The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 17

EljcDcsnioincs Iwjisfcr I Monday, june 23,2008 state edition 1 1 1 1 1 WjfiW-w vtl--v LISTINGS 3C-INDY LARRY STONE RANKINGS 3C-INDY COLLEGE WORLD SERIES 3C-INDY MLB 4C-INDY DesMoinesRegister.COmsportS Iowa Corn Indy 250 Winner: Dan Wheldon Wheldon turns 30 with a win, gives prize money to Iowa flood relief VN. SEAN KEELER sekeelerdmreg.com I 1 1 By ROB GRAY robgrayiadmreg.com Newton, la. Dan Wheldon turned 30 Sunday. Or is it 21? "I'm not Marco (Andretti's) age anymore," said Wheldon, who celebrated his birthday by winning the Iowa Corn Indy 250 before an estimated crowd of 39,271 at Iowa Speedway. "But I'll tell everyone I am." Andretti, who took third Sunday behind Andretti Green Racing teammate Hideki Mutoh, is 21.

Wheldon, who stayed out the last 90 laps on a successful fuel mileage gamble, really is 30. Really. And the Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver's relative maturity showed. All of Wheldon's winning proceeds $35,000 will go to disaster relief for tornado- and flood-ravaged Iowans. Couple that sum with teammate Scott Dixon's plans to add his 1 5,000 for finishing fourth and $10,000 for attaining the pole and the Ganassi team's fund drive totals $60,000.

"Everybody knows Chip Ganassi is renowned for being a considerably tough boss," said Wheldon, who notched his second win of the season and 15th of his career. "But in situations like this he's very heartfelt, and Scott and I have learned a lot from that." Wheldon inherited the lead on lap 190 when most of the top drivers pitted. Mutoh, who secured the best ever IndyCar finish for a Japanese racer, also stayed out, as did Danica Patrick. Wheldon, the 2005 Indianapolis 500 INDY, PAGE 2C-INDY 3 1 k- f- i A 1 1 4 a -J. 250 sequel way better than first Fans found parking, and drivers able to pass.

Newton, la. For Jerry Jauron, the checkered flag dropped at 4:30 Sunday morning. When the president of the Iowa Speedway showed up for work, a gosh-awful hour before the crack of dawn, he found a line of cars, more than a hundred long, waiting to enter the front gate. "It was wonderful," Jauron would sayJater, grinning broadly. "I think that proved that they got the word out." Come early, or risk being stranded in traffic.

That was the word. That was the lesson from the inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 a year ago, when people got to their seats in an angry mood if they got there at all and left grumbling about an afternoon that felt more like a processional than an IndyCar race. Year two was better. Better planning, better parking options, better car flow, (Officials estimated that 95 percent of the vehicles on-site were KEELER, PAGE 5C-INDY Point standings i i I 1 Top 5 finishers 1. DAN WHELDON It's a very happy birthday for Wheldon, who led the race for 61 laps.

MARY CHINDTHE OES MOINES REGISTER Dan Wheldon sports a winner's smile in victory lane following the Iowa Corn Indy 250 on Sunday at Iowa Speedway in Newton. Wheldon will donate his earnings of $35,000 to flood relief. 2. HIDEKI MUTOH Mutoh grabs his best finish of 2008. He finished sixth three times this year.

Dixon says Patrick a track 'menace' No.Driver Pts. Behind Iowa 4 48 14 49 1 100 18DNF 3. MARCO ANDRETTI Andretti led 26 laps and couldn't find a win but he's happy to avoid another DNF. I.Scott Dixon 316 2. H.

Castroneves 268 3. Dan Wheldon 267 4. TonyKanaan 216 5. Hideki Mutoh 199 6. Ryan Briscoe 195 7.

Danica Patrick 192 8. Marco Andretti 189 9. Will Power 169 10. Ed Carpenter 166 ur. 117 121 124 127 147 raw 4.

SCOTT DIXON Dixon, along with Wheldon, will donate his winnings to flood relief. Points leader, fellow driver express concern of female star's driving. By BRYCE MILLER brmillerdmreg.com Newton, la. IndyCar Series points leader Scott Dixon called Danica Patrick "a menace" on the track and questioned her decisions behind the wheel following the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway. Dixon led half the IndyCar Series laps coming into the race and was the pole-sitter Patrick during the race.

"She's a menace, man." Another driver voiced similar concerns about Andretti Green Racing's Patrick, one of the biggest names and faces in the sport who won her first Indy Racing League championship in Japan earlier this season. Ed Carpenter, of Vision Racing, hit the wall in turn 2 of lap 39 to create the race's first yellow flag. Carpenter left under his own power, but was not able to DIXON, PAGE 5C-INDY 150 23DNF Miss the racing action? Check out Register photos Dixon Patrick Sunday finishing fourth behind winner Dan Wheldon, Hideki Mutoh and Marco Andretti. "She's lucky that's all she got man," Dixon said when asked about what he perceived was a near brush with trouble by 5.AJ. FOYTIV Foyt started at No.

18 but ran a strong race to gain 13 spots. from the Iowa Corn Indy 250 on Page2C-INDY See where all the wrecks and incidents were on Page 2C-INDY BEST CLICKS IOWA CORN INDY 2S0 ONLINE Register FLIPS over big sports weekend 4 Interactive incident map will show where the action was on the track. Crews for Tony Kanaan, right, and Danica Patrick wore Aplington-Parkersburg and Dike-New Hartford hats to remember areas damaged by the tornadoes. Central Iowa was at the center of much of America's sports universe on Sunday. There was the Iowa Corn Indy 250 live on ABC, the Olympic-qualifying Hy-Vee Triathlon and West Des Moines gymnast Shawn Johnson at the Olympic Trials on NBC.

To handle all the sports news Iowans and others across the country followed and to have a little fun The Des Moines Register produced "flip-able" sports sections Sunday and today. If you care most about the IRL race, start there. If you care most about the Triathlon and Shawn Johnson, flip the section over and start there. Either place you go, you can't miss. Have fun because I know we did.

Bryc Miller, Exacutiv Sports Editor v. 1 Wit 1 Dan Wheldon wins the Iowa Corn Indy 250 and talks about what that means for flood victims in the state. DesMoinesRegister.comIRL 1.