Gladeville, Tenn. ? Alex Barron outran Gil de Ferran over the final two laps following a restart, winning the Firestone Indy 200 Saturday at the Nashville Superspeedway by 0.42 seconds for his first IRL victory in only his 11th start.

Barron led only the final 11 laps to become the fourth first-time winner in the last five races on the Indy Racing League. His best finish had been fourth in the Indianapolis 500, where he earned co-rookie honors.

Sam Hornish Jr., makes a move, passing Billy Boat during Saturday's Firestone Indy 200 at the Nashville Superspeedway. Hornish finished third.

“I was actually calmer being in front than I was behind,” said Barron, who had not won a race since picking up five victories and the Atlantic Series season title in 1997. “Once we went green, the car handled beautifully, and we were flat out until the end. We showed some really good speed.”

For de Ferran, it was his fourth second-place finish of the season, and it moved him into the points lead by 10 ahead of Team Penske teammate Helio Castroneves.

Scott Sharp finished the race third, but he was penalized a lap for blocking Sam Hornish Jr. after the final restart.

Sharp was dropped to eighth.

That moved Hornish into third, followed by Richie Hearn, Raul Boesel, Eddie Cheever, Felipe Giaffone, Castroneves and Tony Renna. Eight of the 22 cars that started the race finished on the lead lap.

Barron had led only once before this season for only seven laps at the Indy 500, and he had a chance there except the race finished under caution.

His trouble Saturday night came near the beginning of the race. A line in the airjacks failed, costing precious seconds for Blair Racing to change tires.

They were forced into a second pit stop during green to add more fuel.

That dropped Barron, who had started fifth, to dead last in the field. But he moved through the field with an average speed of 199.318 mph.

Barron passed Sharp in Turn 2 on lap 190 by dipping inside. Jeff Ward ran into trouble on lap 195 and had to be towed off the track for the ninth and final caution, setting up a restart. Barron timed the restart well. De Ferran passed Sharp but couldn’t catch up to Barron.

“You have to give it to Alex,” de Ferran said. “I thought he really stood on it. That last lap, I thought he might take it easy in that first turn, but he kept it wide open through that white flag lap.”

The victory was especially rewarding for Barron’s team, Blair Racing. Larry Blair switched from CART to IRL last December, and Barron had come close with four top-10 finishes this year.

“This is a bit of a fairy tale, and it’s a moment I’ve actually dreamed about for about two years now,” Blair said.

“To actually have it come true is pretty phenomenal, and it’s one I’ll cherish forever. It’s special.”