Backstretch Motorsports

WEST ALLIS, WIS. — It’s a simple formula, really. When Target Chip Ganassi teams want a win, they leave it to Scott Dixon to provide.

The back and forth battle between the TCGR teams and the teams of Roger Penske for the 2009 IndyCar Series is the stuff of legend in the making.

Reigning IndyCar Series champion Dixon became the first driver to win for the second time in 2009, taking the checkered flag in the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 at The Milwaukee Mile ahead of 2008 race winner Ryan Briscoe.

In doing so, Dixon took over the points lead for the first time since the end of the 2008 season.

Briscoe dominated the race, leading 154 laps after passing Tony Kanaan on Lap 26. But Briscoe got caught up in lapped traffic on the tight circuit, and Dixon seized the opportunity, passing for the lead on Lap 201 of the 225-lap event.

“I was trying to get the flow of traffic the whole day,” said Dixon, who won earlier this season on the 1.5-mile oval at Kansas Speedway. “I definitely think from the start our car was better. We could run quick times when we needed to, and we were good in traffic. We had many runs on (Ryan) Briscoe, and he kind of blocked a lot and that was kind of frustrating early on, but he definitely got caught up there with (Tomas) Scheckter trying to take him on the bottom, and I got a great run on the high side and it just lined up perfect.”

Dixon holds a four-point advantage over Briscoe and Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti. Graham Rahal finished fourth, and Danica Patrick finished fifth, her fourth consecutive top-five finish. Rookie Raphael Matos earned a career-best sixth-place finish.

Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves finished 11th after starting 20th.

Briscoe, Dixon, Franchitti and Castroneves won the first four events of the season.

Also on Sunday, Mario Romancini earned his first career Firestone Indy Lights victory with a flag-to-flag win in the Husar’s House of Fine Diamonds 100. Romancini beat series points leader J.R. Hildebrand to the checkered flag by 1.0907 seconds. Sebastian Saavedra was third, Gustavo Yacaman fourth and James Davison fifth.

INDYCAR SERIES POST-RACE NOTES:

· Scott Dixon earns his second victory of the season and his 18th career IndyCar Series victory. He also won at Kansas this season.

· Dixon is the first driver to win for the second time in 2009.

· Dixon ranks second all-time with 18 victories. With one more victory, he will time Sam Hornish Jr. for the most in IndyCar Series history.

· Dixon takes over the points lead. He holds a four-point advantage over Ryan Briscoe and Dario Franchitti. This is the first time he has been in the points lead since the end of last season.

· This is the 26th IndyCar Series victory for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, third all-time.

· Ryan Briscoe finished second, his third top-five finish of the season.

· Briscoe earned three bonus points for winning the pole (1) and leading the most laps (2). He has led laps in four races this season, more than any other driver.

· Dario Franchitti finished third, his third top-five finish of the season.

· Graham Rahal finished fourth, his first top-five finish since his victory at St. Petersburg last season.

· Danica Patrick finished fifth, her fourth consecutive top-five finish. She is the only driver with four top-five finishes this season.

· Patrick has four consecutive top-10 finishes at Milwaukee.

· Raphael Matos finished a career-best sixth. His previous best was eighth at St. Petersburg.

· Marco Andretti finished seventh, his third top-10 finish of the season.

· Hideki Mutoh finished eighth, his third consecutive top-10 finish.

· Mario Moraes finished ninth, his first top-10 finish of the season.

· Dan Wheldon finished 10th, his fourth consecutive top-10 finish. Wheldon has five consecutive top-10 finishes at Milwaukee.

· Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves finished 11th.

· Tony Kanaan finished 19th, the first time he has finished outside the top four in six races at Milwaukee.

***

INDYCAR SERIES POST-RACE QUOTES:

SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, first): “I was trying to get the flow of traffic the whole day. I definitely think from the start our car was better. We could run quick times when we needed to, and we were good in traffic. We had many runs on (Ryan) Briscoe, and he kind of blocked a lot and that was kind of frustrating early on, but he definitely got caught up there with (Tomas) Scheckter trying to take him on the bottom, and I got a great run on the high side and it just lined up perfect. That’s the struggle at this track - getting through the traffic.”

RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske, second): “It was a great race. Scott (Dixon) was just a little bit better than me at the end there. He got me in traffic. I was struggling with a little bit of understeer, and whenever I’d get on the inside I’d really lose my momentum. Great job by Scott. He was there all day long and took the opportunity to pass me when I got slowed up. It was a great effort by Team Penske today. My pit stops were awesome. I don’t think I’ve lost a spot this year in the pits yet, so it’s a great credit to Team Penske.”

DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 TOM TOM, third): “The hard thing was lapped cars. It was traffic, it was timing your passes right. My guys did a great job and got me out in the lead on the green flag (pit) stop. Then I just mistimed a pass, someone took my air off and that was it - back to third again. I really tried hard to pass (Ryan) Briscoe at the end, but again, when he was taking my air there was nothing I can do. It was a tough day. The Milwaukee Mile produces close racing and you’re really fighting that lapped traffic all day.”

The Milwaukee Mile Race Results
Race Date: Sun, 31 May 2009

Key:
No: Car Number C/E/T: Chassis/Engine/Tire
S: Starting Position F: Finishing Position
XL: Times Led LL: Laps Led
Pts: Points

Pos. Driver/Car No C/E/T S Qual
Speed Laps XL LL Status Pts

1 Scott Dixon
Target Chip Ganassi Racing 9 D/H/F 4 167.089 225 2 27 Running 50

2 Ryan Briscoe
Team Penske 6 D/H/F 1 168.394 225 2 154 Running 43

3 Dario Franchitti
TOM TOM 10 D/H/F 8 164.706 225 1 19 Running 35

4 Graham Rahal
McDonald’s Racing Team 02 D/H/F 2 168.117 225 0 0 Running 32

5 Danica Patrick
Boost Mobile/Motorola 7 D/H/F 7 165.168 225 0 0 Running 30

6 Raphael Matos
US Marines Luczo Dragon Racing 2 D/H/F 9 164.671 225 0 0 Running 28

7 Marco Andretti
Team Venom Energy 26 D/H/F 13 161.531 225 0 0 Running 26

8 Hideki Mutoh
Formula Dream 27 D/H/F 6 166.139 224 0 0 Running 24

9 Mario Moraes
KV Racing Technology/Votorantim 5 D/H/F 5 166.791 224 0 0 Running 22

10 Dan Wheldon
National Guard Panther Racing 4 D/H/F 14 161.433 224 0 0 Running 20

11 Helio Castroneves
Team Penske 3 D/H/F 20 0.000 222 0 0 Running 19

12 Ryan Hunter-Reay
IZOD/WilliamRast/Vision Racing 21 D/H/F 18 160.381 222 0 0 Running 18

13 Tomas Scheckter
Charter/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 23 D/H/F 10 163.310 222 0 0 Running 17

14 Robert Doornbos
Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing 06 D/H/F 12 161.657 220 0 0 Running 16

15 Justin Wilson
Z-Line Designs 18 D/H/F 15 161.411 219 0 0 Running 15

16 Ed Carpenter
Menards/Vision Racing 20 D/H/F 19 160.079 219 0 0 Running 14

17 Paul Tracy
ABC Supply Co. AJ Foyt Racing 14 D/H/F 16 160.798 219 0 0 Running 13

18 E.J. Viso
PDVSA HVM Racing 13 D/H/F 17 160.744 175 0 0 Mechanical 12

19 Tony Kanaan
Team 7-Eleven 11 D/H/F 3 167.793 132 1 25 Mechanical 12

20 Mike Conway
Roll Coater Dreyer & Reinbold Racing 24 D/H/F 11 162.187 55 0 0 Contact 12

21 Stanton Barrett
CURB/Agajanian/Team 3G 98 D/H/F 21 0.000 0 0 0 DNS 6