Barron

MADISON, Ill. -- Alex Barron looked like a legitimate contender for a second Indy Racing League victory this season in Sunday's Gateway Indy 250. The driver from Southern California looked like he was shot out of a cannon after starting 15th and racing his way in front.

Not only was Barron in front, he was pulling away from the field and led Helio Castroneves by 5.2 seconds before a caution flag waved on lap 145 after Greg Ray stuffed his car into the second turn wall.

During the ensuing caution period, the leaders made their final pit stops and Castroneves was able to get out ahead of Barron. When the green flag waved on lap 151, Barron went outside the Marlboro Team Penske driver at the start-finish line to speed ahead. But Barron had too much speed and momentum to make the first turn.

His car broke out of the racing groove, and although he was able to save it, he dropped from second place to sixth.

Barron recovered and finished third in a race won by Gil de Ferran.

"Let me tell you, this guy did well," Castroneves said of Barron. "He was very strong today. He passed cars and he was on rails today. I was wondering, 'Are you going to brake? What happened there? What are you going to do? Where are you going? The track is this way.'"

Castroneves was referring to Barron's bold move that didn't quite work.

"This year has been an extraordinary experience," said Barron, whose his first career Indy car victory came in July at Nashville Superspeedway. "I think things are going to go better from here on out. We got a lot of guys on our team that have a lot of experience, they push very hard.

"It's taken me a long time to get here. I'm trying to take full advantage of it and really enjoy myself. It's one thing I've learned -- because it's been hard for me the last three years -- is learn how to have fun. This year, it's been that way. I've met a lot of great people. It's going to be hard to catch these guys in the championship, but we'll do everything we can to at least move one or two positions forward."

Barron has moved up to fifth in the IRL standings with two races remaining, but he is 119 points behind de Ferran.

"Since I signed on with Larry Blair at the beginning of the season, he put together a really good program in that short amount of time," Barron said. "He's a great individual to work for. I really hope that we can continue this effort next year."

Despite starting in the middle of the field, Barron's car was perhaps the best on the track over the long haul. But his late race slip-up ultimately was what kept him out of victory lane.

"When you have a car like that, it's just amazing," said Barron, who raced at Gateway in CART in 1998 when he was with Dan Gurney's team. "You really just enjoy yourself. You're going fast and it's easy. I've been looking to drive a car like that for a long time. Fortunately, this year, I have that opportunity.

"I was really enjoying myself, really loved the race. We were running very good. We had incredible power today. I haven't been in a race in a long time where I've had that kind of power. I felt we had the car to beat."