Andretti makes history at Sonoma

Marco Andretti gambled on fuel Sunday and became the youngest winner of a major open-wheel event, beating Dario Franchitti by 0.66 seconds to take the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma in Sonoma Calif.

While most of the field pitted on lap 51 of the 80-lap IndyCar Series race, Andretti stayed out to take the lead, then stretched his fuel for the final 30 laps to take the checkered flag in the next-to-last race of the season.

The 19-year-old Andretti said it was a bigger thrill than finishing second this year in the Indianapolis 500. The previous youngest open-wheel winner was Scott Dixon at 20.

“This was a win,” he said. “The guys were just brilliant in the pits.”

Andretti won in front of his father, Michael, co-owner of Andretti Green Racing, and his famous grandfather, Mario, winner of the 1969 Indy 500.

Michael Andretti told his son to conserve fuel in the final 10 laps, even when Franchitti got around Tony Kanaan and began closing in.

“I knew he was coming,” Andretti said. “It was the toughest thing I had to do – go fast and try to save fuel.”

Vitor Meira finished third, 10.65 seconds behind the winner, followed by Dixon and Helio Castroneves.

Castroneves’ finish edged him into the IndyCar points lead by one over his Marlboro Team Penske teammate, Sam Hornish.

Formula One

Felipe Massa of Ferrari won the Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul, Turkey from the pole position, his first Formula One victory in his 67th race.

“It’s like a dream come true,” he said, choking back tears after the victory.

Renault’s Fernando Alonso held off Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher in a thrilling duel over the last 12 laps to take second and increase his lead slightly over the German in the season standings.

With four races to go, defending champion Alonso has 108 points and Schumacher has 96. In the team points’ race, Renault has 160 points and Ferrari has 158.

Schumacher congratulated his teammate. But he was aware that had he been able to overtake Alonso, he might have won the race with his teammate likely yielding to him at the finish line.

Champ Car World Series

Heavy rain and standing water on the track forced Champ Car World Series officials to halt the Montreal Grand Prix after just six of 72 laps. The completion of the event is scheduled for today barring further weather delays.

The race began in a steady rain and series points leader Sebastien Bourdais, who started from the pole, lost the lead to title challenger A.J. Allmendinger on the second turn when the Frenchman nearly spun off course.

It stayed that way until the rain got worse and officials put out a red flag, halting the action.