Scott Dixon has passed Helio Castroneves exiting the final turn of the 200 lap Meijer Indy 300 this morning to earn his record-tying sixth victory of the 2008 IndyCar® Series season.

The victory also extended Dixon’s lead to 78 points over Castroneves - who took his seventh runner-up position this season - in the race for the season championship with only three races remaining.

Marco Andretti, who led 38 laps, finished third, and Vitor Meira finished fourth after starting second. Dixon’s team-mate Dan Wheldon finished fifth to remain third in the standings while Tony Kanaan finished eighth and maintained fourth on the championship ladder.

Australia's Ryan Briscoe was seventh today retaining fifth in the championship, while Briscoe’s fellow ‘Down Under’ driver Will Power was sidelined early.

Power, who is second in the Rookie of the Year standings, headed to the pits early after a mechanical failure saw him brush the wall. Although he did rejoin, the problem persisted and the Queenslander soon retired.

Dixon, who led 151 laps after starting from the pole, found himself running third for most of the final 30 laps.

When the Brisbane-born Kiwi came out of the pits after a splash of fuel on Lap 194, he was more than six seconds behind Castroneves, who had last pitted on Lap 143, however the Team Penske racer ran out of fuel on the final lap and couldn’t hold off the charging Dixon.

From here the IndyCar series heads to the PEAK Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma County August 24 at Infineon Raceway as the unified series continues on a schedule that is the most diverse in world motorsports.

The 2008 schedule will take the teams and drivers to short ovals, superspeedways, and road and street courses including the Nikon Indy 300 which is regarded as a ‘crown jewel’ in international motorsport.

With 96 hours of non-stop excitement over October 23-26 as the Gold Coast comes alive to the sound of the IndyCars burning up the track and Australia’s own V8 Supercars scorching around one of the most famous beach-side cities in the world, the event is the hottest ticket in town.

Tickets are now on sale for the Nikon Indy 300 with ticket options to suit everyone's needs. Four day Grandstand passes are available for those who prefer to watch the racing from the comfort of their own reserved seat or for those who prefer to wander around and soak up the atmosphere then a four day, weekend or single day General Admission pass might be more their style. For more information on ticket options click here. For information on Corporate Hospitality packages please call the Nikon Indy 300 Sales Team on (07) 5588 6800.

WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY…
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, first):
“What a day. I think we tried to play it kind of safe and just be conservative. Even in traffic we really didn’t rush things,” said Dixon.

“The car was fantastic. We didn’t have as much speed, actually, as we thought we did, especially in practice and qualifying. The car was super fast.

"We had a couple of guys that definitely sped up, with (Vitor) Meira and Marco (Andretti) toward the end, their cars were very fast. It was strategy in the end, it was crazy.

“There was no way we were going to catch him. He was half the track ahead of us. I knew our car was probably quicker than his, but not 20 miles per hour faster. It was nice to get it the way we did.

“I think about the run that Dario (Franchitti) had for the championship last season, and it’s nice to be able to be in that position after how we lost it last year.”

HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske, second):
“We took a chance. I can't believe how close we were. Coming out of the last turn, the fuel pressure went on and I started to lift,” said Castroneves.

“I was just a few hundred yards short. I have to thank (Tim) Cindric and Team Penske for the great strategy. We did not have the car, unfortunately, so I'm extremely happy with second.”

MARCO ANDRETTI (No. 26 Meijer, third):
“We have got to start capitalizing on these cars that can win these races," said Andretti.

"(Scott) Dixon had a bit of speed on us, but I think we had a better car in traffic. It was between him and I to win this race, and I think it is just unfortunate.”

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske, seventh):
“Team Penske did a great job today. We had a solid, consistent run and the car was handling very well,” said Briscoe.

“It was definitely fun out there; there was a lot of side-by-side racing and it really was quite exciting. I think we had a solid car, we just didn't quite have to speed to run in the top three or four.

“We would've liked a bit higher finish, but the important thing is we earned some valuable points out there and maintain our fifth-place standing in the championship.”

