Dixon Wins First Indy 500

Speedway , IN – May 25, 2008 – Sometimes favorites do win. In a month that saw heavy favorite Big Brown win the Kentucky Derby, heavy favorite Scott Dixon won the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500. Dixon became the first Indianapolis 500 winner from New Zealand to win the ?500? which was the third time for the Target-Chip Ganassi Racing team (1989 Emerson Fittipaldi with co-owner Pat Patrick, 2000 with Juan Pablo Montoya). The Kiwi who had the fastest car in practice for most of the month, in qualifying and during most of the race today won the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” by holding off Vitor Meira and Marco Andretti. Dixon (Target-Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda #9) also held off early challenges from teammate Dan Wheldon (Target-Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda #10), hard luck Tony Kanaan (7-Eleven Andretti-Green Racing #11) and Helio Castroneves (Team Penske Dallara-Honda #3). Dixon led 115 of the 200 laps which saw eight caution flags and plenty of action. “What a day, man. I just couldn’t believe it. You just thought something was going to go wrong. What a day.” Dixon remarked in victory lane.

Vitor Meira of the underdog single car Panther Racing Team came home second. Meira driving the Delphi-National Guard Dallara-Honda #4 drove one of the better races of his career equaling his best “500” finish which he also achieved in 2005. Third was Marco Andretti driving the Indiana Jones-Blockbuster Andretti-Green Racing Dallara-Honda #26. Andretti pushed Meira at the end however could not pass the red white and blue #4. No one expected a top-3 finish from the John Barnes led Panther racing team, “We really prepared the car, and everything was according to plan. But things didn’t really happen our way. We finished second, but you know what, this is a very good result compared to the struggle we had last year and at the beginning of this season. Definitely, Panther Racing is back, and the big three (Ganassi, Penske and Andretti-Green) better watch out.”

After a mostly lousy month for weather, today?s was nearly perfect for a race with sunny skies which became hazy later in the day and temperatures in the high-70’s. Olympic figure skating gold medalist and most recent winner of Dancing with the Stars, Kristi Yamaguchi waved the green flag to start the race as Target-Chip Ganassi teammates Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon charged into turn one with Dixon leading. In turn one on lap 3, Wheldon took over the lead as the Target-Chip Ganassi cars led 1-2. Tomas Scheckter passed four cars on the first lap coming across the line in seventh place.

On lap 8 the yellow flag came out for debris as Dale Coyne Racing driver Bruno Junquiera lost his starboard side mirror on the frontstretch. Meanwhile under yellow, fan favorite Sarah Fisher spun in turn three while under yellow. Junquiera remained in the pits while the pit crew rushed to try to replace the sidepod with a mirror attached. Most drivers took advantage of the yellow to pit with the exception of Buddy Rice and Justin Wilson. Junquiera did stay out to lead lap 10.

The green flag came out on lap 17 with Rice leading, followed by Wilson , Wheldon, Dixon and Tony Kanaan running in the top-5.

Wheldon passed Rice in turn one on lap 20 to take the lead. A bit later on lap 25 the top-5 were the Target Chip Ganassi twins, Wheldon, Dixon ran 1-2 with rookie Justin Wilson running a strong third, Rice fourth and Kanaan fifth. Some surprises included, Tomas Scheckter in 6th, the Foyt team were running strong with Darren Manning 11th and Jeff Simmons 15th. .

On lap 33 under green flag conditions, Wilson and Rice pitted, Rice had to as his fuel light was on. Meanwhile Wheldon and Dixon continued to run nose to tail in first and second. Briscoe who had been falling back in the standings pitted a lap later. Apparently the Penske crew adjusted the rear wing too much causing handling issues for the Australian.

Lap 36 saw Graham Rahal hit the wall coming out of turn four. Rahal looked good going into turn four however tried to pass Lloyd on the outside and drifted a bit too high. Rahal hit the wall pretty hard and the car ended up against the wall just past the start-finish line. The yellow really hurt Rice, Wilson and Briscoe as they went a lap down due to pitting under green. Rahal remarked after the crash, “(Alex Lloyd) was really slow, and I was trying to be patient there because (Mario) Moraes kept coming down on me. So finally I got the opportunity to get by those guys and I thought our car was pretty good. Lloyd for some reason wouldn’t stay right down on the bottom and when he came up a couple of feet, I reacted slightly and just got in the marbles.”

