More Penske pain as Dixon delights
It was another tough day for Team Penske stars Scott McLaughlin and Will Power as Kiwi Scott Dixon reminded the IndyCar field of his class at Mid-Ohio.
Dixon, an IndyCar veteran of two decades, born in Brisbane, but calls himself a Kiwi took his 59th victory.
With more than 370 starts and five titles, there is plenty of experience behind Dixon’s helmet, but he has now won at least one race in 21 consecutive seasons.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver had to work for it however, as reigning champion Alex Palou was breathing down his neck.
Just four tenths was the difference with Dixon holding on as Palou was forced to rue an unlikely mistake.
“It was definitely a tough race,” Dixon said.
“We had fantastic cars. But just so much fun to try and pull off what we did and do it with what we had was fantastic.
“They were supposed to (remove downforce) from the front wing on the last stop.
“I just had to look at the corner, and the car was going to turn. I was just hoping the rear tires were going to hold on.”
Palou looked on course to a seventh win of 2025 as he enjoyed a 2s advantage over Dixon on Lap 85 of 90.
However, he found the dirt coming out of Turn 9 and it opened the door just enough for Dixpn to sneak through.
“Just a stupid mistake, honestly,” Palou said.
“A mistake on my part. The car was amazing all weekend, all race.
“I just lost it a little bit on (corner) entry and kind of really couldn’t get power going on.
“Nobody to blame but me. Just got a bit wide on entry and lost it completely.”
McLaughlin was always going to have a tough time starting 21st and hoped to secure a top 10.
But the choice to run the soft tyre proved to be a disaster as the Kiwi had to stop late and settle for 23rd.
“It was a long, hot day inside the Odyssey Battery Chevy, for sure,” McLaughlin said.
“Felt like we could have finished somewhere between eighth and 12th but had a tire delaminate on the final run.
“I don’t know, this has obviously been a very tough year for everyone, but this team doesn’t quit. Team Penske doesn’t have these years often, but we will be stronger because of it, that’s for sure.
“We are going to Iowa with absolute confidence that we will win there.”
It was even more of a struggle for Aussie Power as an engine issue saw him drop out of the race after just 11 laps.
Power was told by the team to bring it to their attention. A small fire could be seen off the left side as Power entered pit road, foreshadowing a premature end to his race.
“An engine failure there,” he said.
“I got hit at the start as well, which should damage the floor, but I think it was going to be okay.
“It didn’t feel like it’s handling badly.
“After the first pit stop I felt a misfire in the engine and it kept getting worse. Oh, man. Tough, tough year.”
IndyCar keeps on racing at Iowa this weekend.
Image: Getty
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