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Motorsports

Dixon debuts with splash

HOMESTEAD -- Gil de Ferran met Scott Dixon as he walked out of the interview room Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"I can't repeat exactly what he said," Dixon said, grinning. "But it was something like, 'Where did you get that from?' "

Dixon was a surprise winner in the Toyota Indy 300, his debut in the IndyCar series, which was known as the Indy Racing League, still the series sanctioning body.

To win, the 22-year-old New Zealander passed Helio Castroneves and his Team Penske teammate de Ferran, last year's second and third place finishers in the IRL championship.

He passed Castroneves for second place on Lap 140 of the 200-lap event, then took the lead during a pit stop on Lap 148. Dixon beat de Ferran by 0.57, about six car lengths. He averaged 153.710 mph.

The last driver to win his first IndyCar start was Juan Montoya, who won the 2000 Indianapolis 500 (his only series race).

"I picked up spots just about every time I pitted," Dixon said.

On the decisive last stop, which took about 11 seconds, he said, "We got alongside Gil coming into the pits, which probably helped a little.

"Everything just went very smoothly. We didn't rush ourselves. I didn't come into the (pit) box too hot and overshoot, which is pretty easy to do when you're fighting for that position."

Dixon spent the previous two seasons in CART and won once, at Nazareth, Pa., in 2001.

De Ferran appeared to have the fastest car most of the day and led a race-high 92 laps on the 11/2-mile oval. But he knew he was in trouble when he got behind.

Dixon "just barely beat us out, but once in first, he was awfully strong," said de Ferran, a two-time CART champion and third in IRL points last year. "We were very evenly matched. I tried to get around him, but it wasn't working."

Dixon, who drove for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing in CART last season, moved to the IndyCars over the winter. Ganassi dropped out of CART and went from one IRL car to two.

Teammate Tomas Scheckter also drove a solid race, putting his Toyota-powered G Force eighth, the last car on the lead lap.

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