Ryan Briscoe wins IRL season-opener

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 5 (UPI) -- Ryan Briscoe beat Ryan Hunter-Reay Sunday and won the Indy Racing League's season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Fla.

It was the first time in IRL history the opening race was held on a street course.

Briscoe, driving for Team Penske, passed Justin Wilson just after a restart on Lap 86, and went on to record the third victory in his IndyCar career.

By withstanding two other caution flags in the final 14 laps, he won the race by only 0.4619 of a second.

"This place has been bad to me, so this is so sweet," Briscoe said.

In previous St. Petersburg races, he finished 14th and 23rd.

Wilson, Dario Franchitti, and Tony Kanaan completed the top five.

A big early moment came during a crash involving Danica Patrick, the only woman in the 22-car field, and rookie Raphael Matos, when Patrick slammed her car into a tire barrier. Neither driver was injured but there was a brief verbal confrontation.