Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon and Dan Wheldon return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this year with cars capable of winning the 91st Indianapolis 500. The duo also return hungry for victory in the world's most famous race after seeing it slip from their grasp one year ago.

“I've seen the great side of Indianapolis with winning in 2005, but I've also seen that side where, like last year, it just wrenched my heart from my body because both Scott and I had very good cars,” Wheldon, who starts sixth, said. “We were running 1-2 with about 30 to go, and neither one of us won it. That was incredibly disappointing, but it makes me very motivated to come back and try and win again.”

Wheldon could easily be going for a three-peat at Indianapolis had he not pitted for a punctured tire late in the race. It ruined a dominating day for the 2005 Indianapolis 500 champion, who led a race-high 148 laps.

“I remember Chip coming on the radio telling me to slow down because I had a 19-second lead,” Wheldon said. “To be so comfortable in traffic and be so comfortable in a race car, to pick up a flat tire when you really can't react from it was tough.”

Dixon also had a car capable of winning the 500 only to lose his chance at victory when he was penalized by race officials for what was deemed a blocking infraction. The 2003 IndyCar Series champion enters his fifth Indianapolis 500 from fourth position on the grid intent on adding to his championship pedigree.

“I know from winning championships, it does make you want to win it more,” said Dixon, who recorded his best Indianapolis finish of sixth last year. “I've had fast cars here in the past. I think my first year (2003), we had a tremendous car.”

Overcoming those past roadblocks is key for the team, which enters this year's race with the series' top two drivers in the IndyCar Series point standings. But fast cars and hungry drivers don't always lead to victory lane. Luck often plays a role in determining the outcome and the best car doesn't always win the biggest race.

“In a sick kind of way, that's what makes the Indianapolis 500,” Wheldon said. “That's what makes you come back. It is so exciting. I led more than 150 laps and I didn't win the race. I didn't even feature in the first three. That's part of it.”

E.A.
Source Ganassi Racing