LEXINGTON, Ohio — Ryan Briscoe took advantage of a surprising pit strategy today on the way to a victory in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Team owner Roger Penske made the call to put Briscoe out of sequence with the other contenders and it paid off with the Australian driver's second victory of the season and a 1-2 sweep for the team as Helio Castroneves finished second.

The race began about one hour after a downpour soaked the 2.25-mile, 13-turn road circuit, leaving puddles in places. IndyCar officials ruled it a wet start and all the cars had to begin the race on grooved rain tires.

But with the sun shining and the track drying fast as the 26-car field took the green flag, cars quickly began heading for pit road to change to racing slicks. The Penske team waited to bring Briscoe onto pit lane until lap six, dropping him all the way to 16th.

"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 (Penske); that was his strategy."

Penske brought Briscoe back into the pits again on lap 23, ahead of most of the other contenders, putting him completely out of sequence but eventually working to his advantage.

"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."

The rain never returned, but the early pit stops and several spins and crashes in the early going turned the 85-lap event into a messy race, with many differing strategies.

But the 26-year-old Briscoe was in the best position throughout the race, taking the lead when the other leaders pitted on lap 40, making his final stop on lap 55 and then regaining the lead for good on lap 60 as the other leaders made their final stops.

Defending race winner and series points leader Scott Dixon finished third, followed by Will Power and Oriol Servia, teammates at KV Racing Technology and two of the nine drivers transitioning from the defunct Champ Car World Series to the newly unified IndyCar.