Ryan Briscoe had finished second, third and fourth at Sonoma in the past four years. Needless to say, he was due to visit Wine Country Winners Circle at the raceway at Sonoma.Briscoe, who started next to Team Penske teammate and pole sitter Will Power, held off Power on a pair of late restarts and won the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma by 0.4408 of a second for his first victory since Texas in 2010. He became the seventh different winner in 13 IZOD IndyCar Series races this season.Briscoe gained the lead on a pit stop sequence on Lap 65 when he hit the blend line ahead of Power, who had pitted a lap earlier but was caught behind traffic during the first full-course caution in more than 2 races.Power, who clinched the Mario Andretti Road Course Trophy for the third consecutive year, increased his championship points lead from five to 36 over Ryan Hunter-Reay of Andretti Autosport with two races remaining.Hunter-Reay was running third behind the Team Penske duo when the No. 28 Team DHL/Sun Drop Citrus Soda car was bumped from behind by the No. 98 Barracuda Racing car driven by Alex Tagliani in Turn 7 on Lap 75 and stalled. The turn of events dropped Hunter-Reay to an 18th-place finish.Dario Franchitti finished third and Rubens Barrichello posted a season-high fourth place after starting 11th. Graham Rahal placed fifth and Helio Castroneves was sixth. Simon Pagenaud clinched the Sunoco Rookie of the Year award with a seventh-place finish.The top eight drivers are mathematically eligible for the championship heading to the Grand Prix of Baltimore on Sept. 2.DAY 3 NOTEBOOK:Charlie Kimball, who grew up in Camarillo, Calif., was rooting for the Petaluma (Calif.) National team in the United States bracket of the Little League World Series this past week. The team, which fell in the semifinals, won the consolation game Aug. 26.Kimball and Honda Racing hosted members of the Petaluma American Little League at Sonoma on race day.***London Olympic gold medalists Erin Cafaro (rowing) and Dana Vollmer (swimming) joined grand marshal Kevin Johnson, the mayor of Sacramento and former NBA star, in giving the command to start engines.Johnson, Vollmer and Cafaro are Cal graduates as is Sonoma president Steve Page. The curbing on the road course is painted blue and gold in tribute to the Bears.***Scott Dixon met with youngsters of Teens Living with Cancer in the Target Chip Ganassi Racing garage at Sonoma. The two-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion works with the organization to bring awareness to the special needs teens with cancer face.Pre-race ceremonies included a six-jet air show by the Patriots Jet Team, the singing of the national anthem by Megan Hokaj, member of the Band of the Golden West at Travis Air Force Base, a parade of service vehicles,a fly-by of two Aero-Vodochody L-39Cs and an cannon salute.***A total of 90 seconds of overtake assist (push-to-pass) will be afforded drivers today, with a maximum of 15 seconds per activation. There's no recharge time between activations, but there is a 3.5 second delay between the time the button is pushed and the system is activated.GOPRO INDY GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA PRE-RACE:At 1:30 p.m., the ambient temperature was 69 degrees with a relative humidity of 47 percent. Skies were clear. The track temperature was 113 degrees, according to Firestone engineers.1:36 p.m. - Command to start engines. All cars have started and are rolling on the grid.GOPRO INDY GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA RACE RUNNING:Lap 1: GREEN. #12 Power leads the field into Turn 1. Local Yellow in Turn 7. #9 Dixon spins after contact from #3 Castroneves. Car continues on course.***IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #3 Castroneves with a drive-through for avoidable contact with #9 Dixon on Lap 1.***Lap 3: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 1.6039 seconds. #3 Castroneves on pit lane to serve penalty. #15 Sato pulls off course with a mechanical issue.Lap 5: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 1.6409 seconds.***Will Power leads an IZOD IndyCar Series race for the ninth time this season. He has led the most races among all drivers this year.***Lap 8: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 2.9823 seconds.Lap 10: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 3.9023 seconds.Lap 13: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 4. 4908 seconds. #9 Dixon on pit lane for four red tires and fuel.Lap 14: #3 Castroneves on pit lane for four black tires and fuel.Lap 15: #22 Servia and #18 Wilson on pit lane for four tires and fuel.

Lap 16: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 4.8477 seconds. #27 Hinchcliffe on pit road for four tires and fuel. Team also replaces nosecone. #14 Conway also on pit lane for four tires and fuel.Lap 17: #77 Pagenaud on pit road for four black tires and fuelLap 18: Leader, #12 Power, on pit road for four black tires and fuel. New leader is #2 Briscoe. #8 Barrichello, #38 Rahal, #67 Newgarden #19 Jakes on pit lane for four tires and fuel.***Will Power led the last 23 laps of the 2011 race at Sonoma and the first 18 laps today. By giving up the lead while pitting, Power ended a streak of 41 straight laps led at Sonoma.***Lap 19: Leader, #2 Briscoe on pit lane for four black tires and fuel. #7 Bourdais, #10 Franchitti and #11 Kanaan also on pit road for four tires and fuel.Lap 20: #98 Tagliani on pit lane for four tires and fuel. New leader is #28 Hunter-Reay.Lap 21: Leader, #28 Hunter-Reay on pit lane for four tires and fuel. New leader is #12 Power.Lap 22: #4 Hildebrand on pit lane for four tires and fuel. Green flag stops complete, #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 3.9810.Lap 25: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 3.8092 seconds.Lap 27: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 4.9438 seconds.Lap 30: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 5.9905 seconds.Lap 31: #4 Hildebrand on pit lane for four black tires and fuel.

