December 1st - December 5th, 2008
Monday: It's Driver Review Week here on the Frontstretch! In honor of the upcoming banquet in New York City, we have some festivities of our own, giving season report cards on the years of 10th place point finisher Kyle Busch and 9th place Tony Stewart. Be sure to read and vote for the grade YOU would give your favorite driver!
Tuesday: 8th place Denny Hamlin and 7th place Jeff Gordon are profiled as driver reviews continue.
Wednesday: 6th place Jeff Burton and 5th place Clint Bowyer get graded as our profiles keep rollin' on.
Thursday: 4th place Kevin Harvick and 3rd place Greg Biffle get their report cards as the season-ending banquet gets ever closer.
Friday: Just before they go up on the big stage, runner-up Carl Edwards and 2008 Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson get their season-ending reviews.
- This week on the Frontstretch!
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Dixon claims IndyCar Series championship as Castroneves wins photo finish
Sunday September 7, 2008
JOLIET, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008 – Helio Castroneves raced from the 28th starting position to first, winning a photo finish in the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, but it wasn’t enough to keep Scott Dixon from winning his second IndyCar Series championship.
Castroneves started 28th due to a penalty during qualifying and raced his way through the field to take the lead on Lap 78. He led 80 laps total and was in first as the leaders pitted on Lap 185 with 15 laps to go. Series points leader Scott Dixon won the race off pit lane and led the next 14 laps as Castroneves pulled alongside for the final two. As the two took the checkered flag side-by-side, it took a review of photographs by IndyCar Series officials to determine that Castroneves had edged Dixon by .0033 of a second, the second-closest finish in IndyCar Series history.
The IndyCar Series Timing & Scoring photo system takes a picture every ten-thousandth of a second.
Castroneves celebrated his second victory of the season and the second time he’s finished runner-up in the championship in his career.
Dixon maintained a 17-point lead in the championship to become the second driver to win multiple championships in the IndyCar Series. Dixon also won in 2003.
Pole sitter Ryan Briscoe finished third.
Hideki Mutoh won Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year honors by six points over Justin Wilson despite finishing 22nd.
Also on Sept. 7, Raphael Matos won the Firestone Indy Lights championship with a third-place finish in the SunRichGourmet.com 100. Matos led the 66 of 67 laps after starting from the pole. His teammate Arie Luyendyk Jr. surged past him on a Lap 66 restart to earn his first career victory.
Richard Antinucci, who entered the race only three points behind Matos, finished 21st after contact with another car knocked him out of the race on Lap 26.
Ana Beatriz finished second, .0817 of a second behind Luyendyk, to finish third in the championship.
Still haven’t joined the Frontstretch Forums? Here’s a peek at what you’re
missing this week:
How does Jimmie Johnson compare to Cale Yarborough?
Ten things we hated about the 2008 season
Ten things we loved about the 2008 season
Make sure to join us during the offseason as we follow any news and stories that come out.
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This report was provided by an outside PR source and posted by Kim DeHaven.
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