Will Power (No. 8 Aussie Vineyards – Team Australia):
"It was a disappointing race for KVRT Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia. Four laps into the race we had a mechanical failure, which sent me into the wall, and then I was unable to drive the car,” said Power.

“I want to thank the KV Racing team once again. We are the top transition team, we have great cars, but at the moment I am just having a really bad run of luck. Hopefully at the next race on the road circuit in Sonoma we will have a better weekend."

RESULTS: Meijer Indy 300 presented by Pepsi and Edy's
Results of the Meijer Indy 300 presented by Pepsi and Edy's IndyCar Series event at the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (1) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
2. (6) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
3. (9) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
4. (2) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
5. (3) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
6. (8) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
7. (5) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
8. (7) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
9. (14) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
10. (15) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
11. (26) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
12. (12) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
13. (21) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
14. (25) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
15. (16) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
16. (22) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
17. (23) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 195, Running
18. (4) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 157, Mechanical
19. (17) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 147, Mechanical
20. (10) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 136, Mechanical
21. (18) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 130, Contact
22. (24) Enrique Bernoldi, Dallara-Honda, 124, Handling
23. (11) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 98, Mechanical
24. (19) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 82, Mechanical
25. (20) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 28, Mechanical
26. (13) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 5, Mechanical

MEIJER INDY 300 RACE STATISTICS:
- Winner's average speed: 183.650 mph
- Time of race: 1:36:42.3467
- Margin of victory: 0.5532 of a second
- Cautions: 3 caution flags for 21 laps
- Lead changes: 10 among 5 drivers
- Lap leaders: Dixon 1-44, Meira 45-49, Dixon 50-52, Patrick 53, Dixon 54-121, Andretti 122-135, Dixon 136-164, Andretti165-188, Dixon 189-194, Castroneves 195-199, Dixon 200.
- Point standings: Dixon 558, Castroneves 480, Wheldon 420, Kanaan 411, Briscoe 350, Patrick 315, Andretti 311, Hunter- Reay 298, Servia 298 and Mutoh 298.

INDYCAR SERIES POINTS STANDINGS – POST RACE 14 – TOP TEN
1. Scott Dixon - 558 points
2. Helio Castroneves - 480
3. Dan Wheldon - 420
4. Tony Kanaan - 411
5. Ryan Briscoe - 350
6. Danica Patrick - 315
7. Marco Andretti - 311
8. Ryan Hunter-Reay - 298
9. Hideki Mutoh - 298
10. Oriol Servia - 298
13. Will Power - 267

BOMBARDIER ROOKIE OF THE YEAR POINTS STANDINGS – POST RACE 14
1. Hideki Mutoh - 298 points
2. Will Power - 267
3. Justin Wilson - 249
4. Graham Rahal - 235
5. E.J. Viso - 234
6. Enrique Bernoldi - 208
7. Mario Moraes - 197
8. Jaime Camara - 140

INDYCAR SERIES POST-RACE NOTES:
- This is Scott Dixon’s sixth victory of the season, tying Dan Wheldon (2005) for most victories in a season.
- This is Scott Dixon’s 16th victory in his IndyCar Series career.
- This is the 24th IndyCar Series victory for Target Chip Ganassi Racing.
- Dixon extends his lead in the championship point standings to 78 over Helio Castroneves.
- Ryan Briscoe and Danica Patrick, who finished seventh and 11th, respectively, are eliminated from championship contention.
- Helio Castroneves finished second for the seventh time this season, including the third consecutive race.
- Dixon and Castroneves are the only driver to record 12 top-five finishes this season.
- Marco Andretti finished third, his sixth top-five finish of the season and the 20th top-10 finish of his career. He has made 45 starts.
- Vitor Meira finished fourth, his second top-five finish of the season. His best finish was second at Indianapolis.
- Dan Wheldon finished fifth, his ninth top-five finish of the season.
- Tony Kanaan finished eighth. Along with Dixon and Castroneves, Kanaan is the only other driver with 12 top-10 finishes this season.


Back | Back to top