Results from Iowa
1. Dan Wheldon, No.10 Target Honda Dallara
2. Hideki Mutoh, No.27 Honda Dallara
3. Marco Andretti, No.26 Honda Dallara
4. Scott Dixon, No.9 Commit Honda Dallara
NEWTON, Iowa (June 22, 2008)-Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s (TCGR) Dan Wheldon celebrated his birthday in victory lane Sunday by winning his second race of the season at Iowa Speedway in the Iowa Corn Indy 250. Teammate and polesitter Scott Dixon finished fourth in the No.9 Commit Honda Dallara to extend his lead in the IndyCar Series championship race from 35 to 48 over Helio Castroneves.
Wheldon started third on championship points after qualifying was rained out and took the lead out of a caution flag with 60 laps to go after his team made the decision not to pit. The move paid off, as Wheldon held off Andretti Green Racing drivers Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti down the stretch.
The win was TCGR's fifth in nine IndyCar Series events this season and marked the 98
th victory for Chip Ganassi Racing Teams. Inc. Wheldon and Dixon donated their combined winnings to the victims of Iowa's recent floods and tornados.
Dixon leads the IndyCar Series championship (316 to 268) over Castroneves, with Wheldon now just a point back of Castroneves in third. Up next for the Target team is the SunTrust Indy Challenge on June 28 at Richmond International Raceway (8 p.m. EDT, ESPN).
TCGR Quoteboard:
Dan Wheldon: "What a great day for Target Chip Ganassi Racing and a great birthday present. My wife and I drove from Chicago to Iowa earlier this week and we saw the flooding and it was just heartbreaking. Scott and I are glad we could help out as best we could this weekend. I hope the race today put a smile on the faces of the people of Iowa and took their minds off the challenges and most difficult times they are facing."
Scott Dixon: "Early on, the car was definitely not working the way I wanted. It was very loose, especially on the low line. I started using the high line and it came together better. The high line was definitely the choice of the day. When you had three or four guys in front on you trying to do the same thing, it was difficult to pass. I think strategy played out in the end and that’s the way it goes. It’s hard work to pass here. It's good to see Dan get a break; he's had a tough year so far."
About Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, Inc. With nine wins already in 2008, the team continues to add to its tally of 98 trips to victory lane. Chip Ganassi created his own one-car IndyCar team in 1990 and established a partnership with a new sponsor, Target. Today, his teams include two IRL IndyCars, and along with Felix Sabates he has three cars in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, two entries in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and a Daytona Prototype in the world of Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series racing. Ganassi’s IndyCar teams have amassed five Championships and 61 wins since 1994; his NASCAR teams have 12 wins and two Rookie-of-the-Year titles; and the Grand American team has won two Rolex Series Daytona Prototype Championships and are the three-time defending Champions of the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Chip Ganassi Racing operates out of state-of-the-art race shop facilities in Indianapolis, Ind., and Concord, N.C., with a corporate office in Pittsburgh, Pa.
For more information log onto
http://www.chipganassiracing.com/
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