LEXINGTON, Ohio (AP) Pole-sitter Patrick Carpentier won his second straight CART race in Ohio, leading virtually from start to finish Sunday to win the Mid-Ohio Grand Prix.

Carpentier, who won his first pole in four years Saturday, averaged 106.680 mph to hold off Christian Fittipaldi by 3.2 seconds at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Michael Andretti was third.

Carpentier, who drives for Player's Forsythe, won for the third time in his career and the second time in three races. The Player's Forsythe driver won last month in Cleveland, the open-wheel series' other Ohio stop.

The 30-year-old French Canadian, who turns 31 on Tuesday, led 90 of the 92 laps in his Ford Cosworth-Reynard. He lost the lead briefly after two pit stops.

Carpentier's only serious threat came from the season points leader, Cristiano da Matta. But the Brazilian dropped out of contention when he spun backward into a gravel trap on lap 70 as he tried to overtake Carpentier in the track's "keyhole" turn.

Under special rules for this race and the one next week in Elkhart Lake, Wis., da Matta was allowed to continue, and he finished 13th - one spot out of the points.

"I thought I had pulled away from Cristiano, but suddenly I saw him coming toward me," Carpentier said. "I thought he was going to try to outbrake me, so I pushed the brake really, really far. I got around the corner, then saw his car going backward and said, 'That doesn't look good (for him)."'

"I wasn't trying to pass Patrick. I was just trying to put pressure on him," da Matta said. "When I tried to put my nose alongside his car, he braked for the corner and turned in. I think that made me lose my air and I locked up my rear tires and went off course. ... It cost us a lot of points, so I am really disappointed."

Da Matta still leads the standings with 122 points, with Carpentier moving into second with 95 and Bruno Junqueira in third with 86. Carpentier picked up the maximum 23 points available for the weekend, getting 20 for the victory, one for leading the most laps and one each for being the fastest qualifier Friday and Saturday.

After the race, Carpentier spun the car in an attempt at performing the circular movement known as "doing doughnuts." The performance left a little to be desired. Afterward, he said his crew had put him up to it.

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