Backstretch Motorsports

GLADEVILLE, Tenn., Saturday, July 12, 2008 - Scott Dixon didn’t have the best car Saturday night at Nashville Superspeedway, but he did have the best strategy. Dixon elected to stay 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.

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NEWTON, IOWA, Sunday, June 22, 2008 - Dan Wheldon celebrated his 30th birthday by notching his second victory of the season, the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer at Iowa Speedway.
Wheldon took the lead out of a caution flag with 60 laps to go after his team made the decision not to pit. The move paid off, as Wheldon held off Andretti Green Racing drivers Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti down the stretch.

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FORT WORTH, Texas, June 6, 2008 — Scott Dixon topped the record-tying 28-car field to win the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts for the Bombardier Learjet 550k with a four-lap cumulative time of 1 minute, 37.5063 seconds (214.878 mph average).

Dixon, driving the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car, was 0.0462 of a second ahead of Helio Castroneves, who will join the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner on the front row. Castroneves, who has won twice at Texas in the No. 3 Team Penske car, recorded a 214.777 mph average (1:37.5525).

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INDIANAPOLIS, Friday, May 23, 2008 - Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon paced the final practice session before the 92nd Running of the Indianapolis 500. The practice, which had been scheduled for one hour, was limited to 12 minutes due to rain.
Wheldon, who will start second in Sunday’s 500-Mile Race, turned a fast lap of 223.934 mph, while Dixon, the pole sitter for the event, recorded a lap at 223.028 mph. The duo completed just six laps each before a light rain began falling.
Buddy Rice, the 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner, completed 11 laps, most of any driver.

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INDIANAPOLIS, Saturday, May 10, 2008 - Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon survived the drama of Pole Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and qualified 1-2, respectively, for the 92nd Running of the Indianapolis 500.
Dixon, who was fifth on the starting grid mid-afternoon, pulled his qualified time from his first attempt and put in another four-lap effort around the historic 2.5-mile oval. Minutes later, he had taken the PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award presented by AutoZone from the grasp of Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe with a 226.366 mph average.

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KANSAS CITY, KAN., Sunday, April 27, 2008 - Dan Wheldon won for the first time in a year, taking the checkered flag in the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway to become the first two-time winner in eight IndyCar Series races at the track.

Wheldon, the 2005 Indianapolis 500 champion, hadn’t visited Victory Lane since winning at Kansas last April when he led 177 of 200 laps.

This year, the Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver led only the final 49 laps, but it was enough for his 14th career victory.

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KANSAS CITY, Kan., Saturday, April 26, 2008 - Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon swept the front row starting positions for Sunday’s Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway.

Dixon claimed his 10th career PEAK Motor Oil Pole Award with a four-lap average speed of 213.956 mph (1 minute, 42.3014 seconds). Dixon, driving the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, will share Row 1 with teammate Dan Wheldon, the defending race winner. Wheldon, the final qualifier, had a four-lap average of 213.641 mph (1:42.4521).

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Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Fast Facts

Castroneves eyes three-peat as IndyCar Series returns to St. Petersburg
Firestone Indy Lights teams ready to tackle doubleheader weekend
Transition Teams find more familiar turf on street course.

Castroneves hopes to dance in Victory Lane
Helio Castroneves, the winner of the past two races at St. Petersburg and the winner of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” last November, hopes to return to Victory Lane for a third consecutive season. The affable South Florida resident has led 135 laps at St. Petersburg the last two seasons. Only two drivers have ever won three consecutive races at the same track. Dan Wheldon won three in a row at Homestead-Miami Speedway (2005-07), and Scott Dixon has captured three in a row at Watkins Glen (2005-07). Castroneves finished fourth in the season opener at Homestead-Miami.

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