Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s (TCGR) Scott Dixon started from pole, led 58 of 228 laps and claimed his third win of the season at Texas Motor Speedway Saturday night. The race ended under caution after Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact while battling behind Dixon for second place with five laps remaining. Dixon was a contender from the drop of the green flag in the No.9 Target car, running in the top-three for the majority of the event. Flawless pit work again was the theme for the Target team as Dixon was able to stay out front and survive eight caution periods for 52 laps. The turning point of the race came when he passed Andretti on lap 222 – just before Andretti and Hunter-Reay tangled and brought the race to its conclusion under the yellow flag.
Results from Texas
1. Scott Dixon, No.9 Target Honda Dallara 2. Helio Castroneves, No.3 Honda Dallara 3. Ryan Briscoe, No.6 Honda Dallara 4. Dan Wheldon, No.10 Target Honda Dallara
Terry Blount of ESPN thinks...the IndyCar Series needs to take a hint from NASCAR on this one and think about a green-white-checkered overtime finish.
"I was thinking about that," said Helio Castroneves, who finished second. "I definitely had the car to make something happen. But we can't compare ourselves to what NASCAR does. It would be a mess."
If ever a driver was due for luck, it was Ryan Briscoe. Over the last two weeks, he hasn't hesitated cashing in. After an early season of bad breaks, culminating at the Indianapolis 500 with his now infamous contact with Danica Patrick while exiting the pits (which knocked them both out of the race), Briscoe was in desperate need of something positive to happen. His racing fate changed June 1 at The Milwaukee Mile when he won his first-ever IndyCar Series race. Briscoe finishes third in Fort Worth.
Dixon's teammate Dan Wheldon rebounded from a practice accident in the No.10 Polaroid car, made up seven positions on a sore ankle and finished fourth. Wheldon’s weekend started with a practice crash on Friday which sent him into the turn four wall and eliminated the No.10 team’s primary car. The team rallied to prepare the backup car for qualifying and Wheldon came from the infield care center to qualify the car 11th. Wheldon had moved up to fourth by just lap 11 but had to restart near the rear of the field after Briscoe stopped in his pit stall under yellow. Briscoe would serve a penalty for the incident and Wheldon managed to rebound up through the field to finish fourth.
Dixon Not Slowing Down - Helio Not Dancing - Wheldon Crashes
Following his win at the Indianapolis 500, Scott Dixon backed up with a second place last weekend at the Milwaukee Mile and heads to the Texas Motor Speedway looking to get back to his winning ways. In finishing second at Milwaukee Dixon has now had five top-three finishes so far this season and has led 100 or more laps in four consecutive races. With stats like these, he looks good for another podium finish in Texas as he strives for his second IRL title. Dixon leads the IndyCar Series by 28 points from Helio Castroneves (206), and his Target Chip Ganassi team mate Dan Wheldon (185).
Helio Castroneves was asked about his interest in dancing with NASCAR earlier this week and responded, " I'm doing everything I can to clinch the championship and run here in open wheel. Right now we've merged and the series is in a good spot and I would say the opportunity, I don't think, is there to go to NASCAR. I would consider it in that you should always leave doors open.
Dan Wheldon had a sore right ankle after crashing during practice on Friday, but was cleared by doctors to take part in qualifying later in the day for the Bombardier Learjet 500 IndyCar race on Saturday. Wheldon, the 2005 IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 champion, hit the outside wall coming out of the fourth turn on the high-banked Texas track. The car slid down the track, losing a rear wheel, then tumbled after bogging down in the infield grass and came to rest upside down.
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