Sunday was Dan Wheldon’s 30th birthday. His rivals provided plenty of gifts.

Under glorious sunny skies at Iowa Speedway, Scott Dixon had a rare off day (he finished fourth), Tony Kanaan crashed, and Helio Castroneves faded.

And the rest of the IndyCar field, led by rookie Hideki Mutoh, simply didn’t have the speed to beat Wheldon. It all added up to victory in the second running of the Iowa Corn Indy 250, Wheldon’s second win of the season and the fifth for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2008.

The only real surprise in Sunday’s Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway was which Target/Ganassi Racing driver won.

Scott Dixon dominated the first three-quarters of the 200-lap IndyCar Series event, but unlucky timing on his final pit stop cost the New Zealand native. That allowed Dan Wheldon to cruise to an easy win over Andretti Green Racing’s Tony Kanaan, with Dixon recovering from seventh to third over the final 27 laps.

Dixon led 145 of the first 152 laps before pitting for his final scheduled stop. While he was in the pits, the yellow flag flew for Buddy Rice’s Turn 2 accident, costing Dixon the lead to Wheldon.