| #ffffff;" /> | | | | the league, most notably Danica Patrick winning |
| The several twists and turns of this year’s | | | | her first race (other first-time winners included |
| IndyCar Series have provided entertainment and | | | | Ryan Briscoe, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Justin Wilson |
| thrills of all kinds for IRL fans nationwide, and | | | | and Will Power.) Another drastic change to the |
| despite the 2008 season coming to a close the | | | | league? The domino effect of drivers and teams |
| parties are just getting started for IndyCar | | | | that started with news of Tony Kanaan |
| drivers, teams and crew members alike. The | | | | negotiating for Dan Wheldon’s ride at |
| conclusion of this year’s IRL season ended | | | | Target Chip Ganassi Racing and resulted in |
| with the Nikon Indy 300 at the All Surfers | | | | Wheldon’s switch to Panther Racing and |
| Paradise Street Circuit in Queensland, Australia, | | | | Vitor Meira’s consequential switch to A.J. |
| and even though Team Penske’s Ryan | | | | Foyt Racing, further resulting in Darren |
| Briscoe beat out Target Chip Ganassi’s | | | | Manning’s contract not being renewed and, |
| Scott Dixon to win the race, it is Dixon who is | | | | because Kanaan ended up with Andretti Green |
| being honored tonight in Las Vegas as the 2008 | | | | instead of Ganassi, Dario Franchitti rounded out |
| IndyCar Series champion. | | | | the shake-up by signing with Ganassi Racing in the |
| A blowout awards ceremony will take place at | | | | end. As if this wasn’t enough to digest, IRL |
| the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas tonight | | | | heavyweight Helio Castroneves topped off the |
| celebrating Dixon’s victory in the IndyCar | | | | 2008 IndyCar season with a shocking scandal, |
| Series, while Andretti Green Racing and AFS | | | | ending in an indictment by the U.S. government on |
| Racing’s number 27 driver Raphael Matos | | | | one count of conspiracy to defraud and six |
| will also be honored at the celebration as the | | | | counts of tax evasion, facing 35 years in prison |
| champion of the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights series. | | | | while potentially losing his coveted spot with |
| The Championship Celebration will take place at | | | | Penske Racing. |
| the Palms, and the after-party will commence at | | | | It’s undisputable that the 2008 IRL season |
| the resort’s Rain Nightclub following the | | | | has been one wild ride, and it was |
| presentation of checks and hardware to both | | | | Ganassi’s Scott Dixon who held on the |
| Dixon and Matos. | | | | longest, crossing the finish line the most and |
| Anyone who had Indy Racing League (IRL) tickets | | | | coming out on top of the IndyCar Series with a |
| to one of the races this season knows it’s | | | | total of 646 points, beating out Penske’s |
| an understatement to say that the 2008 IndyCar | | | | Helio Castroneves (629), Andretti Green’s |
| Series was full of ups, downs and surprises of all | | | | Tony Kanaan (513), Ganassi’s Dan Wheldon |
| kinds. The first surprise came in the unification of | | | | (492), Penske’s Ryan Briscoe (447), |
| the IRL, as both the IRL and Champ Car finally | | | | Andretti Green’s Danica Patrick (379) and |
| settled and let the sport become whole again, | | | | Marco Andretti (363), Rahal Letterman’s |
| tacking on six teams, two races and floods of | | | | Ryan Hunter-Reay (360), KV Racing’s Oriol |
| fans to next year’s IndyCar series. | | | | Servia (358) and Andretti Green’s Hideki |
| Another gratifying shock in the 2008 season | | | | Mutoh (346), who round out the top ten in the |
| occurred with a handful of first-time winners in | | | | IndyCar standings for the year. |