Will Power managed to salvage tenth place at Sonoma, snatching a victory of sorts from the jaws of defeat that keeps him on track for the 2014 IndyCar title.
Will Power purged old demons with a dominating run to the chequered flag at Auto Club Speedway, with the season finale and title decider turning into a gruelling war of attrition.
Honours in the second 45-minute practice session at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course went to Penske's Will Power, who just edged Ganassi's Scott Dixon for the top spot in the afternoon.
Ganassi's Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti made an early impact in proceedings at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in first practice on Friday ahead of this weekend's Honda Indy 200.
In the final practice at Pocono Raceway before Sunday's race, Marco Andretti once again topped the times in race trim but there were also encouraging signs from the Honda camp.
Ryan Hunter-Reay clinched victory in the IZOD IndyCar Series Grand Prix of Baltimore on Sunday afternoon, to set up a showdown with Will Power for the title at the final race of 2012.
Ryan Briscoe claimed his first win in the IZOD IndyCar Series in over two years, thanks to a late caution for a violent accident when Sebastien Bourdais crashed out of third place.
Dario Franchitti won the 2012 Indianapolis 500 after Takuma Sato spun trying to pass him for the lead just after the white flag came out at the start of the final lap.
James Hinchcliffe was able to pay tribute to one of his all-time sporting heroes during Indy 500 qualifying, by taking a pair of Greg Moore's race gloves on his qualifying lap.
Marco Andretti blitzed the field on Fast Friday, hitting 227.540mph on with the assistance of the additional turboboost that all the drivers got to use for the first time.
Drivers are starting to go a little stir crazy with the inactivity - leading to several of them taking up "planking" as they waited out another rain-hit day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
IndyCar limits grid to 26 cars; Ana Beatriz gets Dreyer & Reinbold seat; Bobby Rahal and Sam Schmidt team up to boost Jay Howard's Indy 500 challenge; testing news; and more.
New track layout for Edmonton unveiled, but IndyCar announces that 2011 will be the last outing for the series at Japan's Motegi Twin Ring oval because of the ongoing state of the motor car industry.
Speculation over the number of potential entries in the newly unified Indycar Series was dealt a blow when Forsythe Racing announced that it would not be taking up a place on the grid.