The MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway race had 80 lead changes among 14 drivers.
The first yellow was waved on Lap 136 when Helio Castroneves and Briscoe’s cars made light contact on the backstretch. Five other caution periods followed, including two for debris.
Rahal, driving the No. 15 Mi-Jack Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, won under caution as the cars driven by Ryan Briscoe and Ryan Hunter-Reay collided battling for position coming to the white flag.
The final restart was set up after a red flag was displayed on Lap 245 of 250 on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway oval after contact between the No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet driven by Will Power and the No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda of Takuma Sato on the front stretch.
The victory was the second of Rahal’s career and ended a 124-race winless drought dating to 2008 in St. Petersburg – the longest gap between race wins for a driver in Indy car history.
Finishing in second place Care #10 driven by Tony Kanaan of NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Marco Andretti placed third in the No. 27 Snapple Andretti Autosport Honda.
Juan Pablo Montoya finished fourth to extend his championship point’s lead to 46 over Power.
Sage Karam earned his highest finish of fifth in his nine-race Verizon IndyCar Series career.
Jay Leno received a ride in the Honda “Fastest Seat in Sports” two-seat Indy car on the Auto Club Speedway oval with “my racing hero” at the wheel by Mario Andretti.
Source: Indycar Series