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Scheckter secures Learjet 500 with Hornish in second

Tomas Scheckter edged Sam Hornish Jr. by half a car-length Saturday night to win at Texas Motor Speedway, while Danica Patrick finished 13th -- last on the lead lap -- in the first Indy Racing League race since her thrilling finish at the Indianapolis 500.

Scheckter, who raced to his only other series victory in Michigan in 2002, pushed a Chevrolet-powered car to victory for the first time since Hornish did it in the 2003 series finale for Panther Racing -- the team for which Sheckter now drives.

Chevrolet had only two cars in the 22-car field and plans to pull out of the IRL after the season. But the engine had plenty of horsepower at the Bombardier Learjet 500, where Sheckter led 119 of the 200 laps.

"American Revolution, baby," the jubilant 24-year-old said. "It's good. They really worked really hard. I take my hat off to all of them, and it shows that they've come back harder than ever to win here and I thank them a lot.

"I want to be doing this again and again. We want to do this every weekend."

Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, going for a record fourth win in a row in the series, threatened early but finished sixth.

"Danica Mania," in full bloom since Patrick finished fourth in the Indy 500, took a night off as the 23-year-old racer, the only woman in the field, quickly slipped back into the pack after starting third and wound up finishing an uneventful 13th, the last driver on the lead lap.

After leading in each of her last two races and coming close to winning at Indy, Patrick was never a factor Saturday. Instead, she gave up the spotlight to a pack of IRL veterans who put on another in a series of great side-by-side racing shows on the 1-mile Texas oval.

Jenson Button won the second pole of his career Saturday, claiming the No. 1 starting position for the Canadian Grand Prix by two-tenths of a second over Michael Schumacher, who returned to the front row for the first time in five races.

Button completed a best lap of 1 minute 15.217 seconds and then had to wait, celebrating as if he had won the race when the Fernando Alonso failed on the last attempt to eclipse him.

"This is only qualifying, and I know that," Button said. "But we've had a tough few months, a tough year, and this means a lot to be closer to the front again."

Button, in a BAR-Honda, earned his first pole since last year's in the San Marino Grand Prix and put in his strongest showing this season.

The performance on the 4.361km Circuit Gilles Villeneuve comes following being part of a two-race BAR-Honda suspension for having an underweight car in the San Marino Grand Prix. Button finished third in that race, but was stripped of his position afterward.

He returned to racing in the European Grand Prix last month, qualifying 13th and finishing 10th. Teammate Takuma Sato also struggled in his return, finishing 12th.

But Sato was also strong this time out, qualifying sixth and giving BAR-Honda hope that the team is rebounding from its embarrassing scandal faster than anyone expected.

"I can only say it has been a difficult season for us," Button said.

Schumacher also rebounded. The seven-time Canadian Grand Prix put himself on the front row for the first time since the Grand Prix of Bahrain in April.

Schumacher qualified second in a Ferrari with a lap at 1:15.475.
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