By The Associated Press
Dan Wheldon had to wait a couple of weeks to celebrate his first IRL championship. That paled in comparison to what Scott Dixon has been through.
Winless in 40 races, Dixon gained the lead when Sam Hornish Jr. pitted with 12 laps to go and won the inaugural IRL Indy Grand Prix on Sunday at Watkins Glen International in New York.
It was his first victory since Richmond in 2003, the year he won the series championship.
“It feels great,” said the 25-year-old New Zealander, who led 26 of the final 29 laps of the 60-lap race. “I’m just relieved.”
Dario Franchitti finished third, followed by Italian Giorgio Pantano.
Dixon started fourth after Helio Castroneves bumped him off the pole in Saturday’s six-car qualifying shootout, and he had a close call on the first turn of the race, briefly touching Franchitti as they sped toward the 90-degree right-hander.
Unscathed, Dixon stayed near the front and led Tony Kanaan and Franchitti when Alex Barron went off course, prompting a full-course caution with 7 laps remaining.
“The car was fast,” said Dixon, whose parents were at the track watching. “We passed a lot of cars when we needed to. I’m just overwhelmed.”
The restart came with 5 laps left, and Dixon quickly roared away from Kanaan going into the first turn. He took the checkered flag under caution when Castroneves and rookie Tomas Enge collided on the final lap.
Danica Patrick struggled and finished 16th, but that was enough to give her rookie of the year honors over Enge and make her the first rookie to top $1 million in earnings.
Wheldon, a 27-year-old native of Emberton, England, secured his first IRL championship when the third and final road race on the IRL schedule became official at the halfway point, the start of lap 31.
Formula One: Spaniard Fernando Alonso, 24, became the series’ youngest champion by finishing third in the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, having already been the youngest race winner and pole position winner.
Alonso needed only a top- three finish in a race won by Juan Pablo Montoya of McLaren-Mercedes. Kimi Raikkonen, Montoya’s teammate and the only other driver in contention for the championship, finished second on the 2.6-mile Interlagos circuit.
Champ Car: Despite a crash with Paul Tracy and a brush with teammate Oriol Servia, Sebastien Bourdais won the Champ Car Hurricane Relief 400 late Saturday night at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
