Tue Jun 17 11:07:21 2008

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Dixon dominating IndyCar season

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Newton, Iowa (Sports Network) - The 2008 IndyCar season is looking eerily similar to the 2003 season in which Scott Dixon was a dominant force en route to a title.

Five year's ago, Dixon won three of the first seven races. He has done the same thing this season, winning the opener at Homestead, the Indianapolis 500 and two week's ago in Texas.

At Texas, Dixon started on the pole and led 58 of the 228 laps. He was a contender from the drop of the green flag in the No.9 Target Chip Ganassi car, running in the top-three for the most of the race. Dixon passed Marco Andretti for the lead on lap 222 just before Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay made contact to end the race under caution.

"We just want to win this championship," said the focused points leader. "I'm sorry to see it end under caution, but it's a great way to get some points for this championship."

Thirty-five points behind Dixon in the standings is Helio Castroneves. The Brazilian has seven top-five finishes in seven starts this season, but despite being fourth all-time with 12 victories, has yet to win a race in 2008.

At TMS, Castroneves recovered from an early pit speed violation to finish second.

"We had a great car, a winning car," Castroneves said. "I'm upset because I feel like we had a great chance."

Penske Racing and Penske drivers are rarely satisfied with second place, so expect Castroneves to visit Victory Lane very soon.

Behind Dixon and Castroneves in the standings are Dixon's teammate Dan Wheldon and Andretti Green Racing's Tony Kanaan. While most of the AGR coverage has been about Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti, it is the more consistent Kanaan that is a threat to win a championship. Kanaan has five top-five in the seven races so far.

In last year's inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250, Dario Franchitti avoided numerous accidents to edge out AGR teammate Andretti. This is the first of six races in six weeks which should give us a clearer view on the championship.