Back On Form?

After a rather lackluster start to his 2008 IndyCar title defense - finishing 16th at St. Petersburg and 15th at Long Beach - Scott Dixon came roaring back to life yesterday at Kansas Speedway, putting in a dominating performance to win and vaulting himself up to fourth place in the standings.

Dixon lead 134 of the 200 laps: Ryan Briscoe was the only other driver who's tally broke the double-diget mark (with 53). As the laps wound down, the race bagan to look like a repeat of last year's season finale at Chicagoland, with Team Penske driver Helio Castroneves challenging Dixon for the win. This time, however, it was the Kiwi who prevailed.

"I think we were trimmed to win as they say," said Dixon, for whom Kansas was his 99th IndyCar Series start. "It's still very tight and we're still within a shot to win this championship. We're definitely looking strong going into Indy." Also looking strong were the drivers of the Andretti-Green stable, who all finished within the top eight positions: AGR's Tony Kanaan now leads the championship points battle, with an even 100.

"Consistency is definitely the key," said Kanaan, who has yet to finish outside the top 5 in 2009. "But we need to work a lot harder to get this car to win races. But in the meantime, we keep finishing where we need to be. Obviously, it feels good, but it's so early in the season. It's good momentum going to Indy." 

Here are the complete race results: http://www.indycar.com/stats/boxscores/2009/kansas_04262009.pdf

Earlier in the day, Firstone Indy Lights Series rookie Sebastian Saavedra of Columbia won the Kansas Lottery 100, driving for AFS/Andretti-Green.