Dixon's Rain Dance Earns Nashville 3-Peat

NASHVILLE, TN - Tony Kanaan had the Firestone Indy 200 victory in his crosshairs on Saturday night, but an untimely pit stop and a gamble by Scott Dixon left Kanaan on the outside looking in at possibly the final Nashville IndyCar event.

Kanaan led a race-high 59 laps, but on lap 148 – with rain on the way – gambled and pitted in hopes the race would go the full distance. Instead, it was Dixon’s gamble that paid off and landed himself in victory lane at Nashville for the third straight year.

Dixon was initially instructed to follow Kanaan into the pits as well, but a communication error with his pit crew left both Dixon and teammate Dan Wheldon on the track. Thunderstorms hit the area on lap 166 and the checkered and red flags waved on lap 171, awarding Chip Ganassi Racing a 1-2 finish.

Despite leading 53 laps, Dixon was not the deserving winner. Kanaan was the class of the field. Kanaan worked his way into the lead on lap 87 after he took advantage of a slower car (Mario Moraes) and rocketed past Dixon and proceeded to dominate the middle portion of the race. Kanaan looked like a lock to capture his second victory in three races, but another poor pit strategy by AGR cost him the win.

Fellow Brazilian Helio Castroneves did not fare much better either. The pole sitter for a record 24th time in his IndyCar career, Helio led the first 54 laps and appeared to have a strong enough car to end his 25-race winless streak. No dice. Streak extends to 26.

Outside pole sitter Danica Patrick was a surprising threat. Instead of being timid, Patrick exuded an aggressive driving style that turned heads. Patrick, the obvious crowd favorite threw everything at Helio except the kitchen sink. On lap 44, Patrick was ready to lead an IndyCar race for the first time since her Japan fluke when Helio turned down and blocked her heading into the first turn.

On the next lap, Patrick and Helio were side-by-side heading into the first turn, but Helio protected his lead by coming down, which forced Patrick out of the throttle. Dixon and Kanaan screamed past Patrick as she fell from second to fourth in one lap.

Helio relinquished the lead for good on lap 54 to Dixon. Helio – like Patrick – also lost momentum and fell from first to fourth in less than a lap. Despite leading the first 54 laps, Helio settled for third place– his ninth top-five of season.

It was not fun and games for all of the usual suspects. Marco Andretti was up to his old tricks again on the third lap when he lost control of his car and collected an innocent Ryan Briscoe before slamming hard into the outside backstretch wall just past turn 2. Marco settled for last place while Briscoe drove his car to pit lane where he was rewarded with a 25th-place finish.

Marco continued his HIT-and-miss driving style by adding another machine to the junk pile in 2008. How much more patience can daddy take before yanking the immature Marco? It’s time to cut the cord.

For the third consecutive week Briscoe was an innocent victim. Only two top-10 finishes since his first victory at Milwaukee and the monkey on his back has started to grow once again.

Can Briscoe shake off his funk at Mid-Ohio this weekend? Briscoe, a sports car specialist, should be the heavy favorite this weekend, but if we have learned anything this year about IndyCar, it is this: expect the unexpected.

As for the Nashville winner Dixon, rock on!