Under the same yellow, A.J. Foyt’s IV car caught fire while exiting the pits, the fire was quickly extinguished. However the tough Texan had to be coaxed from the burning car as apparently he wanted to continue. The car was pushed back to the pit box as the crew worked on the car. However, a bit later, Foyt was signaled to leave the cockpit as repairs were rendered. Foyt would later rejoin the race, many laps down. Meanwhile, Jeff Simmons’s front wing and nose cone assembly was replaced by his ABC Supply-A.J. Foyt Racing crew as it was damaged in a collision with Alex Lloyd’s car on pit road.

Dixon got past Wheldon on lap 36, however Wheldon was able to stay with him. On lap 50, the top-5 was Dixon , Wheldon, Kanaan, Marco Andretti and Scheckter. Movers included Manning up to 6th, Ed Carpenter in 7th and rookie Hideki Mutoh in 10th.

Owner-driver, Marty Roth drifted high coming out of turn four on lap 61, the car made significant impact and came to a rest along the frontstretch. Roth wasn’t injured. Roth remarked, “I just got around (Buddy) Lazier on the outside of him and just got caught up in the marbles and just went for a ride.”

Rahal the youngest driver (age 19) finished 33rd and last while, Roth the oldest driver (49) finished 32nd.

Lap 75 saw Wheldon slip past Dixon for the lead as Dixon re-passed Wheldon five laps later. Just after the pass, rookie Jaime Camara in the Conquest Racing Dallara-Honda #34 made heavy contact with the SAFER barrier in turn one. The car continued and made contact a second time, Camara climbed from the car unhurt. Camara commented, ?I just had understeer in traffic, and the car wouldn?t turn in. We just tried to work that with the front wing, and I was losing pace on the track. By myself I was fine, but in traffic it was tough even to approach someone slower than me, and when I got really close, the front end just gave out, and I was in the marbles. I crossed my arms trying to turn left and I almost made it, but I didn?t make it.?

Wheldon made a strong run on the restart and took lead from teammate Dixon on lap 92. Shortly thereafter, there was someone in front other than a Target-Ganassi car, it was Andretti-Green Racing’s hard charging Tony Kanaan who took the lead on lap 93.

It was the halfway (lap 100 / 250-miles) point and Tony Kanaan continued to lead, however the last driver to win while leading at lap 100 was Juan Pablo Montoya back in 2000. Scott Dixon followed in 2nd as Andretti, the fading Wheldon and Scheckter rounded out the top-5.

The race took a huge turn as the race leader Kanaan got eaten up in traffic as both Dixon and Andretti had huge runs on him coming down the backstretch. Andretti passed Kanaan late going into turn 3 causing Kanaan’s car to wash up in the gray/marbles high on the track in the north short chute. Kanaan did a half-spin as Sarah Fisher has no place to go and t-boned Kanaan right behind the left-front wheel. Both cars are damaged heavily and are done for the day. What did Kanaan think of Andretti’s move? “It was a stupid move. I think teammates shouldn’t do that to teammates. I’m sure he will have a good explanation for what he did. Halfway through the race with a bunch of traffic, why are you going to dive into me like that?” Kanaan led Lap 100 in both the 2007 and 2008 Indianapolis 500-Mile Races.

The attrition started to add up as a bizarre wreck occurred on lap 113. Jeff Simmons’ car broke to the right under caution and slammed heavily into the frontstretch wall. The ABC Supply-A.J. Foyt Racing Dallara-Honda #41 came to a stop against the inside wall just before the start finish line. “The car was getting pretty loose on those runs. I was trying to get the tires warm for the restart. I think it just locked up, and I went into the wall. I’ve seen a lot of guys do it, but I never thought it would happen to me.” Simmons remarked afterward.

