Dan Wheldon won his second consecutive Indy 300 title in Kansas City on Sunday, the Englishman holding off Brazil's Tony Kanaan over the final laps for his 14th Indy Racing League triumph.

Wheldon was able to refuel after a crash and had enough ethanol to seize command off a restart with 27 laps remaining in the 200-lap oval showdown, then put lapped cars between himself and runner-up Kanaan at the finish.

Wheldon, the first repeat winner in the event's eight-year history, had not won since taking the checkered flag at Kansas a year ago.

"It was a fantastic team effort," Wheldon said. "It has been a little frustrating at times. To get the 10 car back in victory lane shows we are back and we could be dangerous."

Now is the perfect time to be dangerous with the next Indy-car event being the showcase Indianapolis 500 on 25 May - the first since the merger of rival Indy-car and Champ-car series to unite all the top racers in one title quest.

"It's going to be an incredibly compeititive Indianapolis 500," Wheldon said. "I expect our cars to be up front."

New Zealand's Scott Dixon was third followed by Brazil's Helio Castroneves, American Marco Andretti, Japan's Hideki Mutoh, Aussie Ryan Briscoe and US racer A.J. Foyt IV.

Castroneves kept the season points lead with 144, six ahead of Dixon and nine atop Wheldon with Kanaan 15 back.

Danica Patrick, who last week became the first woman to win a top-level open wheel racing series triumph, finished 19th and tumbled to fifth in the points chase, 34 off the pace.

AFP