HOMESTEAD, Fla. - Dan Wheldon's dominating victory in the IRL IndyCar Series season opener is just a steppingstone toward his ultimate goal.

No, not the series championship. Winning the IRL's biggest race.

"My passion is the Indianapolis 500," the Englishman said Sunday after winning the Toyota Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. "The championship is important, but my goal is to drink the (winner's) milk at Indy. We just want to keep the momentum until that race in May."

Meanwhile, though, he'll have to be content with starting the season on a positive note - one that had Andretti Green Racing co-owner Michael Andretti grinning.

"We just had a great race," Andretti said. "Pit stops were perfect, the car was perfect. It's just a great way to start off the season."

There was more good news for AGR, too. Tony Kanaan, who gave the team its first IRL title last year, got his season off to a strong start, too, finishing third.

"A lot of people questioned how we were going to start off the season, if we were going to sit on our laurels," Andretti said. "It's a long season and a lot can happen, but it's a real good way to start."

Wheldon, last year's runner-up, begins this season as one of the favorites to win the championship. Sunday's strong run in which he led 158 of the 200 laps on the 11/2-mile oval, only strengthened that perception.

But Wheldon said that even as he celebrated Sunday by doing doughnuts in his car and getting victory hugs from his crew, he was thinking that nobody should make too much of one win.

"It's one race into the championship. One race," the smiling Wheldon said. "If it's meant to be it's meant to be. I just enjoy winning races."

Wheldon pulled away from the pack midway through the race and appeared headed to a runaway victory when the race was interrupted by a frightening eight-car crash on lap 159.

The big wreck - the last of seven cautions - began moments after a restart when Kosuke Matsuura, trying to pass pole winner Tomas Scheckter on the outside, slid sideways and hit Scheckter. Before all the crashing and banging ended, the accident also took out Scott Sharp, Bryan Herta, Scott Dixon, Roger Yasukawa, Ed Carpenter and 22-year-old rookie Danica Patrick, making her first IRL start.

Patrick, the only woman in the field, was running 10th when the accident occurred. She walked into the infield care center but was sent by ambulance to a nearby hospital for observation after being diagnosed with a concussion. She was later released from the hospital and is expected to be ready to race in the next IRL event in two weeks at Phoenix International Raceway.

"It's a real shame because she did an incredible job out there today," team owner Bobby Rahal said.

Scheckter escaped injury, but was angry after the crash.

"The 55 came outside of me on the restart and lost it," Scheckter said, referring to Matsuura's car. "It's really unnecessary. People's lives are at stake, and this guy takes out half the field.

"We had perfect weekend until then," Scheckter declared. "Everybody at Chevrolet has worked hard, and I was taking it easy in the race. We were just getting ready to crank up the fuel mixture and make a run for the win."

Matsuura at first said he thought Scheckter hit him, but after watching a TV replay, the Japanese driver was apologetic.

"I was driving on the outside and got up into the tire marbles and dust," he said. "I spun and hit Scheckter. I am very sorry for the other drivers that crashed. It was a tough day."

After a long cleanup, the green flag waved with 24 laps remaining and Wheldon steadily pulled away from a group of cars that included two-time IRL champion and defending race winner Sam Hornish Jr., Kanaan, Helio Castroneves and Vitor Meira.

While Wheldon increased his lead, runner-up Kanaan found himself battling to hold off Team Penske teammates Hornish and Castroneves.

"I was just fast enough to pull away when he had other people to worry about," Wheldon said of Kanaan.

The race ended with Wheldon's Honda-powered Dallara 3.7 seconds - virtually an entire straightaway on the 11/2-mile oval - ahead of a three-wide-battle for second barely won by Hornish.

"It was a heck of a finish for the fans," said Hornish, who just held off Castroneves for the victory a year ago. "I don't think they could have gotten a much better show than that."

Kanaan, who completed every lap of every race and finished out of the top five only once in 2004, finished inches behind Hornish and barely ahead of Meira.

"Hornish was setting me up for a long time," said Kanaan, who began the final lap in second place. "It's racing. He had a faster car. I took the opportunity to pass him when he kind of hesitated and he got me back."

Castroneves finished fifth, followed by Darren Manning and IRL newcomer Patrick Carpentier, the last driver on the lead lap.

Only 10 of the 22 starters were running at the end of the race.

Among the drivers who failed to finish were preseason championship favorite Buddy Rice, who went out after just 92 laps with an engine failure and Andretti Green driver Dario Franchitti, who completed only 12 laps before his engine blew.