Dixon claims IndyCar points lead with victory at Milwaukee Mile

Last update: May 31, 2009 - 11:16 PM

Scott Dixon took advantage of the heavy Milwaukee Mile traffic to pass Ryan Briscoe and drive away to victory Sunday in the A.J. Foyt 225 in West Allis, Wis.

The reigning IndyCar Series champion darted past Briscoe 25 laps from the end and was not challenged the rest of the way, beating last year's race winner by nearly half the front straightaway on the one-mile oval.

"It was tough," said Dixon, who also took the series points lead with his second victory of the season and 18th of his career. "Man, what a long race. We had a lot of traffic. Traffic was key to today."

Dario Franchitti, Dixon's Ganassi Racing teammate, built leads of more than 2 seconds over Briscoe and Dixon before he got held up in traffic and both of his competitors got past on Lap 154.

It was a duel between those two the rest of the way, with Dixon finally getting past when the lapped car of Tomas Scheckter briefly held up Briscoe on Lap 201.

NHRA

Series leader Ron Capps raced to his third Funny Car victory of the season, beating No. 1 qualifier Ashley Force Hood in the O'Reilly NHRA Summer Nationals at Kansas' Heartland Park Topeka.

Larry Dixon (Top Fuel) and Allen Johnson (Pro Stock) also won their divisions. It was Johnson's first victory in nearly three years.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Recent Motorsports stories

Highs and lows of first half of NASCAR season - May 31, 2009

Highs and lows of first half of NASCAR season - NASCAR's "regular season" has hit its halfway point and the season has been fairly memorable so far. Here are some highs and lows from the Sprint Cup season. More