Scott Dixon Wins 2008 Indy 500
Celebrations in New Zealand continued long into the evening, after the “Iceman”, Scott Dixon remained cool on Indy racing’s most famous track – and stood on Victory Lane at the Indianapolis 500.
As the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Team car passed the last of the lapped traffic entering Turn 3, Dixon heard his spotter scream, “You’re clear now, Bring it home! Bring it home!”
Dixon finished 1.7498 seconds ahead of Vitor Meira on May 25, 2008 at the 92nd running of the Indianapolis 500. “It’s such a strange feeling, and for me, I don’t show emotions too much,” said Dixon. “It’s almost like you’re in a dreamland. It feels so special. I think the parade lap and seeing everybody still out there yelling your name was something that I wish I had witnessed previous to now. But it makes you want to go and win this race once again.”
Dixon started from the pole position and led 115 laps (the most since Juan Pablo Montoya’s 167 in 2000), but it was anything an easy victory. Eighteen lead changes occurred over the course of 200 laps. It was Dixon’s first Indianapolis 500 victory - after a runner-up finish in 2007.
“What a day, man,” said Dixon, “I just couldn’t believe it. You just thought something was going to go wrong. We seemed to have a good car. We just had to hold on to it and stay ahead of those guys on restarts. You’re just a sitting duck. There were so many yellows. It was so hard to get into a rhythm.”
During a final pit stop under caution on lap 171 Dixon was able to move in front for good. His pit crew changed all four tires and added 22 gallons of ethanol in under 9 seconds, then pulled out of the pits ahead of the field.
“I was trying to save fuel, and I was trying to see how the car was in traffic,” said Dixon. “We were trying to work on it the whole time. I think we had a little too much drag in it. But coming toward the end, as long as we got a good jump on those guys, I don’t think anyone was going to get past us. The Target guys did a fantastic job.”
After finishing second as an Indy rookie in 2006, Marco Andretti grabbed third in the No. 26 car for Andretti Green Racing. Two-time winner Helio Castroneves finished fourth, and Ed Carpenter finished a career-high fifth. Rookie Ryan Hunter-Reay of Rahal Letterman Racing was sixth and another rookie, Hideki Mutoh, finished seventh.
Seven drivers were involved in six crashes during the race, with contact on pit lane between the Nos. 6 and 7 cars of Ryan Briscoe and Danica Patrick being the most talked-about. Briscoe’s right-rear tire touched Patrick’s left-rear as they neared the warm-up lane leaving the pit area on lap number 171. Briscoe and Patrick were running in the top eight at the time.
“On our final pit stop, I was on my way out of the pits when I felt the No. 7 car hit me in the rear,” Briscoe said. “I was trying to get around the No. 10 car, and there was plenty of room on my outside. It’s unfortunate because clearly this wasn’t the result either of us was looking for.”
Storming from her pit stall after the incident, Danica Patrick had a different viewpoint.
“I was going down pit lane, and I saw him pull out of the pit box and go into the outside lane and they had to wait so they could follow me and it was pretty obvious what happened,” said Patrick. “You know, what are you going to do? The guys worked so hard today, and they worked hard on the car all month, and unfortunately we didn’t get to make it to the end.”
In Indianapolis 500 history, only 38 drivers who have led after 100 laps have gone on to victory.
But Scott Dixon’s led at the finish, and that is all that matters now.
“This month for me was a month where you could be aggressive because you had the tools to do it, and I think that was what it came down to,” Dixon said. “Everybody’s hard work in the offseason and coming into the season. I think the team has been unstoppable almost over the first five races. It’s nice to be aggressive, nice to have the confidence level and even better to come away with a win like this.”
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