Dixon wins Indy 300 at Homestead

Published April 1st, 2008

By Mario Sarmento
SPORTS EDITOR

One of the questions asked prior to the GAINSCO Insurance Indy 300 was how the drivers would be able to navigate such a crowded field of participants. With the first unified Indy race in 14 years, the biggest field since 2003 came together at the Homestead Miami Speedway Saturday.

In the end, the crowded raceway undid Tony Kanaan.

Kanaan was cruising to victory when he collided with Ernesto Viso’s car just seven laps from victory.

Kanaan clipped Viso and had to go into the pit with a badly damaged right front tire.

That allowed Scott Dixon to take the lead, and the Indy veteran won the first race of the season.

Dixon held off Marco Andretti, who led for a race-high 85 laps before teammate Dan Wheldon briefly took the lead.

Kanaan wrested it from Wheldon on Lap 181 and was in position to win before colliding with Viso.

“Unfortunate luck for him,” Dixon said. “He was driving a great race and his car was super class. We won and that’s what counts.”

It was Dixon’s second win at the Homestead Miami Speedway, and he set a course record with an average of 171.248 mph.

Kanaan said, “That was misfortune, yes. But how many times have I won races because some other guy was unlucky?”

Boca Raton’s Ryan Hunter-Reay started 11th and had a consistent race, finishing seventh overall, behind Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves.

But he wasn’t pleased with the result.

“It was a good day for us, we had a great car at times and at other times we didn’t but we soldiered on,” he said. “We should have been fifth. It’s a big bummer for us when we run that good not to bring a result out of it that we deserve.”

Hunter-Reay could barely move his right shoulder after the race, having to pack an ice bag under his race suit.

“It was a long race and I had some issue with my shoulder just because my seat was a little off,” he said.

Monday, Hunter-Reay and the other drivers traveled to St. Petersburg for the second race on the circuit, the Honda Grand Prix, which is Saturday.