Editor’s Note: The last time the NTT IndyCar Series raced at Nashville Superspeedway was July 12, 2008. Here’s the report from the following week’s issue of National Speed Sport News.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One of the hallmarks of Scott Dixon’s stunning success as an Indycar driver is his near-flawless ability behind the wheel combined with equally superb race strategy at Target Chip Ganassi Racing.
But in Saturday night’s Firestone Indy 200 at Nashville Superspeedway, Dixon won by making an uncharacteristic mistake.
Dixon missed his call to pit until it was too late and that left him on the race track, high in the fourth turn.
Realizing it was too late to pit as the rest of his main contenders pitted on lap 148, Dixon was in the lead on lap 149. When the green flag waved to restart the race on lap 152, he knew he would have to pit for fuel before the end of the race.
But the team’s salvation came in the form of a storm that stopped the race after 171 laps of the 200 scheduled laps.
After a brief delay, lndyCar officials flagged the race as complete and Dixon proved it’s sometimes better to be lucky and good.
“You couldn’t get more luck than what we had tonight,” Dixon said. “It was a bit of a miscommunication on our pit call. That’s the only reason I didn’t come in. And it worked out for us.”
Dixon got the checkered flag for the third year in a row at the 1.33-mile concrete oval in what is likely to be the final IndyCar Series race at the Tennessee track. IndyCar Series officials are expected to drop the track from the 2009 schedule to fit more street and road course races into its mix.
It was also the 100th auto-racing victory for team owner Chip Ganassi, which includes 22 in the IndyCar Series.
Before Dixon could claim his fourth IndyCar win of the season and the 14th of his career, he was fuming behind the wheel of his race car after the “miscommunication.”
“I was pretty angry for a few laps,” Dixon admitted. “But then when I saw that rain coming down, I thought, ‘Oh, this might actually work out pretty good.’
“It was a fantastic night. T.K. (Tony Kanaan) was definitely very strong. I feel bad for him because he definitely got the worst part of it.”
Kanaan led the race one time for 59 laps. the most of any driver in the race before he finished fourth when he was unable to race his way to the 200th lap, which would have included one more pit stop for the Dixon.
“I support my team 100 percent,” Kanaan said. “It was the right call to come in on lap 148. Who can predict the rain? Unfortunately. the rain and I don’t get along too well. But, the 7·Eleven guys have great momentum, and the guys at the front know we are coming. I’ll take fourth place today.
“When it is your year, it is your year. You have to get a little lucky to win the championship, and I got my share of the luck in 2004.”
Pole-winner Hello Castroneves led the first 54 laps of the race before finishing third, and Dixon led three times for 53 laps. Oriol Servia led the other five laps in the race.
Dixon finished ahead of teammate Dan Wheldon when the race was stopped to give Target Chip Ganassi Racing a one-two finish. It was the 26th time in IndyCar Series history that teammates have swept the top two positions. The last time was at Belle Isle in 2007 when Andretti Green Racing teammates Kanaan and Danica Patrick finished in the top two positions.
“I absolutely did not (have a second-place car tonight), but sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,” Wheldon said. “It’s a great night for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the end. To finish 1·2, and the rain seemed to be powered by Energizer Batteries because it kept coming
down. I had a lot of drag in the car and it made it very difficult. I had to lift a lot in traffic, and as I said. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good.”
Patrick rounded out the top five in Saturday night’s race. which saw Dixon collect his third Gibson Guitar trophy in a row.
“Every year I keep saying I’m going to learn how to play them,” Dixon said beneath an umbrella on pit lane as rain fell. “Every one of the guitars is very special. They are all very unique with the paint job. After winning the Indianapolis 500 this year, this is the second-best trophy for an IndyCar driver.
“I’m definitely ‘Singing in the Rain’ now.”