Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon was in second position on Sunday and eyeing Darren Manning for the lead with 10 laps to go when the Kiwi spun warming up his tires and collected Ryan Briscoe. That ended Dixon's hopes of extending his streak of three straight wins at Watkins Glen. However, by finishing with an 11th place result, Dixon extended his IndyCar Series championship lead from 43 to 48 over Helio Castroneves.
Castroneves started a career-low 26th in the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen because of a steering malfunction that prevented him from completing a qualification lap in the No. 3 Team Penske car. His weekend didn't improve much. The championship contender came home 16th.
Dan Wheldon was sideswiped on the opening lap, forced into the grass and then onto pit lane with right rear suspension damage. The No.10 team worked to get Wheldon’s car back on track to pick up as many points as possible before finishing 24th. Wheldon is now 59 points back in third.
Up next is Nashville Superspeedway Saturday, July 12th (8:00 p.m. EDT, ESPN) where Dixon is the defending winner of the event.
Scott Dixon needs to only look at the second half of the 2007 IndyCar Series season to make him alternately smile and shudder as it relates to this year's championship race. He was 65 points arrears of leader Dario Franchitti exiting the Richmond race, but rattled off four victories in the final eight to outscore Franchitti 370-331 and set up a season-ending duel for the series title.
The momentum hasn't slowed. The driver of the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry has eight top-five finishes in nine races, including three victories, and holds a 43-point advantage over Team Penske's Helio Castroneves at the halfway point of the season. Dixon's teammate, Dan Wheldon, is 52 points behind.
Dixon isn't comfortable with the cushion, especially with six of the final nine races on road/street courses. First up is the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen (July 6) on the 3.4-mile Watkins Glen International circuit.
Dixon's steady results netted the 2003 title when he was a freshman in the series, and similar results have bred confidence throughout the No. 9 car crew. Castroneves hasn't forfeited many points though he's looking for his first victory since April 2007 and his first IndyCar Series title. The No. 3 entry has finished in the top five in eight of the nine events, including runner-up four times.
Tony Kanaan is fourth in the title search (82 points back) and teammate Danica Patrick is fifth (131 behind). AGR driver Hideki Mutoh leads the Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year standings and is sixth overall. Marco Andretti, Ryan Briscoe, Oriol Servia and Ed Carpenter also are in the top 10.
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