To borrow the old cliche, it ain't over 'til it's over.

Even as leader Graham Rahal rode the high line to save his tires in the final laps, it appeared that he was going to finally follow up his breakthrough victory in 2008 at St. Petersburg with another triumph. But with three laps to go, Rahal got too high and smacked the wall coming out of Turn 4.

He kept going, but he was now easy pickings for Justin Wilson, who passed him on the backstretch and pulled away over the last two laps to win the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway -- his first victory since 2009 at Watkins Glen. Rahal soldiered home to second place, ahead of Ryan Briscoe, James Hinchcliffe and J.R. Hildebrand.

Not surprisingly, Wilson was in shock over his good fortune.

"I just can’t believe we managed to pull this off," said Wilson, who quickly emerged as a threat from the race's early stages.

"I saw [Rahal] sliding more and more every lap, and I didn’t think there was no chance, but when I saw him hit the wall, I thought 'OK, now it’s time to go,'" said Wilson. "It was four-wheel drifting all the way into Turn 3 and all the way out of Turn 4.  You were having to hang on out there."

Afterwards, Rahal said the blame was solely on him.

"I just made a mistake, you know," he said. "I mean the car was pushing through the center of [Turns] 3 and 4 pretty well the last stint, and it would kind of grip up for me late in the corner and I kind of stayed with it, because they told me Justin was coming.

"So I was trying to pick up the pace a little bit, and honestly, it just never gripped up and I didn’t give myself enough of a margin for error."

The thrilling finish was a fitting end to a race that had plenty of questions going in, but plenty of praise when it was all over. Texas' famous pack racing was by and large absent outside of starts and restarts, but there was still plenty of passing on track as the Firestone tires lost grip at a considerable pace over the course of the drivers' green flag runs.

Whether that will save the 1.5-mile oval's place on future schedules for years to come is yet to be determined, but Wilson and Rahal both gave their thumbs-up to the "new" Texas.

"People were nervous, but as soon as the cars went on track, everyone calmed down," said Wilson. "I thought it was fantastic. Obviously, I won the race, but I had a lot of fun [racing] out there. It was the best fun I've ever had on an oval."

"I didn't watch the race from the outside, but all I know is that I saw guys going forward like crazy one stint, then next stint, they were falling back -- I was one of them," Rahal said. "That's phenomenal. That's the way it should be. That's the way it used to be."

The wild finish between Wilson and Rahal began to take shape on Lap 173 of 228, when Scott Dixon crashed shortly after losing the lead to Will Power. Dixon had led 133 laps and appeared to be the man to beat before Power picked off the point on Lap 171. Two laps later, Dixon spun in Turn 4 and hit the SAFER Barrier after inadvertently coming down on the apron of the track.

"We just got loose," said Dixon. "I turned in and the rear just started to slide and I kind of dipped down onto the apron and spun around again. I feel bad for the guys. We had a really good car and I think we had a good chance to win here tonight."

But the excitement was only beginning. On the restart at Lap 184, Power's teammate Ryan Briscoe went to the outside to battle his teammate for the lead. As the cars entered the backstretch, third-place driver Tony Kanaan attempted to go inside of Power and make it three-wide into Turn 3.

However, Power moved over to the inside and Kanaan caught Power's rear wheel guard instead. The impact broke Kanaan's front wing (he wound up 11th) and Power was subsequently forced to serve a drive-through penalty for blocking.

"I feel bad for [Kanaan]," said Power, who finished in eighth place. "I ruined his day because he had to come in and change the front wing and we ruined our own day by getting the penalty."

The penalty moved Briscoe to the front, but Rahal soon made his move and took the lead from the Australian on Lap 200. But Wilson was also making headway too, passing Briscoe for second at Lap 216 and cutting into Rahal's edge as the laps ticked down.

Then came Rahal's date with the SAFER.

"We should be in the winner's circle right now, there's no doubt," said Rahal. "After four years of not being there, it would've been a hell of a lot of pressure off my shoulders to be there tonight."

