Dixon hoping to hang in points race at Chicagoland (PA SportsTicker)
August 28, 2009
By ANDREW SELIGMAN AP Sports Writer
JOLIET, Ill.(AP)—Scott Dixon has been inconsistent this season, and has had a particularly bumpy ride the past month. And now he’s trying to stay in the IRL points race at a track that hasn’t always treated him kindly.
“It’s been good and bad for me,” Dixon said, referring to his recent trips to Chicagoland Speedway.
In 2007, he ran out of gas. Last year, he lost a photo finish to Helio Castroneves but claimed the points title.
He’s trying to hang in the title chase after an uneven month in which he set an IndyCar record with his 20th career win at mid-Ohio three weeks ago but fell from first to third after an early crash at Sonoma, Calif., last week.
“It’s been definitely an up-and-down season,” said Dixon, who has four wins this year for Target Chip Ganassi Racing. “It’s been good on some parts, with the team winning over half the races – eight of them out of 14, which is definitely very respectable. And still, nobody’s had much of a runaway.”
Dixon ran away at mid-Ohio early this month and moved past Sam Hornish Jr. on the IRL career wins list with a dominant win that gave him a three-point lead over Ryan Briscoe. The lead went to pieces when Dixon crashed at Sonoma.
Now, he’s third in the standings with 477 points, trailing Briscoe (498) and teammate Dario Franchitti (493).
Dixon started 10th at Sonoma and was in a multicar crash on the first lap, yet he seemed to be on his way to a top-10 finish heading into the last corner when he got turned by Marco Andretti and crossed the line 14th. Officials penalized Andretti for avoidable contact and gave him a 14th-place finish behind Dixon.
The New Zealander is hoping to put last week behind him.
“We’ve had a good run,” Dixon said. “A lot of that credit is because of Team Target. All 20 wins have come with them. We can definitely add to it, and this weekend would be a great time for it.”
Last year, Dixon had reason to be disappointed and to celebrate at Chicagoland.
He held a 78-point lead over Castroneves heading into the final three events, but had to hang on when Castroneves made a late push that included both his 2008 wins, beating Dixon in a photo finish here.
Dixon, who only needed to finish eighth to claim the points title, lost by 0.0033 of a second – or 12 1/8 inches – in the second-closest finish in the 14-year history of the IRL series. Only Hornish’s 0.0024-second win over Al Unser Jr. in 2002 on this track was closer.
It was so tight that Dixon was initially declared the winner and went to Victory Circle before officials gave Castroneves the win. Dixon still claimed the IRL title by 17 points.
A year earlier at Chicagoland, he ran out of fuel two turns from the finish and lost both the race and title to Franchitti, driving for Andretti Green Racing at the time.
“At least I’ll know what he’s got,” Dixon said of Franchitti. “That year, I think we were probably quicker than he was, but we obviously didn’t conserve enough fuel to get to the end. It’s definitely going to be a lot different working with him and trying to get maximum points over the Penske guys.
“I know Helio is going to be pushing extremely hard and he’s always been extremely fast here. I’m looking forward to it.”
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POWER OUT OF HOSPITAL: IndyCar driver Will Power was released from the hospital and returned home to Indianapolis after multiple injuries during a crash in Sonoma, Calif. last Saturday.
Power fractured two vertebrae and sustained a concussion in his crash with Nelson Philippe during a practice session. Power is scheduled to see IndyCar series orthopedic specialist Dr. Terry Trammell on Monday for further evaluation.
Philippe, who left the hospital this week, had a concussion, a fracture to his left foot and hairline fracture of his right fibula.
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OLYMPIC PLUG: At least one driver hopes to steer the selection committee toward Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics. James Buescher and Chicago-based sponsor NAVISTAR gave the cause a boost by unveiling a “Back the Bid” paint scheme on his No. 10 Circle Bar Racing Ford F-150 for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Friday.
Start your engines! — Sign up for Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Auto Racing 09 today. And follow the race action with TrackPass on NASCAR.com.
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