Team Penske's Simon Pagenaud stormed to his second consecutive IndyCar victory of the season at the Grand Prix of Alabama, after a nail-biting late battle with Graham Rahal.
Pagenaud dominated the opening stages of the race, but after the final round of pit-stops the Frenchman came under attack from a fired-up Rahal.
With only a handful of laps remaining, the Rahal Letterman Lannigan racer muscled his Honda-powered Dallara alongside Pagenaud into Turn 7, with the duo making light contact.
Whilst Rahal gained the lead, Pagenaud ran wide and skipped through the grass and gravel.
However, with front-wing damage Rahal’s stint out front was short-lived, as Pagenaud swept back past to take the lead, the eventual win and extend his lead at the head of the championship.
Rahal, despite suffering severe front-wing failure trying to fend off Pagenaud, managed to limp home second, ahead of 2015 race winner Josef Newgarden, who pipped Will Power for the final podium spot on the last lap.
Penske's Juan Pablo Montoya came home a sensational fifth, despite starting the race from 21st and last position.
Montoya ran as high as 11th after just a handful of laps and continued to scythe his way through the order, making the most of his pit-stops to gain further ground.
James Hinchcliffe finished sixth for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, ahead of Penske's Helio Castroneves, with the duo enjoying a race-long battle for track position.
Tony Kanaan was the best of the Ganassi cars in eighth, ahead of team-mate Charlie Kimball.
Reigning IndyCar champion Scott Dixon rounded out the top 10, the Ganassi racer suffering a miserable race after first lap contact with Sebastien Bourdais at Turn 5.
Bourdais failed to make up ground after his overzealous opening lap, ending the race 16th behind top rookie Alexander Rossi.
All 21 drivers managed to reach the chequered flag, with rookies Conor Daly and Max Chilton ending the race 20th and 21st.
Once again the race ran caution free, despite an aborted start after Carlos Munoz made contact with Mikhail Aleshin, who in turn speared into an unsuspecting Jack Hawksworth.
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