Instead, it was Wilson that reigned supreme deep in the heart of Texas

"I'm just really happy to get this first win on an oval," he said. "It's a big relief, and it's great to get another win for [Dale Coyne]. He's given me some great cars, and there's been times earlier this year when we felt we should have at least been on the podium if not better. But we kept saying, 'It's okay, it's racing, it's going to come good,' and sure enough, it did."

---

FINAL RESULTS
IZOD IndyCar Series
Firestone 550 -- Texas Motor Speedway

1. Justin Wilson
2. Graham Rahal
3. Ryan Briscoe
4. James Hinchcliffe
5. J.R. Hildebrand
6. Simon Pagenaud
7. Helio Castroneves
8. Will Power
9. Alex Tagliani
10. James Jakes
11. Tony Kanaan
12. Ed Carpenter
13. Josef Newgarden
14. Dario Franchitti
15. Katherine Legge
16. Mike Conway
17. Marco Andretti
18. Scott Dixon
19. E.J. Viso
20. Oriol Servia
21. Ryan Hunter-Reay
22. Takuma Sato
23. Charlie Kimball
24. Rubens Barrichello
25. Simona de Silvestro

Time of race: One hour, 59 minutes, 2.0131 seconds.
Average speed: 167.217 mph
Lead changes: 9
Lap leaders: Tagliani 1-20, Dixon 21-116, Wilson 117-125, Dixon 126-133, Hinchcliffe 134-141, Dixon 142-170, Power 171-194, Briscoe 195-199, Rahal 200-226, Wilson 227-228.
Laps led: Dixon 133, Rahal 27, Power 24, Tagliani 20, Wilson 11, Hinchcliffe 8, Briscoe 5.

1. New philosophy.

Flat out is now, well, out.

In an attempt to stop pack racing from breaking out tonight at Texas Motor Speedway, the cars will feature an aerodynamic package with less downforce than in years past. That will place more emphasis on the drivers' handling capabilities as they'll be counted on to keep a tougher car in control. Keep an eye on how the drivers deal with this re-think.

2. The draft.

As emphatically shown at the Indianapolis 500, the DW12s create a sizable wake for drivers to use in getting closer to the other cars. The draft may not have as much emphasis here compared to Indy simply because of its own characteristics, but it could still come into play. "Certainly at Indy, you have more time to complete that [draft] pass, but at Indy, we weren't hanging on like we are here," said Graham Rahal, who starts third tonight.

3. Will Honda rule again?

Honda's put their season-opening four-race drubbing at the hands of Chevrolet behind them, winning the last two events at Indianapolis and Detroit (a 1-2-3 finish in Chevy's backyard). Tonight, Honda starts with all four positions in the first two rows (Alex Tagliani and Dario Franchitti; Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon). Can the Bowtie regain momentum? Will Power of Team Penske, who starts fifth and won the second Texas twin race last season, may be their best shot, but don't forget about Tony Kanaan (starting seventh), Marco Andretti (eighth), or Oriol Servia (11th).

4. Odds too long? Maybe not.

Ed Carpenter, J.R. Hildebrand, and rookie Josef Newgarden are all starting deep in the field, but they're far from finished here at Texas. Carpenter is one of the better oval racers in the series, while Hildebrand is with Panther Racing, a five-time winner at TMS in the past with drivers Scott Goodyear (1999, 2000), Sam Hornish Jr. (2001, 2002) and Tomas Scheckter (2005). As for Newgarden, he's with Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, who earned the victory last season at Kentucky Speedway -- another 1.5-mile oval -- with Carpenter in their cockpit (he now runs his own team as the driver/owner).

I still remember that day when I was first introduced to the Indy Racing League.

It was in the summer of 2001 and I was spending a day of high school summer vacation on the couch in our family's basement. We were living in suburban St. Louis at the time and our big race track, Gateway International Raceway across the river in Illinois, was still a long way off from its shutdown (and eventual resurrection).

The TV went to what I immediately saw to be an infomercial. But it was unlike any other I'd seen before. It was an infomercial promoting the IRL's initial run at Gateway later on that fall. At the center of it were Scott Sharp and Robby McGehee, wheel-to-wheel, battling for victory at Texas Motor Speedway.

This IRL was clearly different from the little open-wheel racing I'd seen before. And I really, really liked it.

