UP AND RUNNING; Scott Dixon wins the new-look IndyCar Series opener.(Competition)

Byline: CURT CAVIN

Indy Racing League boss Tony George hoped that the first unified IndyCar Series race in more than 12 years would be "memorable and historic'' and, of course, safe. In the end, the season opener at Homestead-Miami Speedway was all of those things and maybe more.

The Gainsco Auto Insurance Indy 300 wasn't exactly symphonic as the disjointed field strung out like a multiclass sports-car race, but most longtime series followers would agree that it was better than either pivotal race the IRL or the Champ Car World Series staged back in 1996 when they became rivals.

That year, the IRL went to Orlando, Florida, in January with a ragtag bunch of misfits and castoffs. Every car seemed to be red, white or black, and almost none carried significant sponsor decals. Team owner John Menard took a gamble on a USAC champion named Tony Stewart, who nearly got knocked out by the safety truck. (Imagine where Stewart might be had contact occurred.)

Meanwhile, Champ Car teams-essentially locked out of Indianapolis Motor Speedway by George- proudly staged a protest race at Michigan International Speedway on the day of the Indy 500. The competitors bragged about being the best drivers, but half of the field became entangled in a humiliating crash during warm-up laps before the green flag even dropped. Criticism came when series officials offered a do-over, allowing teams to replace damaged cars with backups and without penalty.

In the 12 years since, there have been plenty of open-wheel races but few winners in the big picture.

Homestead did not draw a large crowd (estimated at 20,000) or produce eye-popping television ratings, but it seemed to be a step in the right direction. Twenty-six car-and-driver combinations showed up, and even though Newman/Haas/ Lanigan Racing's Graham Rahal had to sit out because of a parts shortage after crashing in testing, it was still the largest Champ Car or IRL field since 2003 (not counting the Indy 500).