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Dixon Ties Series Record

AP photo
By Andrew Cutler August 10 2008
It sure seems to be Scott Dixon's year in the IndyCar Series. The Kiwi notched his sixth victory of the season - tying the record set by Dan Wheldon in '05 - last night at the Kentucky Speedway in a duel with his main championship rival, Helio Castroneves. In the end it came down to a few drops of fuel, with the Team Penske driver comming up just short.

Dixon lead for much of the night, with Helio, Marco Andretti & Vitor Meira also taking turns at the point. With the laps winding down, Castroneves found himself out in front again as the other came in for a quick splash of fuel. The Brazilian tried his best to strike a balance between fuel conservation and staying out in the lead, but a hard-charging Dixon forced him to use up his ethanol just a bit too early, & he coasted across the finish line on a dry tank, having already been passed.

For Dixon, this was a turn-about from the scenario that played out in Dario Franchitti's favor during the last lap of the '07 season finale at Chicagoland, costing him both the win & the championship. "It was nice to get it the way we did," said Dixon, who now leads Helio by 78 points in the championship chase. "I think about the run that Dario had for the championship last season and it's nice to be able to be in that position after how we lost it last year."

Marco Andretti would finish in 3rd, with Vitor Meira comming home in 4th. Here are the complete results: http://www.indycar.com/stats/boxscores/2008/kentucky_08092008.pdf

After the IndyCar Series event, the Firestone Indy Lights drivers took to the 1.5 mile oval for a 67 lap race. Panther Racing's Dillon Battistini, who won 3 races early in the year but has been in a slump ever since, jumped into the lead early and then held off all challengers to take the win.    

 

  

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