2023-08-13 01:18:33
Scott Dixon kept his cool after skidding on the first lap of the Indianapolis Grand Prix, taking advantage of Graham Rahal’s final pit stop to take the lead and win.
The New Zealander resisted the onslaught of the pilot who had started first. As a bonus, he took his first victory of the season, by a margin of just 0.4779 seconds.
Dixon’s 54th win is the second most in series history, and was part of another milestone day. He has won at least one race in 19 consecutive IndyCar seasons, to extend his own record.
The feat came on a day in which he also broke Brazilian Tony Kanaan’s previous mark, reaching 319 consecutive starts in the series.
“It was a crazy day for me. I think I had a fantastic start. I gained like five places and then I went into turn seven and there was some contact from behind and I just went into a spin,” said Dixon, who has stood on the podium 200 times.
There was thus another remarkable chapter in Dixon’s incredible career.
Only AJ Foyt has won more races (67) or more series crowns (7) than Dixon, who has done it all with Chip Ganassi Racing for 22 seasons — the longest tenure by one driver in team history. And while visits to victory lane rarely come easily for the six-time IndyCar champion, Dixon seems to find creative ways to keep the fight going.
Mexican Pato O’Ward, Rahal’s teammate Christian Lundgaard and 2016 Indianapolis 500 winner Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five list.
O’Ward and Rossi race for Arrow McLaren.
Although O’Ward took his sixth podium of the season, he hasn’t taken a single win. And this is evidently wearing out his patience.
“There is nothing I want more than to win,” he said. “Obviously there are little things here and there that have prevented us from taking advantage of the opportunities.”
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