Brisbane-born Kiwi Scott Dixon has won the 92nd Indianapolis 500 from pole position today, becoming the first ever New Zealand citizen to win the iconic event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Dixon is the 19th driver to win the race from pole position, and now leads the IndyCar Series points standings for the second time this season. Australia's Will Power and Ryan Briscoe had a mixed day, with Power claiming 13th while an incident with Danica Patrick ended Briscoe's campaign.
After a nearly perfect Month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway which saw him post the fastest practice time and best four-lap qualifying average, Dixon led 115 of the 200 laps to take the victory.
Dixon's main competition early in the race was his Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dan Wheldon, with the 2005 Indy 500 winner who started second passing Dixon for the lead three times.
After Wheldon's car started handling poorly mid-race, Dixon came under pressure from Marco Andretti and Vitor Meira.
 Andretti, who finished second as a rookie in 2006, led twice for 15 laps, and Meira took the lead on Lap 160 following a restart when he sliced between Dixon and Ed Carpenter heading into Turn One.
Meira led 11 laps before Dixon regained the lead for good on Lap 172, with his second place tying his 2005 Indianapolis 500 finish, while Andretti finished third.
Helio Castroneves, a two-time winner of the race, was fourth, and Carpenter was fifth.
Power's 13th place has the Queensalnder move to eighth in the IndyCar Series points standings while maintaining his lead in the Bombardier Rookie of the Year standings.
Power was the fourth Indy 500 rookie home in today's race, with the 27 year old from Toowoomba finishing just one place behind 2005 Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon.
Power's fellow countryman Briscoe was not so lucky, classified 23rd after beginning his third Indy 500 attempt from the front row before contact with Danica Patrick with 30 laps to go saw both drivers put out of contention.
The 2008 IndyCar Series season now heads to the ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt 225 on June 1 at the Milwaukee Mile as the series continues on a schedule that is the most diverse in world motorsports.
The 2008 schedule will take the teams and drivers to short ovals, superspeedways, and road and street courses including the Gold Coast Indy 300 which is regarded as a 'crown jewel' in international motorsport.
WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY...
Scott Dixon - #9 Target Chip Ganassi Honda/Dallara/Firestone – Indy 500 Race Winner
"What a day, man," said Dixon.
"I just couldn't believe it. You just thought something was going to go wrong. I've got to thank my wife, for sure. She's put up with my moods.
"What a day. 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.
"I was trying to save fuel, and I was trying to see how the car was in traffic. 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."
Vitor Meira - #4 Delphi National Guard Honda/Dallara/Firestone – Finished Second
(No one expected you to lead. How did that happen?): "Nobody but me and the Delphi National Guard crew," said Meira.
"We really, really prepared the car, and everything was according to plan. But things didn't really happen our way.
"We finished second, but you know what, this is a very good result compared to the struggle we had last year and at the beginning of this season. Definitely, Panther Racing is back, and the big three better watch out."
Marco Andretti - #26 Team Indiana Jones presented by Blockbuster Honda/Dallara/Firestone – Finished Third
"In hindsight, it's easy to point out mistakes in the race. I think as a team, we did an awesome job," said Andretti.
"I think the whole month, the Indiana Jones car was one of the ones to beat the whole month. It was a team decision to do what we did, but we missed. We messed up as a team. We finished third, got good points, let's move on."
(Are you referring to decision to trim rear wing on last stop?): "Yeah, copy. That's the thing: It's easier said than done afterward. It's a team decision. If you mess up, you mess up. We got good points. What are you going to do?"
Helio Castroneves - #3 Team Penske Honda/Dallara/Firestone – Finished Fourth
"Well, fourth place, definitely not what we expected," said Castroneves.
"We tried everything we could. We had a little issue with the debris. I was trying to avoid a slow car; I slammed on the brakes instead of hitting him.
"I pulled away and a piece of the debris hit my front wing so we had to stop to change that. The team, let me tell you, wow, what a team.
"Unfortunately, overall, it was very difficult to pass. We were just trying to keep gaining spots. Wow, what an incredible team. I am extremely honored to be part of it. Now, let's think about the championship.
"Scott did an excellent job. (Target Chip Ganassi) seems to be the favorite team right now, but, hey, the championship is still a long way and we're going to continue working hard."
Will Power - #8 Aussie Vineyards-Team Australia Honda/Dallara/Firestone – Finished 13th "It was a good race and I am really happy with the way it went," said Power.
