HOUSTON -- Scott Dixon made the opening race of the Houston Grand Prix a Penske Racing nightmare, grabbing a series-best fourth victory while slicing a huge chunk off Helio Castroneves lead in the IndyCar championship race. Dixon, who entered Saturdays race trailing Castroneves by 49 points, cut his deficit to eight points heading into Sundays race. A sweep of the doubleheader through Reliant Park would put the New Zealander in control headed into the Oct. 19 finale at Fontana, California. "I hope they are worried, man. Thats a 41-point turnaround," he said. "Hopefully, we can have another good race (Sunday). It would be nice to be in the lead going into Fontana. To have a little bit of a buffer would be really nice." It was the 33rd win of Dixons career, and one more would tie him with Al Unser Jr. for sixth on the IndyCar list. Dixon was aided by the first mechanical problem of the season for Castroneves, who had been the only driver to complete every lap this year entering the race. But a gearbox problem just 22 laps in Saturday sent him to pit road. It took nine laps before Castroneves got back on track, and he wound up 18th. "We are still leading," he said. "Its a shame. Those things are outside of our control. I wasnt sure they were going to be able to fix it and when they did, I just went out there and tried to learn the track as best I could. I changed my mode to What can I do to learn for race No. 2?" The Penske team also ran into trouble when a slow pit stop for Will Power allowed Dixon to take the lead. "It was very disappointing with not being able to keep the lead in the second half of the race," said Power, who wound up 12th because of an ill-timed yellow flag. Simona de Silvestro finished a career-best second to earn her first IndyCar podium in her 63rd start. Justin Wilson was third in his fourth podium finish of the season. "Well, finally," de Silvestro said. "Weve been waiting for this for a long time." IndyCars first race in Houston since 2007 got off to a rocky start when a bump was discovered in the first turn when they cars hit the track for the first time Friday. Because the promoter could not start building the course until after a National Football League game on Sunday, IndyCar had no access to the track and a course that usually takes several weeks to build was completed over several days. Qualifying was postponed Friday and crews used a grinder on the surface all night to try to smooth the bump down. It was still rough, though, and IndyCar decided it could only do single-file restarts for the two races. Then the race itself got off to a bizarre beginning when James Hinchcliffe stalled on IndyCars standing start. He was lined up in the third row, and cars had to dart around him to avoid a massive collision. Ed Carpenter wasnt so fortunate, however -- he ran into the back of Hinchcliffes stalled car. "It was tough to see with the other cars right in front of me. Just a tough break," Carpenter said. The race immediately went to caution with pole-sitter Takuma Sato out front until he had to pit on lap seven with a flat tire. That turned the lead over to Power with Dixon right behind him. The two have had issues in IndyCars last two races, and its been magnified because Dixon is racing Powers teammate for the championship. The race took another sudden turn when Castroneves headed to pit road on lap 22 with the gearbox problem. And it went from bad to worse for Penske moments later during green-flag pit stops. Dixon headed in before Power and his Ganassi crew got him out in 7.4 seconds. Power then made his stop as Dixon was racing around the course, trying desperately to circle the track before Power exited pit road. Dixon did it -- in part because the Penske crew needed 9.2 seconds on a troublesome stop for Power. With Dixon out front, he had control of the race and the points lead in his sight. Comprar Air Max Baratas Online . Starting from pole, the 26-year-old Vettel turned in a trademark clinical performance to win the Indian Grand Prix on Sunday and join F1 greats Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher as just the third driver to win four consecutive championships. Zapatillas Air Max Rebajas . - Dolphins safety Louis Delmas has been carted off the field with a right knee injury against the Ravens. http://www.baratasairmaxoutlet.es/. Hemsky left the Oilers Tuesday night loss to the Dallas Stars in the second period and did not return. Through 48 games this season, Hemsky has seven goals and a total of 24 points. Air Max Outlet España . The Miami Heat star tops the leagues global list of top-selling jerseys for the 2012-13 season, edging Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and James Heat teammate Dwyane Wade for the No. Comprar Zapatillas Air Max Baratas . LOUIS - Two-thirds of the St.TORONTO -- Former Toronto Argonauts running back Ulysses (Crazy Legs) Curtis, a two-time Grey Cup champion and the teams first black player, has died. He was 87. Curtis died Oct. 6 in Toronto, the Argonauts said Thursday in a statement. There was no word on the cause of death. Curtis played for the CFL team from 1950 to 54. He dressed in 57 regular-season games and made nine playoff game appearances, winning titles in 50 and 52. "On the field Ulysses was one of the best natural runners I have ever seen," said former teammate Nick Volpe, now the teams football operations consultant. "His nickname Crazy Legs came to be because when he ran his knees would go so high that he would sometimes knock the ball out of his own hands. "Off of the field, he was very quiet and very intelligent. My locker was beside his for a couple of yearrs and I always enjoyed listening to his perspectives on life.dddddddddddd He will be missed." Curtis, a native of Albion, Mich., was one of the most productive running backs in the organizations 140-year history. Hes fourth on the teams career rushing yards list with 3,712, a total he accumulated in only 529 attempts for a remarkable average of 7.0 yards per carry. Curtis also holds the second-best single-game rushing total in team history with 208 yards (behind Gill Fenertys 215-yard game in 1988). Curtis retired after the 1954 season and went on to work as a teacher in the north Toronto school system for 30 years. He was named an All-Time Argo by the club in 2005. Curtis was buried on Oct. 16 in Albion, and is survived by two siblings, his wife Catherine, their three children, six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter. ' ' '