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Kevin Nagel Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports HALTON TRANSMISSION "Connected to your Community" 559 SPEERS RD., #UNIT 3 905-842-0725 www.haltontransmission.com 39 | Thursday, September 1, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Oakville's James Hinchcliffe's (left) led the Firestone 600 IndyCar race for 188 of the 248 laps, including late in the race (above), but when the race ended Saturday, Hinchcliffe finished second, eight one-thousandths of a second behind winner Graham Rahal (15). Also in the photo is Tony Kaanan (10), who finished third. The race, held in Fort Worth, Texas, was postponed by bad weather in June after 78 laps and completed last Saturday. | Chris Owens ­ IndyCar Hard-luck Hinchcliffe edged on final lap of Firestone 600 By Herb Garbutt Oakville Beaver staff James Hinchcliffe held the lead for 76 days but in the end he was edged at the finish line by eight one-thousandths of a second. Hinchcliffe led 188 of the 248 laps of the Firestone 600 in Fort Worth, Texas but Graham Rahal passed him on the final lap of the 1.455-mile oval. Hinchcliffe got a run on Rahal down the final stretch but ran out of room, hitting the finish line just behind Rahal. "It was tough. We kept a lot of guys at bay," Hinchcliffe said. "We really built the car for long runs and on those restarts we kept them at bay a couple of times but ultimately, Graham and TK (Tony Kaanan) stopped for tires and I think that was kind of the difference maker." The race began on June 12 but it was postponed by heavy rain after 73 laps with Hinchcliffe leading. The race resumed Saturday and Hinchcliffe dominated. He led 156 of the 175 laps after the restart. He had built a 10-second lead at one point but a series of late caution flags wiped out his advantage. The last caution, brought on when Jack Hawksworth and Hinchcliffe's teammate Mikhail Aleshin collided, set up an eightlap sprint to the finish. The top four raced wheel-towheel, at one point entering a turn four wide. However, Hinchcliffe managed to hold off the challenges by Tony Kaanan, Simon Pagenaud and Rahal and looked to be on his way to his fifth career victory. But Rahal got himself in position to make a move on Hinchcliffe on the final lap. Hinchcliffe drafted behind Rahal through the final corner and took a run at Rahal but they crossed the line just before Hinchcliffe shot past him. "It was just a really good battle with Hinch and TK (Kanaan)," Rahal said. "I've got to tip my hat off to Hinch. He did a great job tonight. He led that thing pretty well from start to finish other than a couple hundred yards." It was the fifth closest finish in IndyCar history. It also marked the first time a driver had won a race while only leading the final lap since Hinchcliffe passed Takuma Sato on the final turn of the Sao Paolo Indy 300 in May of 2013. It was the third podium finish of the season for Hinchcliffe, who had placed third in at the Grand Prix of Indy and again in Toronto. Still, he found it hard to take consolation in his best finish since his victory at the Grand Prix of Louisiana at the beginning of last season. "It's just tough having a car like that and leading that many laps, but not the one that counted," Hinchcliffe said. "It's a lot of fun racing up there with those guys and I think we put on a much better show for the fans than we would've if we were leading by half straight. We'd have liked it better but we're here to put on a good show." Get the Hottest Hair Looks Head back to school with a fabulous new style! Student Special Beat cash emergencies Beat cash emergencies with a Cash Advance. with a Cash Advance. Available in-store, online, and ad. wherever in-store you're reading Available , onlinethis , and ' wherever you re reading this ad. 2460 Neyagawa Blvd 905-257-1917 198 Speers Rd 905-338-6000 www.moneymart.ca $40 Book Today! Limited-time special with student ID. Cut & Style 418 Speers Rd, Unit #4, Oakville (West of Dorval ) | 905-582-4443 | www.santorinihairspa.com MONEY MART ® is a registered service mark of National Money Mart Company. © 2015 National Money Mart Company. All rights reserved.