I immediately asked my father if we could go to the Gateway race, but he wouldn't budge. Still, something had begun. And little by little, my love for NASCAR cooled off while I paid more and more attention to IndyCar.

So, in at least a few ways, I owe my enjoyment of Indy racing and my discovery of motorsports beyond NASCAR to Texas Motor Speedway.

Fast forward 12 years to tonight's Firestone 550 at TMS. Through a combination of economics and horrible timing, the 1.5-mile oval is having a tough time staying on the INDYCAR landscape.

You see INDYCAR's arguments about having otherwise decent crowds swamped by giant grandstands. You see their ongoing drive to help the bottom line, which has brought them to nearly the break-even point under CEO Randy Bernard.

And you see some of its most prominent drivers wondering where high-banked ovals such as Texas stand in the grand scheme of things -- and whether they should be there at all.

The tragic death of Dan Wheldon, which occurred last October on a Las Vegas Motor Speedway oval that carries many similarities to Texas, has hurt the series tremendously. Leading up to the accident, nobody could escape a massive pack of cars running side-by-side at over 210 mph before all hell broke loose.

It's for those reasons -- among others -- why there was so much apprehension reported about the return to Texas, where pack racing has been the name of the game. It's also why the series has responded by creating an aerodynamic package for Texas that makes the new Dallara DW12s tougher to drive.

After yesterday's qualifying runs, a common refrain emerged from those who liked the changes: It's about putting more control in the drivers' hands and not having their destiny decided by others' mistakes while inside a high-speed pack.

That leaves the potential for tonight's event to be something different than the hold-your-breath, cover-your-eyes style of racing that IndyCars have put on over the years at this track.

And if you're a fan of the IZOD IndyCar Series, you hope these changes help create a good, safe race -- one that shows the doubters in and out of the paddock that they can race here, and one that can save the open-wheel legacy at Texas, which is in serious danger of ending after tonight.

Simply put, INDYCAR needs to be here. It needs the stellar marketing and promotional support of TMS, it needs the strong crowd that TMS brings in, and it needs the big Dallas/Fort Worth market that TMS serves.

Many times before, INDYCAR has been treated as a B-show by other tracks despite possessing many strengths. Not here at TMS.

Case in point: I walk up to the media center here and dead ahead is the back of the Victory Lane building. Hanging on the center railing of the structure is a banner that proclaims TMS' place in the IZOD IndyCar Series.

"THIS IS THE 23RD INDYCAR RACE AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY. MORE THAN ANY TRACK IN INDYCAR HISTORY. TEXAS LOVES INDYCAR!"

And even after what happened last fall, many INDYCAR fans still love Texas. They know the exciting racing that has occurred here over the years and they know how much the series and the track have done for each other.

It would be an absolute shame to see all of it come to an end.

Hopefully, tonight's event goes off without incident and is good enough to get both INDYCAR and TMS to get their heads together and tell the other, "We want to stick with you."

This is too good of a track and too unique a race to lose.

Here's the schedule for tonight's action at Texas Motor Speedway. All times are Central:

5 p.m. -- Driver/Team meeting
6:40 p.m. -- Push out
7:01 p.m. -- Cars to the grid
7:16 p.m. -- Driver intros
7:36 p.m. -- Invocation
7:37 p.m. -- National anthem
7:39 p.m. -- Flyby
7:39 p.m. -- Drivers, to your cars
7:45 p.m. -- The Command
7:50 p.m. -- GREEN FLAG

Race length: 228 laps
Pit road speed limit: 60 mph
Repaired cars will not be permitted to return to the track in the final 20 laps.

Good afternoon from the Texas Motor Speedway, site of tonight's much-anticipated IZOD IndyCar Series Firestone 550 (8 pm ET, NBC Sports Network). Yesterday in qualifying, Alex Tagliani delivered Bryan Herta Autosport's first IndyCar pole after an afternoon that saw drivers re-learn the art of racing at Texas. Aerodynamic changes designed to make the cars tougher to drive have had the desired effect, and as a result, we may see at least a reduction of the pack racing action that have been TMS' signature feature over the years.