Green flag waved on lap 117 as Dixon led, however on lap 122 Marco Andretti made a strong move to pass Dixon going into turn one. Danica Patrick running 9th was warned not to block as Helio Castroneves followed in 10th place.

At lap 125 Andretti led as Dixon , Scheckter, Wheldon and Vitor Meira were your top-5.

Justin Wilson added to woes of Newman-Haas-Lanigan Racing Team as on lap 133 he had the rear-end snap around at the exit of turn one spins and impacts the inside wall in the short chute causing suspension damage to the left rear and tearing the rear wing off. “I felt the back lighten up so I was out of the throttle and it just slowly came around. The next thing I know, I’m going backward.” Wilson said after being released from the infield care center.

Third-generation star, Andretti led the field onto pit road under yellow as his crew took some wing out to add some speed. Meanwhile, Ed Carpenter running in 5th place stalled on pit lane, apparently he couldn’t grab a gear pulling out. Andretti led the field off pit lane with Dixon , Scheckter, Meira and Castroneves following. However, rookie Mario Moraes who did not pit led the field to the restart.

On the restart (lap 139) Dixon took advantage of Moraes leading and jumped Andretti to take the lead on lap 139. Rookie Moraes (Sonny’s Bar-B-Q Coyne Racing Dallara-Honda #19) learned about saving a car from the wall at the Speedway as he washed up in turn one, Moraes woes continued as he fell through the standings and cars juked and jived around the slowing Dale Coyne Racing entry. In three laps Moraes dropped to 22nd place. It was Dixon , Andretti and Scheckter spacing themselves ahead of Meira, Castroneves and Patrick. Rookie, Ryan Hunter-Reay made some nice moves and passed Briscoe and Patrick and took off after Castroneves.

As Dixon ?s day was turning for the better, on the other side was teammate Wheldon. Wheldon’s horrible day continued as he got passed by Townsend Bell and Darren Manning on lap 147 and fell to 14th place.

With 50 laps to go and it was Dixon , Andretti, Scheckter, Meira and Castroneves in the top-5.

Look out on pit road. On lap 153, rookie Alex Lloyd running in 17th hit the inside wall on pit road. The cars lazily slid down the pit to a stop as luckily none of the pits at pit entrance were being used. The lime green and white car took out the pit entry cones and pit speed station as the young Englishman pirouetted in the pits. He had made light contact with the outside wall coming out of turn four to start the incident. Lloyd got out of the car uninjured. Lloyd wasn?t sure what happened, ?I don?t know exactly (what happened). We had an incident early on where we slightly touched or white walled it on the right side. It never felt right since that. We were struggling. We were playing around with the setup, trying to get it right. We just couldn?t get it. It was hooking mid-corner, and I came through Turn 4 and it stopped turning and went straight up to the wall. I don?t know why. I hit the wall, and that was that. It was long, frustrating day, really. Something wasn?t right, right from the start. We were trying our best to fix it in the pits, but nothing was working.?

Lap 159, green flag flew again and it was Vitor Meira powering the Panther Racing entry into the lead on lap 160 splitting Dixon and Carpenter.

The eight caution and final caution flew on lap 168 as second year driver, Milka Duno and Buddy Rice touch wheels in turn three as Duno tried to save the spinning car however the car spun the car after she got into the grass. She flat spotted the tires. For some reason they hooked the car up instead of flat towing her to the pits. However, Duno did return on lap 180.

With 30 laps to go, it was Meira, Dixon , Castroneves, Andretti and Hunter-Reay as the cars made their way for their final pit stop of the day. Dixon led the field off of pit road over Meira. However Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe made contact with Danica Patrick on pit road as both were jockeying for position, the rear of Briscoe’s car kicked out a bit hitting Patrick’s tire causing both to spin at pit exit. To say Patrick was mad would be an understatement as Charles Burns head of Indianapolis Motor Speedway security talked Patrick who was walking down pit road out of challenging Briscoe and the Penske Team. Patrick remarked, “I was going down pit lane, and as people pull out of their pit boxes if you are in the outside lane, then they have to wait to blend in. From what I know, it looked like it was pretty obvious what happened. What are you going to do? The guys worked so hard today. We worked so hard on the car all month. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to show for it in the end. The unfortunate thing is we worked our butts off all month. We were creeping forward slowly, but surely. After the little mishap in the pits early and struggling with the car, but from what I can tell it seemed like it was relatively obvious what happened. You just don’t come out of your pit box and swing three lanes out. That’s why there is a ‘get up to speed’ lane and an ‘at speed’ lane. I was at speed.” (About what she wants to say to Ryan Briscoe): “We will see if he can find me first.”

