HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Scott Dixon took the pole position for the first race of the new, unified era of American open-wheel racing.

Dixon, who lost last year’s IRL IndyCar Series championship to Dario Franchitti when he ran out of fuel on the last turn of the last lap of the season, got off to a good start Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, winning the first Indy-style qualifying outside of the Indianapolis 500.

Over the winter, the IRL announced that it would adopt the unique four-lap qualifying format used at Indy for all of its oval races in 2008. Dixon took advantage with a four-lap average of 213.341 mph in his Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara, earning his ninth career pole.

Ed Carpenter, the last of 25 drivers in the evening qualifying session, came close to knocking off the New Zealander and winning his first pole with an average of 213.311.

His speed after three laps was faster than Dixon’s, but Carpenter, the stepson of IRL founder and Vision Racing team owner Tony George, slowed just enough on his final trip around the 1.5-mile oval to finish 0.0141 seconds slower than Dixon’s cumulative, four-lap time of 1:40.2341.

“The new qualifying format and the four-lap average makes it very difficult to make the car good and fast for four straight laps,” the disappointed Carpenter said.

After 21⁄2 hours of practice Friday without any wrecks, there were two crashes during qualifying.

One of them involved Dan Wheldon, Dixon’s teammate and the winner of the last three Homestead races. Wheldon’s team planned to repair the car and the Englishman will have to start from the rear of the field in Saturday night’s season-opening Gainsco Indy 300.

The eight former Champ Car World Series teams entered all qualified toward the bottom of the grid, but Wheldon will be behind all of them — several of the newcomers making their first start on an oval.

GOLF

Stanford still holds lead

SUPERSTITION MOUNTAIN, Ariz. — Angela Stanford was clinging to the lead halfway through Safeway International, with friend Lorena Ochoa closing in.

Stanford had a one-shot lead through 36 holes of the LPGA Tour tournament Friday under bright sunshine with the temperature in the mid 80s in the imposing shadow of the stark Superstition Mountains, some 40 miles east of Phoenix.

Stanford followed her course record and career-best 10-under 62 on Thursday with a scrambling 3-under 69 on Friday for a 13-under 131 total.

Ochoa, the event’s defending champion and world’s top-ranked female golfer, was one back at 12 under. She began the day three strokes back and shot a steady 67.

Jee Young Lee was three back at 10 under, while Annika Sorenstam shot a 67 to join Michele Redman (68) at 8 under, five off the lead on the 6,662-yard course at the Superstition Mountain Golf and Country Club.

Zurich Classic

AVONDALE, La. — Briny Baird shot a 3-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead over Peter Lonard and Jay Williamson in the Zurich Classic.

Baird, winless on the PGA Tour, birdied the final two holes to finish at 8-under 136 on the TPC Louisiana. Lonard shot a 70, and Williamson had a 69.

Defending champion Nick Watney (67) was two strokes back along with Tommy Armour III (68) and Shigeki Maruyama (68).

Ginn Championship

PALM COAST, Fla. — Lonnie Nielsen birdied six of his last 10 holes for a 6-under 66 and a one-stroke lead in the Champion Tour’s Ginn Championship.

Bernhard Langer and Fred Funk opened with 67s on the Ocean Hammock Golf Club course, and David Edwards and Gene E. Jones had 68s. Ian Woosnam struggled in his Champions Tour debut, making two double bogeys in a 78.