Dixon Beats Back Doubts, Wins at Indy

INDIANAPOLIS _ He is quiet.

Even with chaos all around_wheels bumping, tires squealing, people screaming and rivals darting here and there_Scott Dixon exudes such calm that his boss once wondered if he even really cared about racing.

Dixon was confident, all right, as he led the 92nd Indianapolis 500 at will Sunday.

He was convinced he’d lose.

“I was worried going into the race just because we had had such a smooth month,” said Dixon, who won the pole and was among the fastest in every practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“You’re sort of waiting for something to go wrong. Race day is the last day you want something going wrong.”

Like what?

Like having a rainstorm end while you sit second in an Indianapolis 500 you had led? Like running out of fuel on the final quarter-lap to lose a championship? See, Dixon endured both of those blows last year, alone.

So he dared not get too excited.

At least not until he passed beneath the checkered flags with Vitor Meira and Marco Andretti safely behind him.

Not until he was sure he wasn’t about to be pinched awake from a wild and wonderful dream.

Not until he felt the congratulatory kiss from wife, Emma, on his lips, the wreath around his neck and the cool, sweet milk pouring down his chin as yet one more symbol of what he’d actually accomplished.

“I was shocked, I think just almost dumbfounded,” said Dixon, a 27-year-old from New Zealand.

“On the last 30 laps, you feel quite alone out there. You’re like, `Oh, (expletive), it’s actually down to me on this, I better not mess up because everybody has given me the tools to do it.’ But when you do win it, you do want to get back and see everybody.”

Although Dixon’s car was the fastest throughout the day, it was his crew that actually made the winning move with 29 laps to go after Milka Duno’s spin brought out the final caution flag. Dixon came into the pits behind Meira when the leaders made their final stop but left in first.

Meira had made a bold, thread-the-needle, three-abreast pass of Dixon and Ed Carpenter for the lead on the previous restart but didn’t have enough this time.

“I thought right when I was in third place right on that restart, I thought now we can win, now we can win,” said Meira, also the runner-up in 2005.

“I did my job, and we put ourselves in position to win. We had the car, we had the crew; just didn’t work out this time.”

Considering Meira drives for Panther Racing, a single-car team dwarfed by the series’ superpowers, finishing within 1.75 seconds of Dixon was no shame. Marco Andretti of Andretti Green Racing and two-time winner Helio Castroneves of Team Penske followed Meira across the line.

Andretti ran among the leaders throughout the final 150 laps despite difficult handling during one stretch. His crew adjusted the front wing to remove down force but didn’t adjust the rear wing at the same time.

“My stint after that I had a lot of understeer, and then after that we trimmed out the rear,” he said. “By that time we had lost the track position.”

Had Andretti been in front of the pack, his slick car would have been faster. With cars ahead, he lacked the traction to make the final two passes.

In the first unified 500 since the split of 1996, the existing IndyCar Series teams enjoyed a distinct advantage because of their experience with the equipment. Still, Oriol Servia and Will Power, who expected to be contenders for the Champ Car title, finished on the lead lap.

The crowd was up by about 10 percent to 275,000, and mention of unification during the pre-race prayer drew a huge ovation.

“This race every year is very difficult to win, no matter who’s in it,” said Dixon, who predicted more competition next May.

Dixon, the 2003 series champion, made it look easy, and the reason is simple. Chip Ganassi’s team came as prepared as it has ever been and gave its drivers cars that were fast from the start.

Teammate Dan Wheldon was out front for 30 before being slowed by a mechanical problem at the right rear, possibly a broken shock absorber. Dixon led 115 of the 200 laps and encountered no trouble, whatsoever.

“It’s nice to be aggressive, nice to have the confidence level,” Dixon said, “and even better to come away with a win like this.”

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TOP FIVE

1. (1) Scott Dixon

2. (8) Vitor Meira

3. (7) Marco Andretti

4. (4) Helio Castroneves

5. (10) Ed Carpenter

(Starting positions in parentheses)

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(c) 2008, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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