New Zealand’s Scott Dixon won his third consecutive Firestone 200 auto race, stretching his lead atop the IndyCar Series driver standings on Saturday night in Nashville.
Dixon grabbed the lead on lap 149 and stayed there until rain ended the race after 171 of 200 scheduled laps. It was the fourth victory of the season for Dixon and the 100th Indy-car victory for his Chip Ganassi Racing team, with an average speed of 148.072mph.
Brazil’s Tony Kanaan led the race when light rain stopped falling and teams were allowed to make pit stops. Kanaan led most teams into refueling but Dixon and teammate Dan Wheldon of England stayed out, gambling showers would return.
Full-speed racing resumed but heavy showers began only a few laps later, just soon enough to allow Dixon and Wheldon to nurse low fuel loads to victory and second place. Brazil’s Vitor Meira was third. It was the 26th time in IndyCar history that teammates have finished 1-2, the fourth time for Target Chip Ganassi.
Dixon leads the series with 420 points, stretching his margin over Castroneves from 48 to 63 points. Wheldon is third, 69 points behind Dixon, with Kanaan fourth, 81 points off the pace.
