Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 Race Report

04/26/2009 -Kansas City, KS - Circuit: Kansas Speedway (1.5-mile oval) Kansas City, KS
2008 Winner: Dan Wheldon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) 161.774 mph average
Weather: Overcast, windy, 74 degrees F
Race Results:

Fn.
St.
Driver
Team
Chassis
Laps
Average Speed/Notes

1.
4.
Scott Dixon
Target Chip Ganassi
Honda Dallara
200
176.488 mph average, led 134 laps

2.
21.
Helio Castroneves
Team Penske
Honda Dallara
200
-0.710 seconds, led 3 laps

3.
8.
Tony Kanaan
Andretti Green Racing
Honda Dallara
200
Running

4.
7.
Ryan Briscoe
Team Penske
Honda Dallara
200
Running, led 53 laps

5.
3.
Danica Patrick
Andretti Green Racing
Honda Dallara
200
Running

6.
5.
Marco Andretti
Andretti Green Racing
Honda Dallara
200
Running

7.
1.
Graham Rahal
Newman Haas Lanigan
Honda Dallara
200
Running, led 8 laps

8.
13.
Hideki Mutoh
Andretti Green Racing
Honda Dallara
200
Running

9.
10.
Ed Carpenter
Vision Racing
Honda Dallara
200
Running

10.
9.
Dan Wheldon
Panther Racing
Honda Dallara
200
Running

11.
6.
Mario Moraes
KV Racing Technology
Honda Dallara
200
Running

12.
2.
Robert Doornbos-R
Newman Haas Lanigan
Honda Dallara
199
Running, led 2 laps

13.
11.
Sarah Fisher
Sarah Fisher Racing
Honda Dallara
199
Running

14.
17.
Justin Wilson
Dale Coyne Racing
Honda Dallara
199
Running

15.
19.
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Vision Racing
Honda Dallara
196
Running

16.
12.
Milka Duno
Dreyer &amp; Reinbold
Honda Dallara
195
Running

17.
18.
Stanton Barrett-R
Team 3G
Honda Dallara
181
Did not finish - contact

18.
20.
Dario Franchitti
Target Chip Ganassi
Honda Dallara
151
Did not finish - crash

19.
16.
Mike Conway-R
Dreyer &amp; Reinbold
Honda Dallara
109
Did not finish - contact

20.
15.
Raphael Matos-R
Luczo Dragon Racing
Honda Dallara
95
Did not finish - contact

21.
22.
E.J. Viso
HVM Racing
Honda Dallara
37
Did not finish - gearbox

22.
14.
Vitor Meira
A.J. Foyt Racing
Honda Dallara
14
Did not finish - crash

R - Series Rookie
Dixon Rebounds With Kansas Victory
After a tough start to 2009, defending IndyCar Series Champion Scott Dixon responded in true championship fashion

Sunday at Kansas Speedway, taking command over the last 20 laps to win the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300, the first

oval round of the '09 IndyCar Series season.

Starting on the outside of the second row in fourth, Dixon ran in the lead pack throughout the race, leading 134

of the day's 200 laps despite variable weather conditions that included high wind gusts and a near-constant threat

of rain. Dixon took the lead for the fifth and final time following the last round of pit stops, emerging with a

lead that would stretch to as much as a 1.5 seconds over the trailing Helio Castroneves before taking the checkers

with a margin of just over seven-tenths of a second.

For Castroneves, second was a minor victory in itself as the Team Penske driver was fortunate to be able to continue

racing after early contact with the rapidly slowing car of Vitor Meira on Lap 15. Castroneves lost both his front wings

in the collision, but rapid repairs by his Team Penske crew not only kept him on the lead lap, but in contention for the

victory.

In a challenging weekend of continuing changing weather conditions, the Honda HI9R Indy V-8 engine used by all 22 starting

drivers and teams continued its unprecedented string of race-day reliability. As in every IndyCar Series since June of

2007, there once again were no engine-related race retirements in today's 200 lap race on the high-banked 1.5-mile

Kansas Speedway oval.

Behind the lead pair, Tony Kanaan led a resurgent Andretti Green Racing organization home with a third- place finish to

take the early-season lead in the championship points standings; while teammates Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti battled

over fifth place in the closing laps, with Patrick prevailing. Hideki Mutoh also closed strong, recovering from a mid-race

pit lane penalty to finish eighth.

St. Petersburg race winner Ryan Briscoe led 53 laps, second only to Dixon, but was caught out while pitting from the lead

when the caution flag came out on Lap 153 for a single-car crash that ended Dario Franchitti's race. Losing track position

as a result, Briscoe finished fourth. Pole qualifier Graham Rahal lost pace mid-race in the changing weather conditions,

but then improved in the final laps to finish seventh, just ahead of Mutoh.

The 2009 IndyCar Series now heads to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the "Month of May" at the historic 2.5-mile oval,

and the 93rd running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race on May 24. On-track activities begin at the "Brickyard" on Tuesday,

May 6 with Rookie Orientation Practice, with Pole Day qualifying set for Saturday, May 9. 
  
    IndyCar Series Standings (after 3 of 17 races):
  
  
    1. Tony Kanaan
    100 points 
    7. Marco Andretti
    73
  
  
    2. Ryan Briscoe
    99 (1 win) 
    8. Graham Rahal
    72
  
  
    3. Dario Franchitti
    98 (1 win) 
     9. Will Power
    69
  
  
    4. Scott Dixon
    81 (1 win) 
    10. Helio Castroneves
    Dan Wheldon    
    66
    66
  
  
    5. Ryan Hunter-Reay
    Danica Patrick    
    74
    74
    12. Justin Wilson
    65
  

Scott Dixon (#9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 4th, finished 1st, 1st win of 2009, 17th career

IndyCar Series win, 11th on an oval: "I'm just so happy for the whole team. The start of the year was frustrating

 for everyone, through no fault of their own. They've all worked so hard these last few weeks. Today our car was

fantastic. We had it 'trimmed to win' and it definitely worked for us at the end. Everyone did their part. Now we're

looking forward to going back to Indy as the defending [race] champion and going for two-in-a-row." 
Helio Castroneves (#3 Team Penske Honda) Started 21st, finished 2nd: "The wind was very strong out there, which made

it a challenge, but it was the same challenge for everyone. Scott [Dixon] and all those [Andretti Green Racing] cars

were very strong today. It's so competitive out there, any of the top four or five could have won today once they got

out in front and in clean air at the end." 
Jack Spurney (General Manager, Honda Performance Development) on today's race: "Due to the weather conditions, we

started off today not sure if we'd be able to run the full [race] distance. Not only did the race run the entire

200 laps, but it was an exciting, very competitive event until Scott Dixon finally took charge over the final 20 laps.

Our congratulations to Scott and his Target Chip Ganassi team on their second win of the season. It was great to get in

our first oval IndyCar race of the season. Now we head to Indianapolis and the biggest challenge of the year for our

associates at Honda Performance Development and our technical partner Ilmor. We're ready for another great

"Month of May" at Indy."
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