The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Australia

Ryan Briscoe won the Indy 300 on Sunday, taking the lead when fellow Australian Will Power crashed out on the 17th lap.

Team Penske's Briscoe became the first Australian driver to win the 60-lap race on the 2.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street circuit. He beat Indy 500 winner Scott Dixon of New Zealand by 0.5019 seconds.

American Ryan Hunter-Reay was third. Alex Tagliani, the Canadian attempting to cement a place with Conquest Racing after two races with the team, was fourth, followed by Oriol Servia.

"It was definitely special to win here," Briscoe said. "I was getting pressured there at the end with Scott and low fuel. I really feel bad for Will Power. He had a real fast car."

It was the third year in a row that Team Australia's Power, who is from the nearby Queensland state city of Toowoomba, won the pole but failed to finish the race. He clipped the wall, damaging his suspension, then hit the next concrete barrier and was out of the race.

Only three pole-sitters have won in the 18-year history of the Australian race - Nigel Mansell in 1993, Jimmy Vasser in 1996 and Dario Franchitti in 1999.

Briscoe, who celebrated by doing a series of doughnuts on the track during the warmdown lap, saw his near two-second lead over Dixon slip to as low as 0.7 seconds with a few laps left as he attempted to conserve fuel.

It was a long time between wins for Team Penske in Australia. The last team driver to win at Surfers Paradise was Emerson Fittipaldi in 1992.

It was Briscoe's third win of the year. He will won on an oval at Milwaukee and on the Mid-Ohio road course.

Power took a 2.9-second lead over Dixon and Briscoe after the first lap, but Briscoe, who started in the second row, chipped away at the lead until a yellow flag on the seventh lap bunched the field.