Scott Dixon didn't have the best car Saturday night at Nashville Superspeedway, but things worked out for him anyway. Dixon stayed out on a late caution to take the lead, and took the win in the rain-shortened Firestone Indy 200.
Dixon grabbed the lead on Lap 149 and had enough fuel to stay in the top spot until rain ended the race with 29 laps left, giving him his third consecutive victory at the Nashville Superspeedway and his fourth this season.
"It's a big night for Target Chip Ganassi Racing," Dixon said. "Every time we ran this car, I've won with it, here at Nashville and at Watkins Glen. It's been a hell of a lot of luck for us, but you could not have been luckier than we were tonight. It was a miscommunication on the pit call. That's the only reason that I didn't come in. I was angry for a few laps, but when I saw that rain coming down, I thought, 'Oh, this could work out pretty good. (Tony Kanaan) was pretty strong and he seemed to get the worst out of it."
Dixon tied an IndyCar Series record with his third consecutive victory at the 1.33-mile oval, and teammate Dan Wheldon finished second as the race was red-flagged. It was the 100th automobile racing victory for Chip Ganassi Racing (22 in the IndyCar Series), and Dixon held aloft his third hand-painted Gibson guitar trophy.
Wheldon added, "I absolutely did not (have a second-place car tonight), but sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. It's a great night for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the end. To finish 1-2, and the rain seemed to be powered by Energizer Batteries because it kept coming down. I had a lot of drag in the car and it made it very difficult. I had to lift a lot in traffic, and as I said, sometimes it is better to be lucky than good."
Helio Castroneves, who started from the PEAK Motor Oil Pole, finished third.
"It's not the race we wanted to have, especially the way it finished. I was told that the Ganassi guys had four laps of fuel left," Castroneves stated. "That's two minutes. If the rain had come two minutes later, we would have won the race. But sometimes you have to be lucky than good. They did that, and there's nothing we could do. Team Penske did its race, and we finished third. It was good enough for what we had. The car was really tough to handle, and third is good enough for the championship."
Dixon led 53 of the 171 laps in the Honda-powered Dallara before the race was called.
"Having been a part of this team for almost seven years now, you understand exactly what it takes to win the big races and championships at the highest levels of racing," said Dixon, this year's Indianapolis 500 winner who also won the IndyCar Series title in his rookie season in 2003. "I think the tremendous amount of success the organization has seen is a direct result of the team Chip has assembled over the years. The people are the ones that truly make a difference."
Dan Wheldon joined the Chip Ganassi team after winning the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and series title with Andretti Green Racing.
"I was fortunate enough to win in my very first time in a car for Chip in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, but one of the fondest memories I have was being able to win for him in my first IndyCar race as a TCGR driver," said Wheldon, who acknowledged he's agreed to a contract extension through 2009. "He's a tough guy at times but one with immense respect for racing. My personality fits well with Chip and I'm proud to drive for him. I'm not going anywhere until I win him another Indianapolis 500."
"But all this must be suffered by those who profess the stern order of chivalry" Most Interesting Blog, June 16, 2008 and six other occasions. Lisa awarded him Best "breaking news" blogger March 31, 2008. Blog of The Day, Christmas Day, 2007. edhardiman wrote, "Falco's tribute to Rocket Richard reminds us all the stars of today stand on the shoulders of giants..." October 23, 2007. Three Golden Swirrly p00p Awards (Hockey, NASCAR and Use of Graphics), FlyingPig, July 18, 2007. 2007 Memorial Day Weekend Trifecta sponsored by williamwilman . Featured on WFORacingFans April, 2007. "Stylin'" award, Dusty, February 07. "One of ten new bloggers to watch" Dudski, January 2007.