Dixon’s winning run over
Scott Dixon made it three wins from three races but his perfect start to the NTT IndyCar Series has come to an end after the second race of a doubleheader saw him fall back to a 12th-place finish.
The Kiwi driver showed his class to come from ninth in qualifying to win the opening race of the REV Group Grand Prix at Road America in Wisconsin on July 11 in his PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
It follows triumphs at Texas Motor Speedway on June 6 and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 4 and makes Dixon the first driver to win three-straight IndyCar Series races since Simon Pagenaud completed the feat in 2016.
“I don’t know how that happened,” Dixon says. “We came out of the pits [on lap 28], and they said, ‘You and Power are first and second’. I was like: ‘How? How?’ I know we had huge out laps and a big in lap, as well.
“The car is difficult to drive. We dialled it in a bit during the race but still really tricky on the rears. Hard to keep them under you. But it looked like a lot of other people were struggling, as well. That was awesome.”
Dixon averaged 116.027mph (186.727kph) in the 55-lap race that featured five lead changes and five different leaders. He now has 49 IndyCar wins to his name.
The five-times series champion was unable to maintain his perfect start to the season and had to settle for 12th spot in race two of the REV Group Grand Prix on July 12.
Dixon qualified sixth for that event but fell down the placings, with the race eventually won by his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Felix Rosenqvist. It was the Swede’s first IndyCar victory.
After four races, Dixon leads the drivers’ standings by 54 points from American Colton Herta. The series next heads to Iowa for another doubleheader on July 17 and 18.
