| Race details | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st Round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season | ||
| Date | March 29, 2008 | |
| Official name | GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 | |
| Location | Homestead-Miami Speedway | |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 1.485 mi / 2.390 km |
|
| Distance | 200 laps, 297.000 mi / 477.975 km | |
| Weather | 78°F, Fair skies | |
| Pole | ||
| Driver | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| Time | 1:40.2341 (4 laps) | |
| Fastest Lap | ||
| Driver | Ryan Briscoe | Penske Racing |
| Time | 25.0624 (on lap 3 of 200) | |
| Podium | ||
| First | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| Second | Marco Andretti | Andretti Green Racing |
| Third | Dan Wheldon | Chip Ganassi Racing |
The 2008 GAINSCO Auto Insurance Indy 300 was the opening round of the 2008 IndyCar Series season and took place on March 29, 2008 at the 1.485-mile (2.390 km) Homestead-Miami Speedway. For the first time in series history, the reigning champion was not on the grid to defend his title, as Dario Franchitti had moved to the #40 NASCAR Sprint Cup car for Chip Ganassi Racing. 2003 champion Scott Dixon kicked off the season with the victory, on his way to the series championship.
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Laps Led | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 200 | 1:44:03.5914 | 1 | 67 | 50 |
| 2 | 26 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Green Racing | 200 | +0.5828 | 4 | 85 | 43 |
| 3 | 10 | Dan Wheldon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 200 | +1.4728 | 22 | 9 | 35 |
| 4 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves | Penske Racing | 200 | +8.0340 | 5 | 4 | 32 |
| 5 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | Vision Racing | 199 | +1 Lap | 24 | 0 | 30 |
| 6 | 7 | Danica Patrick | Andretti Green Racing | 199 | +1 Lap | 2 | 0 | 28 |
| 7 | 17 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Rahal Letterman Racing | 199 | +1 Lap | 9 | 0 | 26 |
| 8 | 11 | Tony Kanaan | Andretti Green Racing | 198 | +2 Laps | 6 | 35 | 24 |
| 9 | 2 | A. J. Foyt IV | Vision Racing | 198 | +2 Laps | 25 | 0 | 22 |
| 10 | 4 | Vitor Meira | Panther Racing | 197 | +3 Laps | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| 11 | 15 | Buddy Rice | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 196 | +4 Laps | 11 | 0 | 19 |
| 12 | 5 | Oriol Servià (R) | KV Racing | 195 | +5 Laps | 14 | 0 | 18 |
| 13 | 14 | Darren Manning | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 194 | +6 Laps | 12 | 0 | 17 |
| 14 | 34 | Franck Perera (R) | Conquest Racing | 194 | +6 Laps | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| 15 | 02 | Justin Wilson (R) | Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing | 193 | +7 Laps | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 16 | 19 | Mario Moraes (R) | Dale Coyne Racing | 187 | +13 laps | 21 | 0 | 14 |
| 17 | 33 | E. J. Viso (R) | HVM Racing | 183 | Accident | 18 | 0 | 13 |
| 18 | 36 | Enrique Bernoldi (R) | Conquest Racing | 149 | Handling | 17 | 0 | 12 |
| 19 | 6 | Ryan Briscoe | Penske Racing | 126 | Collision | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| 20 | 23 | Milka Duno | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 122 | Collision | 16 | 0 | 12 |
| 21 | 25 | Marty Roth | Roth Racing | 53 | Handling | 8 | 0 | 12 |
| 22 | 24 | Jay Howard (R) | Roth Racing | 50 | Handling | 23 | 0 | 12 |
| 23 | 18 | Bruno Junqueira | Dale Coyne Racing | 40 | Handling | 20 | 0 | 12 |
| 24 | 27 | Hideki Mutoh (R) | Andretti Green Racing | 32 | Mechanical | 7 | 0 | 12 |
| 25 | 8 | Will Power (R) | KV Racing | 24 | Mechanical | 19 | 0 | 10 |
| Preceded by 2007 Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 |
IRL IndyCar Series round 1 2008 |
Succeeded by 2008 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg |