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INDYCAR: Dixon Rules in Texas
Written by: Jeff Olson
SPEEDtv.com   http://www.speedtv.com
06/08/2008
Fort Worth, Texas
 
Scott Dixon and his Target Ganassi squad added another race victory at Texas Saturday night. (LAT photo) » More Photos

Before the debris of an ugly and disjointed race was removed from the asphalt of Texas Motor Speedway, a familiar face celebrated victory Saturday night.

Scott Dixon passed Marco Andretti for the lead with six laps remaining, then idled to victory under caution after Andretti crashed with Ryan Hunter-Reay with five laps remaining in the Bombardier Learjet 550k. The victory was Dixon’s third of the season and sixth podium finish in seven races this season, increasing his IndyCar Series lead over runner-up Helio Castroneves to 35 points.

Dixon trailed Andretti on a restart with nine laps remaining in the 228-lap race but passed him for the lead with six laps left. A lap later, as Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay battled for second, their cars crashed hard and hit the wall. Hunter-Reay was OK, but Andretti sustained minor injuries to his right foot. X-rays were negative, but Andretti was limping noticeably after the race.

Following Dixon and Castroneves to the finish line was Ryan Briscoe, who lost a lap earlier in the race when he missed his pit box and was penalized, and Dixon‘s teammate, Dan Wheldon, who finished fourth despite an ankle injury to his right foot sustained Friday during practice.

The win was anticlimactic proof that Dixon and his Target Chip Ganassi Racing team are the class of the series so far this year. He has led 633
of 1,327 laps in the first seven races, and, with Wheldon‘s win at Kansas, Ganassi’s team has won four of the first seven races of 2008.
Texas action was typically fast and furious (IndyCar photo) » More Photos
“We’re riding a wave at the moment,” Dixon said. “We’re just trying to keep it going. From the middle part of last year until now, we’ve won a serious amount of races. Over the winter, these guys spent a lot of time making these cars super fast. You’ve got to put this down to the many people back at the shop who have worked on these cars non-stop.”

But the guy behind the wheel deserves a fair share of the credit, too. Dixon was flawless again Saturday, keeping the No. 9 Ganassi Dallara-Honda in or near the lead for most of the race, leading 58 laps and making the move when he needed it most.

“At the end, he left it wide open,” Dixon said of Andretti’s move up the track that gave Dixon space to move underneath. “I don’t know what he was doing. Marco’s car was good on the high line, so maybe he couldn’t sit on the bottom. If it was me, I wouldn’t have given up that much room.

Tony Kanaan finished fifth, Hideki Mutoh was sixth, and Vitor Meira, who led a stint until he was forced to pit with 21 laps remaining, finished seventh. Buddy Rice, Ed Carpenter and Danica Patrick rounded out the top 10.

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