Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Indy 500

New Zealand's Scott Dixon led the field at this year's 92nd Indianapolis 500 going into turn 1 of Lap 1 and, after surviving 200 laps of open wheel mayhem at the Brickyard, crossed the finish line first, 1.75 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Vitor Meira. Unfortunately, no one on the Autoblog team witnessed the win, the allure of barbecues and time spent with family this past Memorial Day weekend being too strong to resist. Perhaps that says something about the popularity of open-wheel racing in the U.S., though we suspect the 250,000 in attendance and larger television audience of the Indy 500 this year would disagree.

While Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing took the win, all eyes were still on Danica Patrick to see if she could pull out the first win for a woman at the Brickyard coming off her victory in Japan last month. Unfortunately, a win for Danica was not meant to be, as her left-rear tire was tagged by Team Penske's Ryan Briscoe coming out of the pits. The contact spun out Patrick and did mortal damage to her rear axle. She was more than a bit miffed (wouldn't you?) and began a determined walk down pit row towards Briscoe's pit box, but a track security officer stopped her and prevented what could've been the race's biggest spectacle.

So the IndyCar Series' most famous race is in the bag, and it was the first since the IRL and Champ Car series reunited. Things are looking up for open-wheel racing in the U.S. despite our own disinterest, and the 92nd running of this year's Indianapolis 500 sounds like it was enjoyable to watch. Maybe we'll sit down for it next year.

If like us you didn't catch the race on TV, check out SpeedTV's recap video after the jump.


[Source: IndyStar.com]

Scott Dixon, racing for the Target Chip Ganassi IRL team, is your pole sitter for the upcoming Indy 500. Scott took the front spot with a 4-lap average of 226.366 MPH, about 0.5 MPH faster than last year's pole sitter. Slotting in behind Dixon is his teammate, Dan Wheldon, just a fraction slower at 226.110 MPH.

The first 22 slots in the 32-car field have been decided. Dixon and Wheldon will be followed by Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves, Danica Patrick, Tony Kanann and Marco Andretti as the top six. The final 11 slots will be decided this Saturday and Sunday. The 92nd Indy 500 takes place on Sunday, May 25.

[Source: AP]

Juan Pablo Montoya has been a busy boy since leaving F1. After working his way up the American stock-car racing ladder – and winning the NEXTEL Cup Rookie of the Year award for his troubles – the Colombian driver is still planning on making a return to Daytona to defend his title in the Rolex 24.

Montoya made his Grand Am debut behind the wheel of a Daytona Prototype at the event last year, taking the checkered flag to become the first driver in the history of motorsport to win the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Daytona. At the next race in January, Montoya will be sharing driving duties in the #1 Chip Ganassi Racing car along with his NASCAR team-mate Dario Francitti, as well as Scott Pruett (with whom he shared victory last year) and Memo Rojas.

This year at Daytona, Ganassi will be fielding two cars. The second Daytona Prototype will be driven by Salvador Duran (who shared victory with Montoya and Pruett last year), IRL IndyCar champions Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon, and Indy Pro Series champ Alex Lloyd.

Altogether Ganassi is heading to Daytona in January with a star-studded line-up of drivers in pursuit of their third consecutive win at the famous race.

[Source: Autosport]

The series formerly known as the IRL held its first-ever race in the rain on Sunday, in an eventful (and definitely TiVo-worthy) race at the famous Watkins Glen road course.

Details after the jump...