Wheldon launches season with impressive victory. IRL, INDYCAR

[The General]

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Dan Wheldon said his victory in the 2006 season finale was a statement of what to expect in '07 from Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Point taken, Dan, and thanks for the warning.

Wheldon became the first IndyCar Series driver to win at the same racetrack three years in a row, dominating the season-opening XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 under the lights at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Teammate Scott Dixon was runner-up – 6.4993 seconds behind.

Reigning IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr., driving the No. 6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished third for the second year in a row. Delphi Panther Racing's Vitor Meira was fourth, followed by Andretti Green Racing's Tony Kanaan and Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter.

The victory at Chicagoland Speedway last September allowed Wheldon to tie Hornish in championship points, but Hornish claimed his third series title based on the first tiebreaker – victories (his four to Wheldon's two). There appears to be another spirited battle brewing, with two 1.5-mile ovals and a temporary street course race on the docket before teams set up shop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

"It's a great way to open up the season," said Wheldon, the 2005 series champion who started from the pole for the fifth time in his career. "I think with Ganassi Racing ‑‑ this is not a sales pitch, this is the truth -- we've worked very hard over the winter to try to perfect what we started last year.

"I think I definitely underestimated how difficult the transition would be coming to a new team. And I think some of what you saw tonight is just the experience.

"Hopefully, this bodes well for the rest of the season."

Wheldon is familiar with the omen: Four times in the previous six years the driver to win the opener went on to win the league title.

Wheldon led 179 of the 200 laps, and overcame a pit stop bobble on Lap 104 to quickly rejoin the lead pack. He passed Dixon for the final time heading into Turn 1 on Lap 119, and the two cars broke away. On Lap 140, the margin was 6 seconds over Hornish, and the field faded into the South Florida night.

"I could stay with Dan, but as soon we got that gap I couldn't quite get there in time," said Hornish, who started on the front row. "It's unfortunate for the Team Penske crew. I said we'd be happy if we came out of here with a top-three tonight, and we did that. We'll move on to our next race and see what we can do."

Dixon, who finished fourth in the '06 standings – a scant 15 points off the pace – also looked strong in the No. 9 entry after starting sixth.

"We had it covered," the 2003 series champ said. "It was good to see. With the No. 9 car, we couldn't get enough speed. Dan was very good on the long runs. We'd get 10 laps from the end of a stint and just started getting a bit loose. It was a bit of a handful. It was great to see the team with another 1-2 finish. It's a good way to start the year."

Meira's finish was in contrast to last year, when the No. 4 Panther Racing car completed only 10 laps because of a mechanical issue. The team quickly rebounded, and he finished fifth in the standings. A contender was expected, and Meira delivered.

"This was a hard day for us, but we made the best of it," he said. "That's what we always do at Panther Racing. I knew today the Delphi car wasn't going to be good enough to win the race, but finishing fourth is a great start to the season. We have proved to be one of the best and most consistent cars in the league. The next step for us is to work on speed. We performed so well on the road courses last year that I'm looking forward to St. Pete."

Dario Franchitti, who started third in the No. 27 Canadian Club car for Andretti Green Racing finished seventh, followed by Vision Racing's Tomas Scheckter and Team Penske's Helio Castroneves. Buddy Rice, making his first start for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, rounded out the top 10. Teammate Sarah Fisher finished 11th.

"This wasn't exactly what we were looking for, but we got into the top 10," said Rice, the 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner. "We had one bad stint; basically with loosing the radio and the car got loose caused us to lose some spots. Had we not had that one bad stint, we would have been right there.

"With the IndyCar Series as competitive as it is, you cannot make a mistake like that; you loose track position and it stays green for so long. Otherwise, it was a good start for everybody. Sarah had a good finish and it's a great way for all of us to start the season off. Basically, we were last in owner points and now we are in the middle for the 2007 season. We just need to keep moving up."

Dominant Dan :: IndyCar® Series