Auto Racing | Dixon captures 3rd win in a row

LEXINGTON, Ohio — The way things are going for Scott Dixon, it surely wasn't a surprise the New Zealand driver avoided a first-lap accident Sunday and went on to win the Honda Indy 200.

After all, Dixon is on a roll and it was his 27th birthday.

Dixon escaped the mishap in front of him that put a crimp in Danica Patrick's hopes and stayed near the leaders before moving in front late to pick up his third straight IndyCar Series victory.

Not everything was perfect.

"It's a pity it's Sunday and everything closes at midnight," Dixon said with a smile, thinking ahead to his birthday celebration.

Series leader Dario Franchitti settled for second; he leads Dixon 474-450 in points with five races left.

After previous wins at Watkins Glen and Nashville, Dixon tied the series mark for consecutive victories set by Kenny Brack in 1998 and matched by Dan Wheldon in 2005.

Patrick was fifth, never fully recovering from the early mishap.

"I have to stop myself and think for a little bit, 'All right, everything happens for a reason,' " she said afterward. "I don't know what it is yet."

Bourdais rebounds

EDMONTON, Alberta — Sebastien Bourdais won for the first time in four races and regained control of the Champ Car title chase, dominating the Rexall Grand Prix of Edmonton.

The 28-year-old Frenchman, seeking an unprecedented fourth straight series title, had failed to finish two of the last three races and found himself trailing rookie Robert Doornbos and second-year driver Will Power in the points standings heading into the eighth of 16 races this season.

Bourdais got back on track, beating 2006 Edmonton winner Justin Wilson to the finish line by 3.947 seconds. Doornbos was 11th and Power was 15th of 17. Bourdais leads Doornbos 194-174.

Alonso prevails

NUERBURG, Germany — The rain that threw the European Grand Prix into chaos at the start gave Fernando Alonso the edge he needed to win.

The two-time defending Formula One champion had the better setup for the wet conditions during the final laps of the race, and took advantage to squeeze past Felipe Massa of Ferrari on the Nuerburgring circuit. Massa said once rain tires were put on he "immediately felt vibrations that made the car very unbalanced."

Alonso is two points behind the series leader, McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton. The rookie was ninth, finishing out of the top three for the first time in 10 races this season.

Spaniard Alonso crossed the line in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 26.358 seconds over 60 laps on the 3.2-mile circuit.