Dixon wins at Kansas Speedway

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Scott Dixon took advantage of Ryan Briscoe’s tough-luck pit stop with 47 laps left, then held off Helio Castroneves to win the Road Runner Turbo Indy 500 on Sunday.

Briscoe led for 54 laps when he decided to go into the pits for tires and fuel. As he crossed into the pits, Dario Franchitti slammed into the wall, sending up the caution flag. Track officials didn’t allow Briscoe to stop and he lost position, returning to the track in fourth after pitting with the rest of the field.

Dixon took advantage of Briscoe’s bad break, using a quick stop to beat Castroneves out of the pits for the lead. The Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver kept up the momentum, cruising to his 17th career IndyCar victory and first at the 1.5-mile oval at Kansas Speedway.

Tony Kanaan finished third and Briscoe ended up fourth, leaving team owner Roger Penske furious.

“He went into the pits before it went yellow, then they said we couldn’t work on the car,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. We were in the pits before it went yellow, so I think the officials really have to take a look at that. It may have cost us the race.”

Dixon had a tough start to the season, finishing 16th and 15th on the road courses in St. Petersburg and Long Beach after decent qualifying runs in the IRL’s first two races. He qualified fourth at Kansas and was steady all day, leading 138 laps in windy conditions to win 11th career oval race. Now, he figures to be one of the favorites in next month’s Indianapolis 500.

Weather was an issue all weekend. Strong winds hampered practice and qualifying, and a strong line of storms Saturday afternoon wiped out the NASCAR trucks race.