Briscoe's opportunity doesn't go up in smoke

WEST ALLIS, Wis. -- For the smallest moment, Ryan Briscoe thought it was going to be another one of the bad luck days that have dogged him this season.

The 23-year-old Australian was working hard late in Sunday's IndyCar race at the Milwaukee Mile to hold off Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon and, all of sudden, the track ahead was enveloped in smoke and all he could do was hit the brakes hard and hope.

"A million things went through my mind when I saw all that smoke," Briscoe said. "With a couple of laps to go, I knew how to keep Dixon behind me. I think I'd have been in tears if I didn't get through."

It was just four laps from the end of the ABC Supply A.J. Foyt 225 when pole-winner Marco Andretti and Ed Carpenter collided, sending both into the wall. Vitor Meira, who had crashed in qualifying Saturday, then drove over Andretti's car and slammed into the concrete barrier, with Briscoe close enough to see the underside of Meira's car.

"I think it was less than a foot," Briscoe said.

Somehow, though, his No. 6 Team Penske Dallara came through the melee unscathed and Briscoe was able to drive slowly to the checkered flag under caution, claiming his first IndyCar victory and the 300th overall win for Roger Penske's racing team.

It was redemption for Briscoe just a week after an embarrassing pit-lane accident that took out fan favorite Danica Patrick at Indy.

"It's huge," Briscoe said. "It feels so good to get the win. The car was just magic today. We just came through the field."

The youngster, who lost his ride after a season with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2005, got another chance with Penske's team this year but crashed in three of the first five races, falling all the way to 19th in the points before Sunday's win boosted him to eighth, 100 points behind leader Dixon.

"This will help in the points and, hopefully, we can just keep getting some front-running positions in the rest of the championship," Briscoe said.

He dedicated the win to former Penske driver Rick Mears, a four-time Indy winner who is now a consultant for the team. Mears was honored before the race on the 30th anniversary of his first win, which came on the same track.

"I can't tell you how special it is to win my first IndyCar race on the 30th anniversary of Rick's first win," Briscoe said. "I wouldn't have won it without his advice here."

Penske said he was proud of his new driver, the 15th different winner for the team in IndyCar racing.

"I think, today, he really got the monkey off his back," the owner said. "We knew how good he was. From the standpoint of his confidence, this is exactly what he needed to break the ice."

It appeared for most of the 225-lap race that Dixon would run away to another victory, but Briscoe, who started 11th in the 26-car field, caught the leader and passed him on lap 177. All the drivers up front made green-flag stops before the finish, but Briscoe came out of the fuel stops back out front on lap 207 and stayed there despite heavy pressure from Dixon in the closing laps.

Dixon, who led a race-high 147 laps to Briscoe's 36, was also happy to get through the accident without damage and was pleased with his runner-up finish.

"Briscoe, you've got to give him credit," the New Zealander said. "He drove the wheels off that thing. He could really take advantage of the high line when I tried a couple of times and nearly ended up in the fence. It was the most fun I've had in a long time, to be honest. It was a hell of a race toward the end."

All the top cars made it through the late crash without damage. Two-time defending race winner Tony Kanaan finished third, followed by Dan Wheldon and Briscoe's teammate Helio Castroneves.

Asked if he could have caught Briscoe in the last few laps if the caution had not come out, Dixon shrugged.

"I think it was just going to come down to how you hit traffic," he said. "With three laps more, who knows what was going to happen."

Oriol Servia, one of the drivers making the transition from the defunct Champ Car World Series into the newly unified IndyCar Series, sustained damage on the second lap when he banged off of Briscoe's rear wing. The Spaniard pitted under the ensuing caution flag for a new nose and came back from a lap down to finish sixth, the last driver on the lead lap.

Patrick was never in contention, finishing a lap down in ninth.

"I had some understeer issues all day,' said Patrick, who earlier this season became the first woman to win an IndyCar race. "This is where we as a team need to find out what the problem is and find a solution. On a good note, we finished the race, which we have not been able to do in the last two races."