HOMESTEAD, Fla. — On a historic weekend for IndyCar racing, Dillon Battisini made a little history of his own.
He became the fifth driver to win in his first start in the Firestone Indy Lights Series when he won Saturday’s Miami 100.
Battisini passed Richard Antinucci three laps from the finish of the 67-lap race. He defeated Antinucci, who happens to be Eddie Cheever’s nephew, by 1.684 seconds.
“I’m really enjoying (this type of racing),” Battisini said. “I just went into the race with an open mind. I wanted to make sure I finished, gained experience and enjoyed myself.
“I think my inexperience showed at the start when I dropped a few places, probably six or seven. My car was set up to come together at the end of the race. The only problem I had was the restarts after a yellow when the car lost tire pressure. The tires cooled off and I was struggling to get back up to speed for a couple laps. I knew once the car heated up, I would be quick. I had the fastest car at the end of the race.”
Other drivers to win in their Indy Lights debut include A.J. Foyt IV (2002), Mark Taylor (2003), Phil Giebler (2004), Marco Andretti (2005) and Raphael Matos (2006).
Battisini’s victory was the 10th for Panther Racing in Firestone Indy Lights competition.
Brent Sherman, a former NASCAR stock-car driver, was third followed by Arie Luyendyk, Jr. and Chris Festa.
“I don’t want to say we were saving our tires, but we thought there would be some cautions that we would be able to gain some track position on, and before I know it, it’s two or three (laps) to go,” Sherman said. “The car was unbelievable — the team gave me a great car. Obviously, Dillon had a great run.”
The 23 cars running at the finish established a Firestone Indy Lights record. The previous mark of 21      was set last year at Watkins Glen in the second race of a doubleheader weekend.
The finish:
Showing driver, laps completed and money won: 1. Dillon Battisini, 67, $32,500; 2. Richard Antinucci, 67, $25,000; 3. Brent Sherman, 67, $20,000; 4. Arie Luyendyk, Jr., 67, $16,400; 5. Chris Festa, 67, $15,900; 6. Andrew Prendeville, 67, $15,400; 7. Ana Beatriz, 67, $14,900; 8. Raphael Matos, 67, $15,700; 9. Wade Cunningham, 67, $13,900; 10. J.R. Hildebrand, 67, $13,400; 11. Sean Guthrie, 67, $12,400; 12. Logan Gomez, 67, $11,400; 13. Al Unser III, 67, $10,400; 14. Juan Manuel Polar, 67, $10,000; 15. Micky Gilbert, 67, $9,500; 16. Cyndie Alleman, 67, $9,000; 17. Bobby Wilson, 67, $8,500; 18. Tom Wieringa, 67, $8,000; 19. Jake Slotten, 66, $5,000; 20. Nathan Freke, 66, $4,000; 21. Pablo Donoso, 66, $3,000; 22. James Davison, 58, $2,000; 23. Jon Brownson, 55, $1,000.