Dixon delivers in Ohio, ties IRL mark with third straight win

LEXINGTON, Ohio -- Scott Dixon escaped a first-lap accident and hung near the leaders before moving in front late to win the inaugural Honda Indy 200 on Sunday for his third straight victory.

It proved to be a happy 27th birthday for Dixon, whose win tightened the race in the points standings. The New Zealander began the day trailing Dario Franchitti, who finished second, by 34 points and trails by only 24 now with five races left.

Not everything was perfect, however.

"It's a pity it's Sunday and everything closes at midnight," Dixon said with a wide grin, thinking ahead to his party.

Dixon, sixth in qualifying, took the lead for good on Lap 77 of the 85-lap race when Franchitti took a delayed pit stop. Dixon was never threatened to the finish, taking his ninth IndyCar Series win. After wins at Watkins Glen and Nashville in the past two weekends, he tied the series mark for consecutive victories set by Kenny Brack (1998) and tied by Dan Wheldon (2005).

"Coming into the weekend, after qualifying, I was like, you know, this might be the end of the streak," Dixon said.

'I hope it is a true race to the finish,' Scott Dixon says of the IRL title chase. (AP)

Instead, the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team ironed out a few minor bugs, and the streak continued.

"The team is definitely on a roll. Everybody is full of confidence," Dixon said. "Things just seem to click a little easier. Your decisions come a bit quicker."

A huge crowd greeted the return of IndyCar racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which has a long tradition of hosting CanAm and CART races.

Franchitti was second -- the Scot's 11th consecutive top-five finish -- by 2.6917 seconds, with pole sitter Helio Castroneves third, fellow Brazilian Tony Kanaan fourth, followed by American Danica Patrick and England's Darren Manning.

Patrick, shooting to become the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race, never recovered after a bit of bad luck on the first lap that almost knocked her and two Andretti Green Racing teammates out of the race.

"I have to stop myself and think for a little bit, 'All right, everything happens for a reason,'" she said. "I don't know what it is yet."

Kanaan made contact with Patrick's car in Turn 4, forcing her to pull into the grass to avoid any further damage from behind. Kanaan then edged into Marco Andretti's car, causing it to go into a half roll before flipping onto its top and sliding upside down along the edge of the pavement. Andretti was not hurt, although his car certainly was.