“Following Helio all bloody day was taking its toll, ” said Dixon, who raced a Honda-powered Dallara on a street course for the first time. “You just sit there and you re waiting for the guy to make a mistake. That s all you re doing. You re trying to apply as much pressure as you can.
“It is tough just following the same car every time, every time. (Castroneves) drove a great race, there s no doubt about it. We couldn t give him any more pressure than what we did, and he didn t make a mistake. ”
Still, the 2003 IndyCar Series champion s back-to-back second-place finishes on the oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway and at St. Petersburg give him a five-point lead over race winners Castroneves and Wheldon as the series shifts to Twin Ring Motegi on April 21.
“It s a great start for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, ” Dixon said. “Two second-place finishes after only two races this year puts us in the points lead. Helio had us covered, but I think we had a little more speed on cold tires. We didn t make any mistakes and had a clean race, so it was a good day for us. ”
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