INDYCAR allowed a full-span, rear wing wicker that can go up to 1/8 of an inch in height before yesterday's final practice, which will give the drivers about 125 more pounds of downforce to play with. In the practice and qualifying sessions prior to that point, the teams had been ordered not to run any wickers at all, which led to mixed opinions amongst the drivers on whether the changes went too far in taking away downforce.

Overall, there seems to be the sense that tonight's race will be unlike most races that the IndyCars have staged at TMS. Around 10 p.m. CT tonight, we'll see if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Here's how the grid will line up for tonight's event. Keep in mind that four drivers -- Mike Conway, Takuma Sato, Josef Newgarden and Simona de Silvestro -- have been tagged with 10-spot penalities for unapproved engine changes either here at Texas or during the Detroit Belle Isle event last weekend. The grid takes those penalties into account:

ROW 1
98-Alex Tagliani
10-Dario Franchitti

ROW 2
38-Graham Rahal
9-Scott Dixon

ROW 3
12-Will Power
27-James Hinchcliffe

ROW 4
11-Tony Kanaan
26-Marco Andretti

ROW 5
77-Simon Pagenaud (rookie)
2-Ryan Briscoe

ROW 6
22-Oriol Servia
8-Rubens Barrichello

ROW 7
28-Ryan Hunter-Reay
5-E.J. Viso

ROW 8
3-Helio Castroneves
83-Charlie Kimball

ROW 9
18-Justin Wilson
14-Mike Conway (qualified 8th)

ROW 10
20-Ed Carpenter
15-Takuma Sato (qualified 10th)

ROW 11
19-James Jakes
6-Katherine Legge (rookie)

ROW 12
4-J.R. Hildebrand
78-Simona de Silvestro (qualified 23rd)

ROW 13
67-Josef Newgarden (rookie, did not qualify)

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing has confirmed via Twitter that Takuma Sato will be the fourth driver to be penalized 10 spots on the starting grid for tomorrow night's Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway (8 pm ET, NBC Sports Network).

The penalty is due to an unapproved engine change after Sato's Honda powerplant appeared to let go in the final minutes of tonight's practice session, causing him to come to a stop just off the frontstretch. He had qualified 10th earlier on Friday, but will now have to start 20th in the race.

Also sustaining 10-spot engine penalties for Texas are Mike Conway, Simona de Silvestro and Josef Newgarden. Conway had qualified 8th but will start 18th as a result.

Could the packs finally disappear tomorrow under the lights?

For many years, IndyCar racing at Texas Motor Speedway has constantly played out in one true form: Packs of multiple cars just inches away from each other while dueling on the high banks at 220 miles per hour.

But with a new aerodynamic package in place this weekend at TMS, which takes away downforce on their machines and causes them to be tougher to handle, drivers now have more of the matter in their hands instead of being forced to flirt with disaster in a pack.

It's causing a total re-think amongst the men and woman in the cockpits, long accustomed to having to go flat out all the time around the 1.5-mile Fort Worth oval. And in the minds of some of the drivers, the new package may have gone too far and made their cars too hard to handle.

That said, Firestone 550 pole sitter Alex Tagliani -- who won the pole on Friday evening with a two-lap average speed of 215.691 mph -- believes that the racing will still be every bit as competitive and exciting for fans.

"I think you're going to see a big difference on how cars are handling with new tires and how cars are handling when the tires are going away," said Tagliani after claiming the first IZOD IndyCar Series pole for his Bryan Herta Autosport team. "I think there's going to be such a big discrepancy between a new tire run and an old tire run that if there's a strategy going out there and there's like different cars on track with new tires and older tires, there's no way you're going to keep them behind you.

"The racing is going to be very interesting and the intent is to make it safe. For everyone's peace of mind, we need to leave here -- after what happened in Vegas -- with a safe race. That's the important thing in mind for everyone."

Texas is the first race on a high-banked oval since last October's tragedy in Las Vegas, when two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon was killed in a horrific crash that was partially caused by massive pack racing.

INDYCAR drivers and teams have been to TMS multiple times since then to nail down a proper formula that could decrease or eliminate the packs but still put on a good performance.

However, a split has emerged this afternoon between drivers on the changes. Outside front-row starter Dario Franchitti is pleased with the current downforce levels at Texas, stating that a tougher drive at Texas is "what [the drivers] want."

