Scott Dixon has won the SunTrust Indy Challenge at Richmond Speedway and moves into second in the championship, one point behind leader and team mate Dario Franchitti. Ironically it was Franchitti's pole position yesterday that gained him that extra point to take the lead.
It was to Dixon’s advantage that championship leader Ryan Briscoe had a dnf (did not finish) and his Penske team mate Helio Castroneves crashed out.
"Fantastic night for Team Target," said Dixon, who led a field-high 161 of 300 laps to pick up two bonus points. "Obviously 1-2 in points, too. And to gain over the Penske cars was a big night for us."
Graham Rahal finished third - his best oval finish - in the No. 02 McDonald's entry for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. Hideki Mutoh, who led the first laps of his IndyCar Series career, finished fourth in the No. 27 Formula Dream car and Andretti Green Racing teammate Danica Patrick was fifth.
Teammates Tony Kanaan finished sixth and Marco Andretti seventh. Rookies Raphael Matos and Robert Doornbos followed. Dan Wheldon, driving the No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing car, advanced three positions to 10th. He remains sixth in the standings.
Dixon has tied with Sam Hornish Jr. for the most IndyCar Series victories with 19.
The series now heads to Watkins Glen road course, the first of three consecutive road/street races.
See also
- Dixon on front row in Richmond
Race results
1. Scott Dixon 300 laps
2. Dario Franchitti 300
3. Graham Rahal 300
4. Hideki Mutoh 300
5. Danica Patrick 300
6. Tony Kanaan 299 laps
7. Marco Andretti 299
8. Raphael Matos 299
9. Robert Doornbos 299
10. Dan Wheldon 299
11. Tomas Scheckter 299
12. E.J. Viso 299
13. Ed Carpenter 299
14. Justin Wilson 298
15. Ryan Hunter-Reay 298
16. Mario Moraes 297
17. Helio Castroneves 245 laps
18. Mike Conway 135
19. Ryan Briscoe 26
20. Jaques Lazier 0
Championship points
1. Dario Franchitti 279
2. Scott Dixon 278
3. Ryan Briscoe 253
4. Helio Castroneves 225
5. Danica Patrick 219