Lap 32: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 6.2527 seconds.Lap 35: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 5.4409 seconds. #27 Hinchcliffe on pit road.Lap 36: #9 Dixon on pit road for four red tires and fuel.Lap 37: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 5.8694 seconds.Lap 38: #3 Castroneves and #18 Wilson on pit road for four tires and fuel.Lap 39: #77 Pagenaud on pit road for four black tires and fuel.Lap 40: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 7.4894 seconds.***IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #17 Saavedra with a drive-through for pit speed violation at pit in.***Lap 41: #12 Power on pit lane for four black tires and fuel. New leader is #2 Briscoe. #7 Bourdais also on pit lane for tires and fuel.Lap 42: #10 Franchitti on pit lane for four tires and fuel.

Lap 43: Leaders, #2 Briscoe and #28 Hunter-Reay, on pit lane for four tires and fuel. New leader is #12 Power. #26 Andretti on pit lane for new nosecone.Lap 45: Green flag stops complete, #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 8.6129 seconds.Lap 48: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 8.1703 seconds.Lap 50: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 8.4381 seconds.***#12 Power has clinched the two bonus points for leading the most laps.***Lap 53: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 7.3546 seconds.       #4 Hildebrand on pit lane for four tires and fuel.Lap 55: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 7.3546 seconds.        #4 Hildebrand on pit lane for four tires and fuel.Lap 57: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 5.3259 seconds. #9 Dixon on pit lane for four tires and fuel. Team is also replacing the nosecone to repair wing damage.***IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #9 Dixon with a drive-through for running over pit equipment on his last stop.***Lap 60: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 7.8703 seconds.Lap 61: #10 Franchitti on pit road for four red tires and fuel.Lap 62: #28 Hunter-Reay on pit road for four tires and fuel.Lap 63: #12 Power leads #2 Briscoe by 7.2271 seconds. #7 Bourdais and #8 Barrichello on pit road for four tires and fuel.Lap 64: Leader #12 Power on pit road for four tires and fuel. New leader is #2 Briscoe FULL COURSEYELLOW. #12 Power was slow on the right rear. #67 Newgarden and #7 Bourdais make contact with the tire wall between Turns 8 and 9.Lap 65: #2 Briscoe on pit lane for four tires and fuel. He beats #12 Power to the blend line and assumes the lead of the race.***IZOD IndyCar Series officials have ordered all lap cars to drive through the pits to allow the lead lap cars to restart together.***Medical update from Dr. Michael Olinger, INDYCAR Medical Director: Josef Newgarden injured his left index finger during today's accident and will be re-evaluated upon his return to Indianapolis.***Lap 74: GREEN. #2 Briscoe leads the field into Turn 1.Lap 75: #28 Hunter-Reay spins in Turn 7 after contact from #98 Tagliani. FULL COURSE YELLOW. Leader under caution are: #2 Briscoe, #12 Power, #10 Franchitti, #8 Barrichello and #98 Tagliani.Lap 77: GREEN. #2 Briscoe leads the field into Turn 1.

***IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #98 Tagliani with a drive-through for avoidable contact with #28 Hunter-Reay on lap 75.***Lap 79: #2 Briscoe leads #12 Power by 1.6368 seconds.***IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #28 Hunter-Reay with a drive-through for avoidable contact with #5 Viso on lap 78.***IZOD IndyCar Series officials have penalized #22 Servia with a drive-through for avoidable contact with #14 Conway on lap 80.***Lap 81: #2 Briscoe leads #12 Power by .5393 of a seconds.Lap 83: #2 Briscoe leads #12 Power by 1.2152 seconds.Lap 84: WHITE: #2 Briscoe leads #12 Power by .8847 of a second.Lap 85: CHECKERED: Ryan Briscoe wins the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma by .4408 of a second.GO PRO INDY GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA POST-RACE NOTES:         This is Ryan Briscoe's first win of the season.  Briscoe's previous best finish of the season was third at Texas. It is his seventh (7th) career Indy car victory.  His last victory was Texas in 2010.         In Briscoe's last five starts at the track, he has not finished outside the top-four. He finished second in 2008 and 2009 at Sonoma and third in 2011.         Will Power finished second, his seventh top-five finish of the season. The finish allowed Power to extend his championship points lead today to 36 points.         Power clinched his first title of the season, the Mario Andretti Road Trophy.         Dario Franchitti finished third. He has finished in the top-4 in his last six starts at Sonoma.         Rubens Barrichello finished fourth, a career-best finish and the first top-five finish in the IZOD IndyCar Series.         Graham Rahal finished fifth, his second top-five in the last three races.         Briscoe's win helped Chevrolet clinches the IZOD IndyCar Series Manufactuers Championship.         Simon Pagenaud finished seventh and clinches the Sunoco Rookie of Year.