New Zealand IndyCar star Scott Dixon his luck drove all the way to first place ahead of Kiwi rival Scott McLaughlin at Monday’s Nashville Grand Prix.
Dixon, who started 14th and then suffered premature damage to his left rear wheel, visited the pits six times but came out on top when eight yellow flag warnings and a late red flag break broke a dramatic 80 laps of the cramped street circuit.
Dixon did well to stay in the mix, taking advantage of sixth caution 15 laps from the finish when the pit lane shuffle left him at the front of the field and the 42-year-old used his experience to hold on for a treasured checkered flag that has fueled his hopes for the championship.
Mark Humphrey/AP
Scott Dixon is now just six points behind championship leader Will Power.
With his 53rd career win, Dixon rises from fourth to second in the season championship as he looks for a record-equaling seventh drivers title over the legendary AJ Foyt. to match.
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Dixon now follows Australian Will Power by just six points with three races to go.
That’s nothing for the Kiwi ace who was 48 points behind Juan Pablo Montoya in 2015, with three races to go, before storming to his fourth IndyCar title in the final race of the season.
“You’re in it until you’re not,” Dixon told AP.
“That’s the point — you’re never out until you are, so we keep digging.”
Mark Humphrey/AP
Scott Dixon drinks champagne after winning the Music City Grand Prix, his 53rd career victory.
It was another high profile day for the New Zealand drivers with McLaughlin moving from pole position to lead the first quarter of the race after the start was delayed by thunderstorms.
He was right in the chase for most of the day before dropping to 15th place due to a sloppy late pit stop.
But McLaughlin managed to work his way back into second and was right next to Dixon in what turned into a two-lap sprint to the finish after the late red flag.
The 0.1067 second win margin was the fourth largest in IndyCar history on a road or street course.
“He’s a legend, the GOAT,” McLaughlin said of Dixon. “I’ve always dreamed of racing him to the finish. That was quite a duel.”
McLaughlin improved from seventh to sixth on the championship table with this podium effort.
Mark Humphrey/AP
Scott Dixon took his second win of the season in Nashville.
“The hard part about the whole weekend is that we knew the car was fast,” said Dixon as he overcame his qualifying difficulties to claim the win.
“We had a crash, but managed to keep it going. Scott McLaughlin had a great weekend, he was on fresher tires… I was a bit of a sitting duck if there had been a few more laps. ”
Alex Palou, the reigning IndyCar champion, finished third when Ganassi put two drivers on the podium. Palou moved up one spot in the standings to fifth as 33 points separate the title contenders. On the way to the victory track, team owner Chip Ganassi stopped to congratulate Palou, the driver he is suing for trying to leave the organization at the end of the season.
Mark Humphrey/AP
Scott McLaughlin took a quick ride in Nashville.
There was so much drama going on in Nashville that drivers were able to survive and thrive despite setbacks. Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta both came back from a lap to finish fourth and fifth ahead of Andretti Autosport, while native driver Josef Newgarden finished sixth.
This was the final street race of the season now switching to the oval track in Madison, Illinois on August 21 (NZT).
INDYCAR STANDARD 2022 WITH 3 RACES OVER
1 Will Power (Australia) 450 points, 2 Scott Dixon (NZ) 444, 3 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) 438, 4 Josef Newgarden (USA) 428), 5 Alex Palou (Spain) 417, 6 Scott McLaughlin (NZ) 392.
– with AP