Scott Dixon Wins the 92nd Running of the Indy 500

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Scott Dixon Win the 92nd Running of the Indy 500

By Dave Lewandowski
indycar.com

An island nation celebrated during its Monday morning commute, which undoubtedly will continue long into the evening, after the "Iceman" remained cool under the most intense pressure on auto racing's biggest stage - and victory podium.

Scott Dixon heard his spotter, Glen Wheeler, loud and clear over the radio excitedly yell, "You're clear now," as the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car zipped past the last of the lapped traffic entering Turn 3. "Bring it home! Bring it home!"

That the New Zealander did - 1.7498 seconds ahead of Panther Racing's Vitor Meira in the 92nd Indianapolis 500 on a rare sun-splashed day this month at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Maybe, just maybe, this victory in front of an enthusiastic crowd and worldwide audience makes up for having the 2007 IndyCar Series championship slip away on the final lap.

"It's such a strange feeling, and for me, I don't show emotions too much," said Dixon, hence the nickname Iceman. "It's almost like you're in a dreamland. It feels so special. I think the parade lap and seeing everybody still out there yelling your name was something that I wish I had witnessed previous to now.

But it makes you want to go and win this race once again."

Dixon might have started from the pole position and led a field-high 115 laps (the most since Juan Pablo Montoya's 167 in 2000), but it was anything but a clear path to his first trip to Victory Circle in "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." There were 18 lead changes over the 200 laps and enough potential pot holes on the way to Victory Circle to swallow the Honda-powered Dallara whole.

Dixon's first Indianapolis 500 victory - after a runner-up finish in 2007 -- and 12th in the IndyCar Series was commanding, but hardly dominating.

"What a day, man," said Dixon, who took over the IndyCar Series championship points lead as the series heads to The Milwaukee Mile on June 1. "I just couldn't believe it. You just thought something was going to go wrong. We seemed to have a good car. We just had to hold on to it and stay ahead of those guys on restarts. You're just a sitting duck. There were so many yellows. It was so hard to get into a rhythm."

There were eight total, and it was during a Lap 171 final pit stop under caution that Dixon was able to move in front for good when the over-the-wall crew changed four tires and added 22 gallons of 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in less than 9 seconds. He exited pit lane ahead of all challengers.

"I was trying to save fuel, and I was trying to see how the car was in traffic," said Dixon, who presented team owner Chip Ganassi his third 500-Mile Race victory. "We were trying to work on it the whole time. I think we had a little too much drag in it. But coming toward the end, as long as we got a good jump on those guys, I don't think anyone was going to get past us. The Target guys did a fantastic job."

Marco Andretti, who finished second as a rookie in 2006, checked in third in the No. 26 Indiana Jones car for Andretti Green Racing. Two-time winner Helio Castroneves finished fourth and Ed Carpenter advanced five spots for a career-high fifth in the '500.' Rahal Letterman Racing's Ryan Hunter-Reay was sixth and another rookie, Hideki Mutoh, finished seventh.

"Fourth place, definitely not what we expected," said Castroneves, who started in the fourth position in the No. 3 Team Penske car and claimed his seventh top-10 finish in eight starts. "We tried everything we could. We had a little issue with the debris. I was trying to avoid a slow car; I slammed on the brakes instead of hitting him. I pulled away and a piece of the debris hit my front wing so we had to stop to change that.

"Now let's think about the championship. Scott did an excellent job. Ganassi seems to be the favorite team right now, but, hey, the championship is still a long way and we're going to continue working hard."

Dixon's main competition early on came from teammate Dan Wheldon, who started in the middle of Row 1. Wheldon, the 2005 Indianapolis 500 winner, and Dixon exchanged the lead three times. Together, the Ganassi cars led 145 laps. After Wheldon's car started handling poorly in the middle of the race (he finished 12th), Andretti and Meira rose up to challenge Dixon.

Andretti led twice for 15 laps, and Meira took the lead on Lap 160 on a restart when he sliced between Dixon and Carpenter heading into Turn 1.

"Nobody but me and the Delphi National Guard crew (expected to lead the race)," said Meira, who started eighth, led 11 laps and finished second in the 500-Mile Race for the second time in four years. "We really, really prepared the car, and everything was according to plan. But things didn't really happen our way. We finished second, but you know what, this is a very good result compared to the struggle we had last year and at the beginning of this season. Definitely, Panther Racing is back, and the big three better watch out."

Buddy Rice, the 2004 race winner, finished eighth for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and A.J. Foyt Racing's Darren Manning was ninth. Townsend Bell finished 10th for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.

"I think we had a top five and I got caught up in a pile of cars on the final restart," said Rice, who started 17th. "I think we lost two spots on that restart and I tried to fight my way back into it. But we are happy with an eighth. Heck, with Townsend's 10th, we had two top 10s. For a small team like Dreyer & Reinbold, we are pleased to have that here at Indy. There are a lot of bigger teams that finish behind us."

There were six crashes during the race involving seven drivers (no injuries), with the most celebrated being contact on pit lane between the Nos. 6 and 7 cars of Ryan Briscoe and Danica Patrick. On the Lap 171 pit rounds, Briscoe's right-rear tire touched Patrick's left-rear as they neared the warm-up lane. Briscoe, who started on the outside of the front row, and Patrick were running in the top eight.

"On our final pit stop, I was on my way out of the pits when I felt the No. 7 car hit me in the rear," Briscoe said. "I was trying to get around the No. 10 car and there was plenty of room on my outside. It's unfortunate because clearly this wasn't the result either of us was looking for."

Patrick, who stormed from her pit stall after the incident, had a different viewpoint.

"I was going down pit lane and I saw him pull out of the pit box and go into the outside lane and they had to wait so they could follow me and it was pretty obvious what happened," said Patrick, whose 22nd place was the lowest in her four races on the 2.5-mile oval. "You know, what are you going to do? The guys worked so hard today and they worked hard on the car all month and unfortunately we didn't get to make it to the end."

Her Andretti Green Racing teammate, Tony Kanaan, was leading at the halfway point but six laps later the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven car slid up the racetrack into the Turn 3 SAFER Barrier and then was broadsided by the No. 67 text4cars.com car driven by Sarah Fisher as it spun. On the backstretch, Kanaan was passed on the outside by Dixon and Andretti moved low to pass but leaving little room for Kanaan to maneuver.

"It's really disappointing because I didn't have any choice in the incident," said Kanaan, who finished 29th - his lowest in seven starts. "I could have turned into Marco and I would have taken both of us out, so I gave up the spot trying to be a good teammate. As usual, something happened to me when I was in the lead. I feel really bad for my crew. The Team 7-Eleven car was really settling in and we were strong."

Only 38 drivers who have led after 100 laps have gone on to victory in the '500.'

On this day, a 27-year-old Kiwi led when it counted most.

"This month for me was a month where you could be aggressive because you had the tools to do it, and I think that was what it came down to," Dixon said. "Everybody's hard work in the off-season and coming into the season. I think the team has been unstoppable almost over the first five races. It's nice to be aggressive, nice to have the confidence level and even better to come away with a win like this."