Ryan Briscoe never doubted The Captain's call.

That's team Penske boss Roger Penske, who came up with a surprising strategy Sunday that Briscoe turned into his second IndyCar Series victory.

"Roger, with his experience, he always finds a way to pit at the right time and get you back up to the front," said Briscoe, who drove sports cars for Penske last year before moving to the IndyCar team this season. "(Sunday) was a perfect case of that. Once we got back up there, we had the pace to run fast and pull away. It was just perfect."

Penske, the winningest team owner in open-wheel history, made the call to put Briscoe out of sequence with the other contenders.

In the end, the team wound up with a 1-2 sweep in the Mid-Ohio Indy 200, as Helio Castroneves followed Briscoe across the finish line.

"Team Penske was just awesome," Briscoe said. "We ran into a bit of trouble early on and there was a chance we stayed on a bit too long there. That was all Roger. That was his strategy."

"I think that was the only chance we had," Penske said. "What a great drive for Briscoe. I think he's validated himself now as one of the top drivers in the Indy Racing League. And, to finish 1-2, I couldn't believe when I saw what happened here a few minutes ago."

It's the eighth 1-2 finish and first since 2005 at Phoenix for Penske, whose team has 136 open-wheel wins, including seven at Mid-Ohio.

GERMAN GRAND PRIX at Hockenheim, Germany - Lewis Hamilton solidified his lead in the Formula One standings with the victory, forged by two dramatic passes that made up for a strategic blunder.

Hamilton overtook Felipe Massa of Ferrari and then runner-up Nelson Piquet Jr. of Renault at the same hairpin after a crash involving Timo Glock had brought out a safety car that nearly cost the McLaren driver his fourth victory this season.

Hamilton worked his way through the field before nudging past the Ferrari driver from the inside at turn No. 6 and then holding off Massa's outside challenge soon after.

SCHUCK'S AUTO SUPPLY NATIONALS at Seattle - Tony Bartone scored his first career victory in his 119th start in the Funny Car class, holding on to win a thrilling final-round battle with Ron Capps at Pacific Raceways in the National Hot Rod Association event.