DETROIT — The first caution period began about midway through the race. It was followed by another. And then another. Yellow flags all the way until the final laps. It made for tedious viewing for fans — but the constant cycle of starting and then slowing down was exactly what Sebastien Bourdais needed. “At one point, we had to make the call whether we were going to stay out and gamble that all the yellows were going to keep going,” Bourdais said. “It sure looked like it was going to be that way.” On a wet day at Belle Isle, Bourdais had enough fuel to make it to the end in first place for his first IndyCar victory of the year. There were eight caution periods Sunday, shortening the race from 70 laps to 68 because of a two-hour time limit. That made all the difference for the French driver. “Had it not been a timed race, we would have not made it,” he said. Bourdais held on in his No. 11 Chevrolet, finishing 1.8 seconds ahead of Takuma Sato. Graham Rahal finished third. Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya was awarded the pole based on entry points when qualifying Sunday morning was halted by bad weather. Montoya finished 10th. Montoya remained atop the season standings. Carlos Munoz, who won Saturday's rain-shortened race, finished last Sunday. Penske teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves crashed late in the race, leading to a red flag with 5:33 remaining. Bourdais was leading at that point, but he was concerned with the stoppage because he'd been hoping a yellow period would help run more time off the clock. After the red flag, there was another caution period before the restart. “I kind of dragged my feet a little bit on the last caution lap,” Bourdais said. There wasn't time for 70 laps, and Bourdais held on after the final restart. “I think Sebastien's restart was, to be honest, a bit tricky,” Sato said. “He decelerates, so we all had to brake, which is not really what we talk about at the briefing.” Sato had passed Montoya on a previous restart, and Bourdais said he was trying to avoid that scenario. Bourdais' final lap of 1 minute, 17.9133 seconds was the fastest for anyone on the day. It was the 33rd IndyCar win of his career. Bourdais' victory for KVSH Racing was a bright spot for Chevrolet on what was otherwise a fine weekend for Honda. Munoz won Saturday in a Honda, and the next eight spots after Bourdais Sunday were taken up by Hondas. Rahal was pleased with his third-place finish, although he was disappointed that he was ordered to give up position to Sato late in the race for blocking. — AP
