INDYCAR: DIXON TAKES BACK TO BACK WINS

Scott Dixon takes back to back wins – Photo: LAT

Five-time Champion, Scott Dixon has taken his first win on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to extend his lead in the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series.

By RHYS VANDERSYDE

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver used an aggressive tyre strategy and the races only caution period to bounce back from an average qualifying result to remain undefeated in 2020.

“I think we got a little lucky but it also played into the aggressive strategy we had with electing to take the primary Firestone tires at the start with everyone else on reds.” said Dixon.

“The yellow came out right in our window and it hung out the leaders but we definitely had the pace. We made some simple changes to keep up with a cooling track but after that, the PNC Bank car was on rails and we just took off.”

Australian Will Power led the race early after qualifying in pole position and was in a dominant position until the full course caution on Lap 36 after rookie Oliver Askew spun exiting Turn 14 and backed into the SAFER Barrier.

Team Penske’s Power also stalled as he was leaving the pit box after his third pitstop which saw him tumble down the order, ultimately finishing in 20th.

“We had a great Verizon Chevy and definitely had the speed that we showed in qualifying. Just got caught out by an unfortunate caution that really didn’t help.” said Power.

“After that, we had a problem in the pits that cost us a lot of time and then there was no chance to recover.”

“Chevrolet did a really great job with the power and we had awesome car, but we just had a tough day. This Verizon team is fast, we just need to put a full race together.

Graham Rahal took advantage of two-stop strategy to end the day in second after battling up the front of the field the majority of the race. While Simon Pagenaud completed the podium after starting the race in 20th.

“I thought the strategy was honestly working perfectly.” said Rahal after the race.

“Honestly, with the two-stop coming out of the pits after the first stop and still being right with Power and Harvey and all the good guys, the guys I was racing at that time, all I kept thinking was when the pits cycled through for the last time, we’d have about a 25- or 30-second lead, but obviously the yellow came out and kind of nullified our strategy because then everybody just got to pit under yellow and then there was just one more to go.”

“But obviously, Dixie (Scott Dixon) had tremendous pace during the late part of the race. I was on black tires struggling a little bit.”

“The Fifth Third Bank car was great today. I thought our guys did a tremendous job. It’s a shame for Spencer; he was right up in the battle, as well. But for our team after Dallas, this feels extremely good for us.”

IndyCar – GMR Grand Prix – Race Results

1. (7) Scott Dixon, Honda, 80, Running
2. (4) Graham Rahal, Honda, 80, Running
3. (20) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 80, Running
4. (3) Colton Herta, Honda, 80, Running
5. (18) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 80, Running
6. (14) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 80, Running
7. (6) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 80, Running
8. (13) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 80, Running
9. (15) Santino Ferrucci, Honda, 80, Running
10. (17) Takuma Sato, Honda, 80, Running
11. (19) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 80, Running
12. (8) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 80, Running
13. (12) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 80, Running
14. (22) Zach Veach, Honda, 80, Running
15. (9) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 80, Running
16. (10) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 80, Running
17. (2) Jack Harvey, Honda, 80, Running
18. (24) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 80, Running
19. (21) Alex Palou, Honda, 80, Running
20. (1) Will Power, Chevrolet, 80, Running
21. (26) Dalton Kellett, Chevrolet, 79, Running
22. (25) Marco Andretti, Honda, 79, Running
23. (23) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 79, Running
24. (16) Spencer Pigot, Honda, 74, Mechanical
25. (11) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 41, Mechanical
26. (5) Oliver Askew, Chevrolet, 34, Contact

The IndyCar Series is back in action next weekend with back to back races at Road America in Wisconsin.

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