"That's what all the drivers have been talking about with the series and putting some of the control back in the drivers' hands, and we definitely felt we had that in qualifying and I really think we're going to have that in the race tomorrow night," said Franchitti, who won one of the Texas twin races last season.

"I think it will make better racing, too. I think we're going to see comers and goers tomorrow night, guys who get their cars right and find a line that works, using the whole track trying to search for grip. I think it's going to be unlike any race I've ever seen here in a long time."

However, driver/owner Ed Carpenter isn't as optimistic about the racing that could play out on Saturday night with the current levels.

"I feel everyone is nervous coming to the first one-and-a-half [mile] track of the year -- I understand that," Carpenter explained. "I don't feel I'm reckless, but we also have to put on a good race for the fans.

"...If we race the package we ran in practice, this will be a follow-the-leader race and one of the most boring races we have ever had at Texas."

After qualifying, third-place qualifier Graham Rahal revealed that the teams had been ordered that morning not to run any wickers on the rear wings of their cars. However, INDYCAR has since announced that a rear wicker of 1/8th inch height and full span can be used starting with tonight's final practice.

Three drivers will be assessed 10-spot engine penalities on the starting grid for Texas: Mike Conway and Simona de Silvestro after swapping powerplants at Belle Isle last week and Josef Newgarden, whose team did an engine change here in Fort Worth.

---

IZOD IndyCar Series
Firestone 550
Texas Motor Speedway

QUALIFYING RESULTS

1. 98-Alex Tagliani, 215.691
2. 10-Dario Franchitti, 215.646
3. 38-Graham Rahal, 215.554
4. 9-Scott Dixon, 215.331
5. 12-Will Power, 215.116
6. 27-James Hinchcliffe, 214.920
7. 11-Tony Kanaan, 214.701
8. 14-Mike Conway, 214.458
9. 26-Marco Andretti, 214.424
10. 15-Takuma Sato, 214.196
11. 77-Simon Pagenaud, 214.082
12. 2-Ryan Briscoe, 214.060
13. 22-Oriol Servia, 213.957
14. 8-Rubens Barrichello, 213.949
15. 28-Ryan Hunter-Reay, 213.927
16. 5-E.J. Viso, 213.444
17. 3-Helio Castroneves, 213.402
18. 83-Charlie Kimball, 212.833
19. 18-Justin Wilson, 212.136
20. 20-Ed Carpenter, 211.643
21. 19-James Jakes, 211.245
22. 6-Katherine Legge, 210.543
23. 78-Simona de Silvestro, 210.543
24. 4-J.R. Hildebrand, 204.066
25. 67-Josef Newgarden, No Time/Speed

Today's my first visit to Texas Motor Speedway, a track that I've seen only through television over the years. I've wanted to get to this event in particular for some time considering INDYCAR's exciting legacy at this place, so I'm looking forward to an exciting race.

Some things I've taken away so far:

- TV does not do the 24-degree banking any justice at all. It's incredibly steep and I can only imagine what it feels like to climb those banks in an INDYCAR at 215-220 mph. I'm sure I'd need some oxygen if I walked up it myself!

- The facility itself is massive and sprawling. If I recall correctly, TMS is the second-biggest sporting facility in the United States and you truly feel quite small -- and this is when it's relatively empty. In the words of INDYCAR rookie Simon Pagenaud, it feels like a gladiator's arena.

- Texas heat is a bit different from New Mexico heat. There's a bit more humidity to contend with here in the Lone Star State. But so far, I've held up pretty good.

- TMS has a great set up for its media center. At the heart of it is a broadcast-style "news set" for drivers' press conferences, complete with a slick desk and background graphics. Say what you want about TMS, but they truly give the effort it takes to be considered one of the best tracks in the nation.

- Talk about an interesting undercard: The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series goes at it later tonight, while the Global Rallycross Challenge series will compete before the IndyCars on Saturday afternoon with a specially made track in the tri-oval. I'm probably not going to stick around for the Trucks (I want to beat the traffic), but that Rallycross thing sounds like it'd be a hoot to watch. There are several ramps that will be utilized as part of the course, so expect to see some high-flying stuff if you're heading here Saturday. There's lots of star power in the GRC too, with many X-Games and rally veterans in the field such as Travis Pastrana, Ken Block and Marcus Gronholm.

