With only the one caution period during the event the race was run at an average speed of more than 193mph and with his fourth win of the year Castroneves now holds an eight point advantage over his teammate Hornish Jr in the IRL standings.
Meira's seventh career runner-up finish kept his title chances alive and he now sits fifth in points just 56 behind Castroneves while third place finisher Wheldon is now third in points too, 17 markers behind Castroneves.
Tony Kanaan kept his feint title chances alive with a fourth place finish while Scheckter completed the top five. Scott Sharp and Ed Carpenter were the only other lead lap finishers in sixth and seventh while rookie Marco Andretti, Kosuke Matsuura and rookie Jeff Simmons completed the top ten.
Defending Michigan winner Bryan Herta could only finish eleventh with Dario Franchitti 12th and the delayed Scott Dixon and Danica Patrick 16th and 17th respectively.
Hornish Jr was the only retirement of the race and thus scored minimum points for 19th and last place.
![Helio Castroneves, Marlboro Team Penske Dallara-Honda, St Petersburg. [Pic Credit IRL Jim Haines]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/204790.jpg)
