Surfers Paradise, Australia (My Sportsbook) - Australian-native Ryan Briscoe held off reigning IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon in the final laps to win the Nikon Indy 300 on the Streets of Surfers Paradise. The No.6 Team Penske driver led a race-high 39 laps and crossed the finish line 0.5019 seconds ahead of Dixon to become the first Aussie to win the Gold Coast event.

"What a way to finish the year and kick off the 2009 season," Briscoe said. "It's just a dream to win in my home country. I got to thank the whole team at Team Penske. They gave me a perfect car today."

Briscoe finished the 2008 season fifth in points with two championship-point victories to his credit. His first career IndyCar win came in June at the Milwaukee Mile, while his second victory came the following month at the Mid- Ohio Sports Car Course.

Briscoe started third and put on a dominating performance throughout the race.

Will Power started on the pole and opened up a three-second lead on the field, while Briscoe passed Dixon for the second spot after the first lap. Vitor Meira, who made his first start in the No.14 car for AJ Foyt Racing, made contact with Mario Moraes and spun heading into the first turn.

Moraes spun and slapped the wall, severely damaging the rear suspension of his car on the eighth lap for the first full caution.

Danica Patrick made contact with Helio Castroneves on Lap 12 and suffered damage to her front wing. Patrick's incident added to an already frustrating weekend at Surfers Paradise where she struggled in practice and failed to post a qualifying time after crashing into the wall on the first lap.

Power led the first 17 laps, but blew a left-rear tire and brazed the wall in turn eight, putting him out of competition early.

"I just clipped the inside wall," Power said. "Just a very bad mistake, very unfortunate."

Power's mishap allowed Briscoe to capture the lead for the first time.

Briscoe pitted for fuel only on Lap 21 as he handed the lead over to Dixon. The following lap, Dixon entered the pits before a full-course caution came for an incident involving Ed Carpenter, Graham Rahal and AJ Foyt IV. After the cycle of stops was completed, Briscoe was back in the lead with Dixon in second.

Dario Franchitti spun and went off the track on Lap 28 for another full-course caution. He was running among the top-10 for the first-half of the race, but fell a lap behind. Franchitti, driving the No.10 car for Chip Ganassi Racing, marked his return to IndyCar after spending the last year in Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series competition. He ended up finishing 16th.

Briscoe and Dixon pitted at the same time under green, while Alex Tagliani inherited the lead on Lap 39. Briscoe beat Dixon out of the pits and then recaptured the lead for the final time on Lap 42.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tagliani and Oriol Servia finished third through fifth. EJ Viso, Castroneves, Hideki Mutoh, Rahal and Dan Wheldon completed the top-10.

The IRL begins its 2009 season April 5th in St. Petersburg, FL.