On the final restart on lap 176 the drivers got extremely frisky as Wheldon was in the backstretch grass battled for position. Prior to the green the field seem to be brought a bit slowly to the green. Wheldon remarked after the race, “My issue all day was with the right rear steer in the car. It was OK in the first few stints, but it seemed to get worse and worse as the race went on. It was very difficult.”

Castroneves was warned by race control about blocking on lap 178, however it was Dixon who led all the way to the final checkers. Andretti was running faster laps than Dixon late in the race however ran out of laps. However, Dixon most likely would’ve been able to hold him off.

Dixon remarked afterwards about their strategy for the race, ?Yeah, the whole month has, but it’s tough to be aggressive when you don’t have the equipment. You know, this year I think with everybody at the workshop, people that stay back at the workshop and don’t come to the races, a lot of people that work out on these cars to try and make them fast. But this month for me was a month where you could be aggressive because you had the tools to do it, and I think that was what it came down to. Everybody’s hard work in the off-season and coming into the season. I think the team has been unstoppable almost, I think, with over the first five races. It’s nice to be aggressive, nice to have the confidence level and even better to come away with a win like this.? He added regarding the last 20 laps, ?The corner in front, man, that’s what I was looking at each time, the corner in front. With about four or five laps to go, the traffic was definitely going through my mind. We started to catch at least four or five cars, and I didn’t want it to play out that way, get stuck behind one of them. Because as soon as you lose momentum around here, those guys, you know, breathing down your neck are going to blow by you with a couple laps to go. I think for me was just, you know, I started going stiffer on the rear bar, putting the weight all the way to the left to try and make the car as fast as possible for those last few laps. But I think for me it was just always concentrating on the corner and trying to make a perfect lap every lap.?

Dixon was asked about being in victory lane at the Indy 500, ?I was shocked. I think just almost dumbfounded. It’s such a strange feeling, and for me, I don’t show emotions too much. I don’t know, it’s almost like you’re in a dreamland. It was quite crazy. It’s something that you sort of expect somebody to maybe pinch you, and you wake up and you’re sleeping in your bed back home. It still hasn’t sunk in yet, and it feels so special. I think the parade lap and seeing everybody still out there and driving around such a magnificent circuit with three other people with you and everybody sort of yelling your name was something that I wish I had witnessed previous to now, but it makes you want to go and win this race once again.?

Scott Dixon wins the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in his sixth start. It was Dixon ?s 12th career victory in the IndyCar Series and his second this season. He also won at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Ganassi?s third Indianapolis 500 victory ties with Mike Boyle, Leader Card (Bob Wilke) and Pat Patrick for the third-most ?500? wins in history. Roger Penske has 14, and Lou Moore has five. This is the fourth time car #9 has won the ?500.? Dixon ?s 115 laps led is the most laps led by a race winner since Juan Pablo Montoya led 167 laps in 2000. Dan Wheldon led 148 laps in 2006 but finished fourth.

The 2008 IndyCar Series season continues with the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 on June 1 at the Milwaukee Mile. The race will be telecast live in High Definition at 4 p.m. (EDT) by ABC. The race will air live on the IMS Radio Network. A Spanish-language telecast of the race will be carried by ESPNDeportes. The IMS Radio Network broadcast also is carried on XM Satellite Radio and www.indycar.com. The 2008 Firestone Indy Lights season continues with the Milwaukee 100 on June 1 at The Milwaukee Mile. The Firestone Freedom 100 will be telecast at 1 p.m. EDT May 31.

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