"Aussie Vineyards - Team Australia kept creeping up the leader board the whole race, but the car was becoming pretty loose at the end. I was able to hang on and finish the race, which was key, but it was mentally draining.
"It was a good result because I was able to get a lot of experience and I am relieved to get have gotten through my first Indy 500.
"It was a good month. I kept getting more and more out of the car, and it's just good to finish the race in a good position.
"I'm really happy. I'm really happy for the Aussie Vineyards crew and we finished in a good position for us. We moved 10 places up so, and now I'm just exhausted."
Ryan Briscoe - #6 Team Penske Honda/Dallara/Firestone
(About incident with Danica Patrick): "It's a real shame. I just saw the replay, and it confirmed my thoughts," said Briscoe.
"We were both out there trying to win the Indy 500 today, and when it's time to go, we have to go.
"But from what I can see, there was still plenty of room on the right side for her to get around and there are people pointing fingers, but that's not the way we are.
"We both have a brake pedal in our cars, and from what I can tell, there was still plenty of room for her to get around me.
"I was trying to get around Wheldon, and I was staying in the middle lane. I got ran up in the back, and it's a shame."
Danica Patrick - #7 Motorola Honda/Dallara/Firestone
(On the incident with Ryan Briscoe)"I was going down pit lane, and as people pull out of their pit boxes if you are in the outside lane, then they have to wait to blend in," said Patrick.
"From what I know, it looked like it was pretty obvious what happened. What are you going to do? The guys worked so hard today. We worked so hard on the car all month. Unfortunately, we didn't get to show for it in the end.
"Congrats to (Scott) Dixon. He was strong all month and he deserves it."
(About what she would like to tell Ryan Briscoe): "It is probably best I didn't get down (to Briscoe's pit) anyway, isn't it?" said Patrick.
(About her day): "The unfortunate thing is we worked our butts off all month. We were creeping forward slowly, but surely," said Patrick.
"After the little mishap in the pits early and struggling with the car, but from what I can tell it seemed like it was relatively obvious what happened. You just don't come out of your pit box and swing three lanes out. That's why there is a 'get up to speed' lane and an 'at speed' lane. I was at speed."
(About what she wants to say to Ryan Briscoe): "We will see if he can find me first."
RESULTS: 92ND INDIANAPOLIS 500 AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Results of the 92nd Indianapolis 500 IndyCar Series event May 25 at the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (1) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
2. (8) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
3. (7) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
4. (4) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
5. (10) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
6. (20) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
7. (9) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
8. (17) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
9. (14) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
10. (12) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
11. (25) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
12. (2) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
13. (23) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
14. (18) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
15. (29) Enrique Bernoldi, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
16. (21) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
17. (32) Buddy Lazier, Dallara-Honda, 195, Running
18. (28) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 194, Running
19. (27) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 185, Running
20. (15) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 184, Running
21. (31) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 180, Running
22. (5) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 171, Contact
23. (3) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 171, Contact
24. (11) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 156, Mechanical
25. (19) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 151, Contact
26. (26) E.J. Viso, Dallara-Honda, 139, Mechanical
27. (16) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 132, Contact
28. (24) Jeff Simmons, Dallara-Honda, 112, Contact
29. (6) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 105, Contact
30. (22) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 103, Contact
31. (30) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 79, Contact
32. (33) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 59, Contact
33. (13) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 36, Contact
RACE STATISTICS
- Winner's average speed: 143.567 mph
- Time of race: 3:28:57.6792
- Margin of victory: 1.7498 seconds
- Cautions: 8 caution flags for 69 laps
- Lead changes: 18 among 9 drivers
- Lap leaders:
Dixon 1-2, Wheldon 3-9, Junqueira 10-11, Rice 12-19, Wheldon 20-35, Dixon 36-74, Wheldon 75-79, Dixon 80-91, Wheldon 92-93, Kanaan 94-105, Dixon 106-121, Andretti 122-135, Moraes 136-138, Andretti 139, Dixon 140-155, Carpenter 156-158, Dixon 159, Meira 160-171, Dixon 172-200
INDIANAPOLIS 500 POST-RACE NOTES:
- Scott Dixon wins the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in his sixth start. This is Dixon's 12th career victory in the IndyCar Series and his second this season. He also won at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
- This is the third Indianapolis 500 victory for Chip Ganassi. He is tied with Mike Boyle, Leader Card (Bob Wilkie) and Pat Patrick for the third-most '500' wins in history. Roger Penske has 14, and Lou Moore has five. Ganassi won in 2000 with Juan Pablo Montoya and was co-owner with Pat Patrick of the 1989 winner driven by Emerson Fittipaldi.