After a delay due to weepers coming through the cracks of the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, the IZOD IndyCar Series finally got going this afternoon and produced a relatively clean session of practice. It was the competitors' first chance to see how the new aerodynamic package would work for them at speed.

They'll now shift their focus to qualifying, which has been pushed back to 5 p.m. ET this evening as a result of the delay. A final, 30-minute practice session is also on tap for 7:45 p.m. ET.

Mike Conway, however, did not have a great afternoon session. On pit road, a fuel hose fire broke out on his No. 14 A.J. Foyt Racing Honda, causing his crew to spray and dump water over the car. Later in the session, his car slowed down to the point where both the INDYCAR safety team and his own No. 14 team had to push it back to pit road.

Here are the results of the afternoon run:

Rank		Car	Driver	Engine	Diff.	Best Lap
1			Dario Franchitti		0	214.724
2			Scott Dixon		0.0512	214.274
3			Josef Newgarden		0.0659	214.146
4			Alex Tagliani		0.0865	213.965
5			Tony Kanaan		0.1284	213.600
6			Ryan Hunter-Reay		0.1393	213.505
7			EJ Viso		0.1424	213.478
8			Simon Pagenaud		0.1518	213.396
9			James Hinchcliffe		0.1757	213.189
10			Graham Rahal		0.1767	213.180
11			Ryan Briscoe		0.1968	213.006
12			Mike Conway		0.2072	212.916
13			Ed Carpenter		0.2315	212.705
14			Takuma Sato		0.2831	212.261
15			Charlie Kimball		0.3089	212.039
16			Rubens Barrichello		0.3100	212.030
17			Oriol Servia		0.3107	212.024
18			Will Power		0.3165	211.974
19			Helio Castroneves		0.3416	211.759
20			JR Hildebrand		0.3447	211.732
21			Marco Andretti		0.3867	211.373
22			Justin Wilson		0.4217	211.075
23			James Jakes		0.5868	209.680
24			Katherine Legge		0.8508	207.487
25			Simona de Silvestro		1.2784	204.032

Ryan Briscoe played a key part in helping INDYCAR obtain the aero package it believes can produce good racing without packs this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.

It's been a long process overall. The Team Penske pilot worked on the package as part of a closed test at Texas in February alongside Tony Kanaan and Alex Tagliani. Then last month, he was part of a group of 11 car/driver combinations that tackled the 1.5-mile oval in an Open Test session before preparations began for the Indianapolis 500.

And as he revealed earlier this morning at TMS, the package evolved again last week at Belle Isle.

"In Detroit, we all put our heads together again and made a unanimous decision to reduce the downforce further," Briscoe said. "We're sort of getting out of that mentality of coming to this circuit and just being wide-open. I've never been here and thought I'm gonna have to start working on the racing line or breathe [the car] going into the corner.

"...We're on a mission as drivers to improve the safety of the series and certainly after Vegas, this is the next 1.5-mile oval we're doing and we want to make the right steps toward making it safer and getting cars off of running right on top of each other."

To Briscoe, the goal, simply put, is to change the entire philosophy of racing that has been in place at Texas, the last remaining oval of its kind on the current IZOD IndyCar Series schedule.

Following the death of Dan Wheldon on the similarly high-banked oval at Las Vegas last October, drivers have been especially vocal about reducing the pack racing that ensued prior to the accident that killed Wheldon, a two-time Indy 500 champion.

Joining Briscoe this morning was KV Racing Technology's Rubens Barrichello, who faces his second official oval race in an INDYCAR this weekend. Barrichello got to run TMS earlier this year in a test session and he also hopes to see the pack racing go away "for [the drivers' own safety]."

But packs or no packs, he's still heading into yet another high-speed learning experience at Texas.

"It's so different -- so, so different," said Barrichello, a 19-year Formula One veteran that has had plenty of new experiences in his racing career. "People told me I would get out of the car and feel sick [at Texas]. I didn't feel sick, but I saw the world moving a little bit."