes Aug. 5 at Michigan International Speedway.