Dixon pounces on teammate’s error

Scott Dixon took the chequered flag at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and has now won at least once in 21 consecutive IndyCar seasons dating back to 2005

The New Zealand racer’s fuel-saving strategy and a late mistake by teammate Alex Palou led to his first win this season and his 59th overall in the NTT IndyCar Series.

“It was definitely a tough race,” Dixon says. “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 tyres were going to hold on.”

Six-time series champion Dixon crossed the finish line 0.4201 of a second ahead of championship leader Palou after passing the Spaniard when he drifted wide into the dirt on a turn five laps from the end.

Christian Lundgaard placed third behind the two Chip Ganassi Racing Hondas.

Dixon had started the race ninth on the grid and completed the race on two pit stops, one fewer than most teams attempted.

The win takes the Kiwi up to fifth in the championship standings, while Palou extended his lead at the head of the ladder to 113 points. 

The other New Zealand drivers in the series, Marcus Armstrong and Scott McLaughlin, finished in seventh and 23rd respectively at Mid-Ohio.

Next in the series is the Sukup IndyCar Race Weekend, a doubleheader at Iowa Speedway on July 12-13.

Drivers’ standings

1. Alex Palou, 386 points
2. Kyle Kirkwood, 293pts
3. Pato O’Ward, 275pts
4. Felix Rosenqvist, 231pts
5. Scott Dixon, 231pts
Also: 8. Scott McLaughlin, 190pts; 11. Marcus Armstrong, 183pts