Dan Wheldon Wins Iowa 250 IndyCar Race
Written by Allan Brewer · June 23, 2008
Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dan Wheldon held of a hard-charging pair of Andretti Green Racing’s Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti to claim the victory at the Iowa Corn 250 in Newton, Iowa on Sunday (June 22nd).
Wheldon’s savvy use of tire and fuel strategy earned him the victory in a race that was the diametric opposite of its inaugural one year ago. Under hot, windy conditions the TCGR ace benefitted from multiple yellow flag periods that allowed him to pinch his fuel mileage toward the extremely lean mixture that kept him out where other contenders (including championship points leader and teammate Scott Dixon) required another refill of ethanol.
Motorsport.com: Dan Wheldon Masters Strategy and Iowa Oval for IndyCar Win
Mutoh’s second-place finish marked the first time a Japanese driver has graced the IndyCar series podium and brought the Honda Formula Dream protege to the front in 2008 IndyCar Rookie of the Year points.
Andretti tried to set up Mutoh for a late-race pass but was repeatedly thwarted by his rookie teammate. Marco settled for third in a race he described as “one of the best we’ve had.”
Scott Dixon retained the IndyCar Series points lead as Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves suffered a cut tire that required a late pitstop. Castroneves fourteenth place result leaves him nearly fifty points to the rear of Dixon in the championship chase.
IndyCar racing resumes on Saturday with the SunTrust 300 at Richmond Speedway in Richmond Virginia.
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