Dixon takes Long Beach win with fuel-saving masterclass

Kiwi Scott Dixon took Long Beach on the smell of an oily rag by holding off Colton Herta with a cool drive by the “Iceman.”

The 2024 Grand Prix of Long Beach was a game of strategy with Aussie Will Power leading early before pitting during the first caution on Lap 15 triggered by Christian Rasmussen.

This meant the next 45 laps saw a number of different strategies with Dixon going early and emerging with a 3s lead over Josef Newgarden once all the stops were completed.

With Newgarden on seven-lap fresher tyres and fueled to the end, few expected the Kiwi to stay ahead.

Although Newgarden came within half a second of Dixon, he could not get by and a clash with Herta at the hairpin saw the Penske driver drop to fourth.

This vaulted Herta to second and he gave it everything to hunt down the #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, but couldn’t.

Dixon pulled off a fuel-saving masterclass with short bursts of push-to-pass to complete the final 34 laps on one tank.

Will Power led early in his Team Penske Chevrolet. Image: Supplied

The Brisbane born Kiwi took a 56th IndyCar win and thought it was one of his best, believing he may not have made it home.

“Honestly, I didn’t think we were going to make it,” Dixon said. 

“They kept giving me a (fuel) number, and I just wasn’t getting it. Close but not enough and luckily, we were on the safe side there.

““That was tough, really tough. The stress level was high. Those guys were coming fast and strong. 

“I think we were off by a lap or two of making it easy. Other fuel races I’ve done I’ve had it under control for the full stint.”

After leading the first 15 laps Aussie Power had to settle for sixth, 11s from the top five and lamented a lack of fresh tyres, but still took the result.

“We had an incredibly fast Verizon Chevy,” he said. 

“Had a choice to take the yellow and take tires and have massive fuel save and go hard, but we made the most of what we had there. 

“We didn’t have any green tyres to run in those fuel save stints, so we didn’t have any defence against Dixon. 

“Otherwise, it would have been fine to do exactly what he did. 

“Disappointing with how far we started up, but still a top-six. All you can do is maximise each day and move on to the next one.”

There was late heartbreak for Scott McLaughlin. Image: Supplied

Kiwi Marcus Armstrong was down in 12th behind rookie Theo Pourchaire.

Scott McLaughlin made a slight mistake in qualifying which meant the Penske driver started 11th.

But after fighting his way into the top 10, he looked in a decent position being on the same strategy as Dixon.

However, a gearbox issue on lap 70 forced McLaughlin to retire 15 laps from the finish.

“Obviously very disappointing to DNF with an Odyssey Battery Chevy that was so fast,” he said. 

“I got us off on the wrong foot by missing a key corner in qualifying, losing a couple of tenths a second. 

“We were much better than an 11th-place car in qualifying. 

“Then you look at the race and we were on the same strategy as (Scott) Dixon and looked to be in a good spot for a solid day. 

“The gearbox issue that ended our day was just the final straw. 

“Again, disappointing to say the least but we head to Barber next looking for a second win there.”

The IndyCar Series returns to racing again this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.

Main Photo by Jake Galstad / LAT Images

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