Ganassi Star Earns Second Win In Two Weeks, Tightens Title Gap

LEBANON, Tenn. — Scott Dixon doesn’t have a forceful personality, and he doesn’t crave the spotlight like some of his competitors in the IndyCar Series.
But it’s getting hard to ignore the New Zealand native who will celebrate his 27th birthday on July 22.
Dixon drove his Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda to victory in the Firestone Indy 200 Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway, beating championship leader Dario Franchitti by 2.24 seconds. Franchitti’s Andretti Green Racing teammate, Danica Patrick, was third, matching her best finish.
For Dixon, it was two wins in two weeks and his second-consecutive victory at the 1.33-mile concrete oval 25 miles east of Music City. He led 105 of the 200 laps and averaged a record 164.030 miles per hour.
“This is fantastic and exactly what we need in the championship chase,” said Dixon, who cut Franchitti’s advantage to 34 points. “He had a strong day and was very competitive out there, but we just seemed to get up a little bit on pit stops and got through traffic a bit better.
“To be honest, our car just seemed to get stronger throughout the race,” he added. “Maybe we had a little more downforce, which enabled us to hold on as it got a bit hotter and the track went away. We didn't gain in speed, but we stayed really consistent.”
Franchitti held the early advantage on a green track washed clean by Saturday evening showers that postponed the start approximately 18 hours until noon Sunday. He led the first 88 laps until he got stuck behind the lapped car of Ed Carpenter, allowing Dixon and his teammate, Dan Wheldon, to make a dramatic pass.
“Scott and Dan got a good run on us and passed us,” Franchitti reported. “If I hadn’t been thinking about the championship, I might have tried a big outside move.
“From then on, we were struggling to get back up to Scott, and we just got screwed in traffic all day.”
Franchitti regained second place during the round of green-flag pit stops that occurred a few laps later, immediately prior to a 13-lap stint behind the pace car (laps 96-108) when a brief shower fell.
Once in front, Dixon took control of the race and built a four-second lead. A final caution for Kosuke Matsuura’s brush of the wall created a final six-lap shootout, but first place was never in doubt.
“Dan seemed to be very fast on that first stint, and we seemed to back up,” Dixon commented. “As the day went on, I think the track got pretty loose and those guys backed up, and I know Dan had some problems in the pits (he finished eighth).
“But all in all, it was an average day for us, and I think the key for us was going into the lead, that three-wide pass going into three, and just having clean pit stops to enable us to stay clear of the rest of the guys.”
Sam Hornish, Jr. struggled in the first stint and dropped out of the top 10 with handling problems before rebounding to take fourth place, while Marco Andretti enjoyed his best oval race of the year and finished fifth after running as high as third.