Birthday boy Dan Wheldon wins in Iowa (Indy Car)

Dan Wheldon took a canny victory in Iowa after covering the final 90 laps without stopping for fuel – and he did it all on his birthday!

He was able to stretch out his final stint thanks in part to a length caution period after Tony Kanaan crashed out of third on lap 212 of 250.

Wheldon had fallen back in the pack early in the race and made contact with John Andretti after Andretti squeezed him high. Wheldon’s Ganassi car left a doughnut ring of rubber on Andretti’s white sidepods after the contact.

Hideki Mutoh followed Wheldon home with Marco Andretti slipping back on the late laps after a final attacked.

Championship leader Scott Dixon had a low-key performance but still finished fourth, AJ Foyt IV had a strong run to fifth and Danica Patrick took sixth.

Milwaukee winner Ryan Briscoe was seventh while his Penske team mate Helio Castroneves dropped back to 14th after late contact with Ernesto Viso. Ryan Hunter-Reay was eighth ahead of two ex-Champ Car drivers, Will Power and Graham Rahal.

Dixon retains his lead in the championship with 316 points, 48 ahead of Castroneves who is now a single point ahead of Wheldon.