IRL IndyCar Series
Round 01: Homestead-Miami Speedway, Miami
Dixon Claims First Win of Unified IndyCar Era
The statistics make it appear simple. It was anything but.
 Starting
from the pole, Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon won
the season-opening Gainsco Insurance Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami
Speedway, going into the record books as the first victor
of the newly-merged IndyCar Series, which has assimilated
teams and events from the former Champ Car World Series to
create a unified American open-wheel series for the first
time in 13 years.
In fact, while Dixon led three times for a total of 67 laps,
it was Andretti Green Racing's Tony Kanaan who appeared headed
for Victory Lane when, while holding a 2.11-second lead over
Dixon with just seven laps remaining, he was unable to avoid
the spinning car of rookie Ernesto Viso. The pair made contact
in Turn 4, damaging the right front suspension of Kanaan's
car and ending Viso's race on the spot.
Kanaan carried on for another half-dozen laps under caution,
seeking to gain as many championship points as possible, but
was forced to pit and retire shortly after the field went
green for the final time on Lap 196.
The merger of the two major open-wheel racing series, announced
just last month, resulted in the largest starting field for
either series in the last several years. Five teams and nine
drivers from the Champ Car World Series have elected to take
part in the combined series, along with nine IndyCar Series
teams and their 17 drivers. Additional entries are expected
later this season and at the Indianapolis 500 in May.
Unfortunately, the Newman Haas Lanigan Racing entry of Graham
Rahal was withdrawn after a crash in practice earlier this
week, while both three-time Homestead race winner Dan Wheldon
and rookie Jay Howard were forced to start from the rear of
the field after crashing during their qualifying runs on Friday
night. In addition, the Vision Racing entries of Ed Carpenter
and A.J. Foyt IV were moved to the back of the starting grid
after failing post-qualifying technical inspection.
Dixon, Kanaan and Marco Andretti all took turns at the front
during the first half of the 300-mile contest, while Wheldon,
seeking his fourth consecutive Homestead victory, worked his
way through the field to also reach the lead group. Helio
Castroneves also featured briefly at the front, but faded
before midrace and would finish fourth, last car on the lead
lap.
Following the final round of pit stops on Lap 173, Kanaan
emerged at the front of the lead train, and steadily built
his advantage over Dixon, while Andretti pulled out a similar
two-second margin over Wheldon. Then Viso, who had just exited
the pits, lost control entering Turn 3 in front of the leaders.
Kanaan clipped the spinning HVM Racing car with his right
front wheel, ending his chance of victory in his adopted hometown
of Miami.
The 2008 IndyCar Series now crosses the state of Florida
for the April 6 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the first
road/street course event of the 18-race season.
Scott Dixon (#9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda)
Started 1st, finished 1st, his third IndyCar Series win at
Homestead Miami Speedway and 11th career win:
"Tonight was a tough race. Our car would run very well
at the start of each stint, but the handling would go off
later into the run. But at the end, we all had just pitted
and I thought we were catching Tony [Kanaan] a little bit.
Catching TK and passing him are two entirely different things,
but it would've been interesting! It was a shame he went out
of the race in that fashion, but we came through for the win.
With Dan [Wheldon] having a great drive to finish third after
his crash last night, it was a fantastic night for the entire
team."
Marco Andretti (#26 Andretti Green Racing Honda)
Started 4th, finished 2nd:
"Finishing second has definitely created a sense of accomplishment
for our team. We did a little bit of ‘redeeming ourselves'
tonight. We struggled here so badly last year, and at several
other ovals, that it became the primary focus of our attention
in the off-season. I worked all winter long with [engineer]
Eddie [Jones] to improve our big-oval performance, and the
result was a fast, very stable and predictable race car. It's
just a great way to start the new season."
Erik Berkman (President, Honda Performance Development)
on today's race:
"It was good to see so many cars out there tonight. I
thought the expanded field worked well together, considering
the varying levels of oval-track experience and the unfamiliarity
with the equipment. Getting to the first race of this season
was a big challenge for the associates at HPD and our technical
partner Ilmor, especially considering the additional test
days that were scheduled following the announcement of reunification.
But as expected, the Honda HI8R Indy V-8 performed flawlessly
and preliminary reports are that the 2008 updates, paddle
shifting and the return of the fuel-mixture control, all worked
as expected."
IRL IndyCar Series
Round 01: Homestead-Miami Speedway,Miami
1 Scott Dixoni (Target Chip Ganassi)
2 Marco Andretti (Andretti Green Racing)
3 Dan Wheldon (Target Chip Ganassi)
4 Helio Castroneves (Team Penske)
5 Ed Carpenter (Vision Racing)
6 Danica Patrick (Andretti Green Racing)
7 Ryan Hunter-Reay (Rahal Letterman Racing)
8 Tony Kanaan (Andretti Green Racing)
9 A.J. Foyt IV (Vision Racing)
10 Vitor Meira (Panther Racing)
11 Buddy Rice (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing)
12 Oriol Servia (KV Racing Technologies)
13 Darren Manning (A.J. Foyt Racing)
14 Franck Perera (Conquest Racing)
15 Justin Wilson (Newman Haas Lanigan)
16 Mario Moraes (Dale Coyne Racing)
17 Ernesto Viso (HVM Motorsports)
18 Enrique Bernoldi (Conquest Racing)
19 Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske)
20 Milka Duno (Dreyer & Reinbold Racing)
21 Marty Roth (Roth Racing)
22 Jay Howard (Roth Racing)
23 Bruno Junqueira (Dale Coyne Racing)
24 Hideki Mutoh (Andretti Green Racing)
25 Will Power (KV Racing Technologies)
NS Graham Rahal (Newman Haas Lanigan)
|