- This is the fourth time car #9 has won the Indianapolis 500. The last time was 2000 with Chip Ganassi driver Juan Pablo Montoya.
- Dixon is the first native of New Zealand to win the Indianapolis 500.
- Dixon led 115 laps, the most laps led by a race winner since Juan Pablo Montoya led 167 laps in 2000. Dan Wheldon led 148 laps in 2006 but finished fourth.
- Vitor Meira finished second in the '500' for the second time in his career. He also finished second in 2005. Meira has five top-10 finishes in six Indy starts.
- Marco Andretti finished third, his second top-three finish in three starts. He finished second as a rookie in 2006.
- Helio Castroneves finished fourth, his seventh top-10 finish in eight starts.
- Ed Carpenter finished fifth, his best finish in the Indianapolis 500 and his third career fifth-place finish. Carpenter's best '500' finish was 11th in 2005 and 2006. Carpenter has fifth-place finishes at Homestead-Miami earlier this season and at Chicagoland in 2006.
- Ryan Hunter-Reay finished sixth, tying his career-best finish recorded at Michigan last year. He is highest-finishing rookie.
- Hideki Mutoh, the American Dairy Association Fastest Rookie, finished seventh, his third top-10 finish of the season.
- 2004 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice finished eighth. It's his only top-10 finish other than his victory. Rice also has finished 11th in 2003 and 25th in 2006 and 2007.
- Darren Manning finished ninth, his best Indianapolis 500 finish in four starts. His previous best finish was 20th last year.
- Townsend Bell finished 10th in his second start in the Indianapolis 500. He finished 22nd in 2006.
- 1996 Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Lazier improved 15 positions during the race, the most of any driver. He finished 17th after starting 32nd.
- Dixon won from the pole position. This is the 19th time the winning car has started from the pole position.
- Dixon takes over the IndyCar Series points lead from Castroneves. Dixon also led the standings following his season-opening victory at Homestead-Miami. Castroneves had been the leader since winning at St. Petersburg, the second race of the season.
- Fifteen cars finished on the lead lap. The record for most cars finishing on the lead lap is 16 in 1959. The 1931 and 1962 Indianapolis 500 races also had 15 cars finish on the lead lap.
- Nine drivers led laps during the race. The Indy 500 record is 12 lap leaders in 1993. The 1980, 1995 and 1998 races had 10 lap leaders. The 1981, 2002, 2004 and 2007 races also had nine lap leaders.
- Marco Andretti recorded the fastest lap of the race (224.037 mph) on Lap 161. His father, Michael (1992), and his grandfather, Mario (1978), also recorded the fastest lap of an Indianapolis 500 race.
- Dixon, was the top lap leader with 115 laps led. His teammate, Dan Wheldon, led the second most laps in the race with 30 laps.
- Buddy Lazier completed 195 laps. It raised his Indianapolis 500 career total to 6,665 miles completed, which moves him past Michael Andretti for eighth on the all-time mileage leader list.
- Helio Castroneves finished on the lead lap for the seventh time in his eight career starts in the Indianapolis 500. The only year he did not finish on the lead lap was in 2006 due to an accident.
- Two drivers led the 2008 Indianapolis 500 for the first time. Mario Moraes and Ed Carpenter each led three laps.
- The 30 laps led by Dan Wheldon raised his Indianapolis 500 career total to 234 laps, the most among active drivers.
- Tony Kanaan led his record seventh consecutive Indianapolis 500. He led 12 laps, raising his career total to 214 laps led.
2008 IndyCar Series Points Standings - After Race 5
1. #9 Scott Dixon 188
2. #3 Helio Castroneves 176
3. #10 Dan Wheldon 156
4. #11 Tony Kanaan 139
5. #26 Marco Andretti 110
6. #7 Danica Patrick 122
7. #20 Ed Carpenter 120
8. #8 Will Power 114
9. #27 Hideki Mutoh 113
10. #5 Oriol Servia 112
2008 Bombardier Rookie of the Year Standings - After Race 5
1. #8 Will Power 114
2. #27 Hideki Mutoh 113
3. #36 Enrique Bernoldi 99
4. #06 Graham Rahal 98
5. #33 EJ Viso 93
6. #02 Justin Wilson 81
7. #19 Mario Moraes 65
8. #24 Jay Howard 62
9. #34 Franck Perera 56
10. #96 Mario Dominguez 35
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