Andretti driver Alexander Rossi backed up his strong qualifying performance with race victory at Watkins Glen, his first triumph of the 2017 IndyCar season.
The American, who won last year's Indianapolis 500, lined up on pole position and beat fellow front-row starter Scott Dixon to the win, finishing one second ahead of the Chip Ganassi driver after a dramatic and frequently-interrupted race.
Damp and slippery conditions meant the field started on wet tyres, before diving into the pits at the end of the first lap for slicks.
During the pitstop phase, Rossi slipped to second behind Helio Castroneves, who had a storming opening phase to rise from sixth to first, before having to tackle several pauses in the green-flag running.
One of those was for 2017 Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato’s car, which stopped briefly on track before it got going again. The field dived into the pits, but Rossi’s car was short-fuelled after a problem with the fuel hose.
He made good use of the restart to move ahead of Castroneves, effectively taking over the race lead, although several runners had opted to stay out and moved to the front of the pack.
But, just after race leader Spencer Pigot pitted, releasing Rossi into first place, he was forced to stop for fuel due to the earlier issue. This put him out of sequence.
However, he saved fuel and hit the front again when another caution appeared for Sato’s smoke-billowing car. Most of the pack, on the mainstream strategy, decided to pit and this elevated Rossi to the lead.
Rossi continued saving fuel and pitted again on lap 42, right at the window needed to stop and make it to the end. Several other frontrunners reacted but Rossi retained first place through this pit cycle.
He held on right to the chequered flag, with Scott Dixon bouncing back from a slow start to close in on Rossi and claim second place, with Ryan Hunter-Reay third and Castroneves fourth.
Will Power was fifth in the second Penske, with team-mate Simon Pagenaud down in ninth. But, championship leader Josef Newgarden suffered a tough end to the race.
He was in with a chance of a strong result when he went off and glanced the wall at the pit exit at the last round of stops, with Sebastien Bourdais collecting him.
Various trips to the pits for repairs meant he finished off the lead lap, but retains the lead in the standings. Tony Kanaan also failed to finish after a similar barrier hit at the pit exit just moments after Newgarden’s incident.
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