Streaking Dixon wins third in row

Streaking Dixon wins third in row


The way things are going for Scott Dixon, it surely wasn't a surprise that he avoided a first-lap accident Sunday and went on to win the Honda Indy 200 in Lexington, Ohio.

After all, Dixon is on a roll and it was his 27th birthday.

Dixon escaped the mishap in front of him that put a crimp in Danica Patrick's hopes and hung near the leaders before moving in front late to pick up his third consecutive IndyCar Series victory.

But not everything was perfect, mind you.

''It's a pity it's Sunday and everything closes at midnight,'' a grinning Dixon said, thinking ahead to his party.

Dixon's victory tightened the race in the driver standings. He trails series leader Dario Franchitti by 24 points with five races left.

Dixon took the lead for good on the 77th of 85 laps when Franchitti took a delayed pit stop. He wasn't threatened the rest of the way, beating Franchitti to the finish line by 2.7 seconds to tie the series mark for consecutive victories shared by Kenny Brack (1998) and Dan Wheldon (2005).

''The team is definitely on a roll,'' Dixon said. ''Everybody is full of confidence. Things just seem to click a little easier. Your decisions come a bit quicker.''

Patrick never recovered after a bit of bad luck on the first lap almost wiped her and two of her Andretti Green teammates out of the race.

''I have to stop myself and think for a little bit, 'All right, everything happens for a reason,''' said Patrick, who finished fifth. ''I don't know what it is yet.''

Teammate Tony Kanaan made contact with Patrick's car in the fourth turn, forcing her to pull into the grass to avoid any further damage from behind. Kanaan then slid into teammate Marco Andretti's car, causing it to go into a half-roll before flipping onto its top and sliding upside down along the pavement. He wasn't hurt, but his car was.

''There was nothing I could do,'' Kanaan said. ''Danica appeared to be sliding. I hit the brakes to avoid her and spun. Unfortunately, I took Marco out in the process. I felt so bad for Marco because he had nothing to do with it.''

Bourdais earns Champ Car victory
Three-time defending Champ Car World Series champion Sebastien Bourdais dominated the Grand Prix of Edmonton (Alberta), beating Justin Wilson -- who won the race last year -- to the finish line by nearly four seconds.

The result vaulted Bourdais, who is expected to leave Champ Car for Formula One next year, into first place in the driver standings. He entered the race two points behind Robert Doornbos and one behind Will Power and finished it 20 ahead of Doornbos and 25 ahead of Power.


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