Dixon gets first victory in new IRL

Kanaan loses lead after late-race wreck

Scott Dixon took the lead after Tony Kanaan crashed Saturday night and went on to win the first race of the new era of American open-wheel racing.

Dixon, who lost the IRL IndyCar Series championship when he ran out of fuel on the last lap of the 2007 season, got off to a great start with a victory in the Gainsco Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.

Kanaan came out of the last round of green flag pit stops in the lead and appeared well on the way to a victory until Ernesto Viso, a rookie driving for one of the former Champ Car World Series teams that just joined the IRL, spun on the 193rd of 200 laps.

As Viso slid broadside across the track, Kanaan tried to duck around him but hit with the right front of his Dallara Honda, knocking his tire askew.

Kanaan stayed out front for several laps behind the pace car, but ducked into the pits as the green flag waved on lap 197, giving up the lead to Dixon, who won for the second time on Homestead's 1.5-mile oval.

"We were catching (Kanaan) quick and that was the best part about it," Dixon said. "It would have been close at the end.

"This is fantastic. I think it's four wins in a row for Ganassi cars at Homestead."

Marco Andretti finished second, followed by Dan Wheldon, who had won the last three Homestead races for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, and Helio Castroneves.

Ed Carpenter finished a lap off the pace in fifth, followed by Danica Patrick.

ALSO SATURDAY

GRAND-AM IN MIAMI: Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas extended their points lead in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, winning their second straight race by taking the Grand Prix of Miami in Homestead, Fla.

The duo combined to lead 51 laps at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the No. 01 Lexus Riley Daytona Prototype, including 41 for Pruett, to win the 99-lap race by 1.645 seconds for the Chip Ganassi with Felix Sabates team.

"Everything was good today. We could run inside, outside high, low, really anywhere on the track," said Pruett, who earned his record-extending 16th Daytona Prototype victory. "This was truly one of the best cars I've ever had."

Defending Grand Prix of Miami co-winner Bill Auberlen finished second in the No. 23 Porsche Crawford with teammate Joey Hand. Hand led 14 laps before losing the lead to Pruett on lap 78.

BRADSHAW LEADS TOP FUEL IN TEXAS: Odessa native Alan Bradshaw and the three other provisional No. 1 qualifiers from Friday night retained their top spots in the O'Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, Texas.

Cruz Pedregon (Funny Car), Kurt Johnson (Pro Stock) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) rounded out the No. 1 qualifiers at the fourth of 24 races in the NHRA Powerade Series.

In the nitro classes, Bradshaw's time of 4.526 seconds at 323.50 mph held up and no one in Funny Car got close to Pedregon's 4.834-second pass at 314.97 from Friday night except Pedregon, whose 4.86-second pass in the first session was far and away the best Funny Car pass of the day.

MODIFIED EVENT POSTPONED: The NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour race scheduled for Saturday night at Southern National Raceway Park was postponed because of wet weather. A new date for the Night of Modifieds 150 will be announced later.

(From Nascar News Release)