Scott Dixon, who barely lost last year’s IndyCar Series title, laid claim that he is the driver to beat in 2008 after winning the Saturday night’s season opener in the Gainsco Auto Insurance Indy 300.
Dixon captured the victory in a most unusual way, however.
Tony Kanaan was on his way to the victory before Ernesto Viso crashed. As Viso’s car was sliding down the track it clipped the Dallara of Kanaan, who was trying to avoid the crashed car with six laps remaining.
By Bruce Martin, PA SportsTicker
“They were fantastic out there,” Dixon said of the newcomers. “We haven’t really given them a fair shot, but they did their best tonight.”
None of those eight drivers had more than three days of testing in the series. Almost none of them had oval-track experience. Still, they were involved in only one significant accident, and that appeared to be the result of a punctured tire.
“I’m sure it was a little eye-opening for some of those guys,” winning team owner Chip Ganassi said. “But they held their own.”
Ernesto Viso was the only former Champ Car driver to hit the wall, and he covered 183 laps before a tire deflated. Will Power banged into Justin Wilson on an early restart, but they didn’t cause a yellow flag. Otherwise, the newcomers had a clean night.
Scott Dixon won the historic first unifid round of the IRL IndyCar Series under the lights at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The victory was Dixon’s 12th since his Chip Ganassi Racing team left Champ Car for the Indy Racing League at the end of the 2002 season.
His triumph came at the expense of Andretti Green Racing driver Kanaan, who was leading the race when the lapped HVM car of Ernesto Viso spun and collected him with just seven laps remaining.
| 
|