Wheldon outdueled Marlboro Team Penske's preseason championship contenders, Sam Hornish Jr. and Helio Castroneves, to record his second consecutive win in Miami. He said he hopes to repeat the past success of Miami race winners -- who have won four of the last five IndyCar Series championships -- but knows the competition will be tough.

"If anybody asked me if there was going to be a rivalry, I think it would be a Penske/Ganassi rivalry, because we've seen that before in the CART series," he said. "I think now that element of the series kind of maintains close competition or gives that you close competition, brought those teams together. I do think Andretti Green will be strong. I think there will be some others that are strong along the way." Wheldon's seamless transition from Andretti Green Racing to the Target Chip Ganassi organization has him confident as he heads to St. Petersburg for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, his adopted home race. "Everybody at Target Chip Ganassi Racing has been very welcoming," he said. It's very different when you go to a team as the Indy 500 champion, IndyCar Series champion, not as a rookie. It's been good. I just hope it continues."

The Aquaracer concept is founded on providing the accuracy that all water sports demand. Based on the design and features of the timeless 2000 series, launched in 1982, TAG Heuer's watchmakers and designers have created an original, prestigious sports watch that is water-resistant to 300 meters. Hornish, who claimed the $10,000 for winning the Marlboro Pole Award, also collected the Firestone Performance Award and its $10,000 prize for leading Lap 121 of the race.

Dana and Carpenter crashed just three minutes into the final session, and Dana was pronounced dead just before noon. Both drivers were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Carpenter will remain at Jackson Memorial tonight, and is listed in stable condition. Dana was 30 years old, and is survived by his wife Tonya.

"Well, it was a win obviously under very difficult circumstances," Wheldon said. "I think certainly my thoughts and prayers and everybody here, their thoughts are with the Dana family and everybody at Rahal Letterman Racing. It's very difficult to race under circumstances like this. I think everybody in the community and the fans that came out to Homestead-Miami Speedway today should be commended for the effect that they have on the drivers to pull through under very difficult circumstances."

Wheldon led just eight of the 200 laps and nipped Helio Castroneves by 0.0199 of a second at the checkered. It was the ninth-closest finish in IndyCar Series history. Castroneves' Marlboro Team Penske teammate Sam Hornish Jr. finished third. Wheldon and Castroneves raced wheel-to-wheel for the final 12 laps, with Hornish, Andretti Green Racing's Dario Franchitti and Wheldon's teammate, Scott Dixon, immediately behind.

"In 2004, Hornish took the inside lane and he won. This year, I said, 'No way I'm going to give up the inside lane,' and Dan did a hell of a job," Castroneves said. "Obviously today, you have to remember a big loss, which is a pity. All my thoughts are with Paul Dana's family." Only 16 cars started the race. Carpenter and Dana obviously were eliminated in the morning session, and Rahal Letterman Racing teammates Buddy Rice and Danica Patrick withdrew their cars following the fatal injuries to Dana.

Also on March 26, Jeff Simmons made a last lap pass on Nick Bussell to win the Miami 100 Indy Pro Series event. Simmons beat Bussell by .0199 of a second. It is the second-closest finish in Indy Pro Series history.
For full results... (Speed News Now)

Dana, 30, a former motorsports journalist with a degree from Northwestern, competed in three IRL races for Ethanol Hemelgarn Racing last year with a best finish of 10th in the race at Homestead.

The Toyota Indy 300 race was expected to be run as scheduled. Bobby Rahal, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Racing for which Dana was to race this season, said the team's other two cars _ driven by Danica Patrick and Buddy Rice _ will be pulled out of the race.

"Obviously, this is a very black day for us," Rahal said. "This is a great tragedy."

Carpenter spun and hit the wall moments after the practice began at 10 a.m. EST. As Carpenter's battered car slid to a stop, Dana slammed into it at almost full speed _ about 200 mph.

Dana's car nearly split in half. The chassis flew about 6 feet off the ground and pieces were strewn down the track. It nearly turned over, but landed on its wheels before sliding to a halt. It took track safety workers about 15 minutes to get both drivers out of their cars. The practice session did not resume.

Dana and Carpenter, the stepson of IRL founder Tony George, both were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. IRL officials said Dana died shortly before noon. Vision Racing team general manager Larry Curry said he was told Carpenter "would be fine."

Dana is the first IRL driver killed since Tony Renna died in a crash during testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October 2003. The last NASCAR driver killed was Dale Earnhardt in February 2001, and the last driver to die in Formula One was Ayrton Senna in May 1994.

It is the third racing death at the Homestead track _ John Nemechek was killed in a NASCAR truck race in February 1997 and Jeff Clinton died in a Grand Am sports car event at the track in March 2002.(washingtonpost.com)

"We were really excited after this morning's session. The past couple of days we've been out here, we've been up towards the top of the speed charts. We were trying to be a little bit conservative and make sure that we had good race set up. When it came time for qualifying, we put as little downforce as we could on it and went out there and tried to hold on to it. After Helio's lap this morning, I thought for sure he was the guy that would be tough to beat. We had just enough to get him and that's all that matters. We're really happy that Marlboro Team Penske is 1-2."

In SWE Race Car Parts Pole Qualifying for the Indy Pro SeriesT Miami 100, rookie Jay Howard became the fifth driver to capture the pole position in his series debut.

Howard recorded a lap of 28.6512 seconds, 186.589 mph in his No. 7 Lucas Oil/Isilon/Sam Schmidt Motorsports.
Toyota Indy 300 Satrting Lineup... (Speed News Now)