New Zealand IndyCar star Scott Dixon rode his luck all the way to first place ahead of Kiwi rival Scott McLaughlin in the Grand Prix of Nashville on Monday.
Dixon, starting 14th and then suffering early damage to his left rear wheel, visited the pits six times but came out on top as eight yellow flag cautions and a late red flag stoppage punctuated a dramatic 80 laps on the tight street course.
Doing well to stay in the mix, Dixon benefited from the sixth caution 15 laps from the finish as 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 chequered flag that has ignited his championship hopes.
Mark Humphrey/AP
Scott Dixon is now just six points behind championship leader Will Power.
With his 53rd career win, Dixon lifts from fourth to second on the season championship as he seeks a record-equalling seventh driver’s title to tie the legendary AJ Foyt.
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* Scott McLaughlin grabs pole position for IndyCar Series Nashville race
* Kiwi drivers miss podium as Alexander Rossi ends 49-race losing streak with IndyCar win
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Dixon now trails Australian Will Power by just six points with three races left.
That’s nothing to the Kiwi ace who trailed Juan Pablo Montoya by a whopping 48 points back in 2015, with three races remaining, 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 of it until you are, so we’ll keep digging.”
Mark Humphrey/AP
Scott Dixon takes a drink of champagne after winning the Music City Grand Prix, his 53rd career win.
It was another high profile day for the New Zealand drivers with McLaughlin coming hot off pole position to lead for the first quarter of the race after the start was delayed by thunderstorms.
He was right in the hunt for most of the day before a sloppy late pit stop dropped him to 15th.
But McLaughlin managed to charge his way back to second and was right beside Dixon in what turned into a two-lap sprint to the finish line after the late red flag.
The .1067-second margin of victory was the fourth-closest 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 line. That was a proper duel.”
McLaughlin improved from seventh to sixth on the championship table with this podium effort.
Mark Humphrey/AP
Scott Dixon claimed his second win of the season in Nashville.
”The tough thing all weekend is we knew the car was fast,” Dixon said as he overcame his qualifying issues to claim victory.
“We had a crash but managed to keep it going. Scott McLaughlin had a great weekend, he was on fresher tyres … I was a bit of a sitting duck if there had been a couple more laps.”
Alex Palou, the reigning IndyCar champion, finished third as Ganassi put two drivers on the podium. Palou moved one spot in the standings to fifth as 33 points separate the title contenders. On his way to victory lane, team owner Chip Ganassi stopped to congratulate Palou, the driver he is suing for trying to leave the organisation at the end of the season.
Mark Humphrey/AP
Scott McLaughlin was on a fast ride in Nashville.
There was so much drama going on in Nashville that drivers could survive and thrive despite setbacks. Alexander Rossi and Colton Herta both came back from one lap down to finish fourth and fifth for Andretti Autosport, while hometown driver Josef Newgarden was sixth.
This was the final street race of the season which now switches to the oval track at Madison, Illinois on August 21 (NZT).
2022 INDYCAR STANDINGS WITH 3 RACES LEFT
1 Will Power (Australia) 450 points, 2 Scott Dixon (NZ) 444, 3 Marcus Ericsson (Sweden) 438, 4 Josef Newgarden (US) 428, 5 Alex Palou (Spain) 417, 6 Scott McLaughlin (NZ) 392.
– with AP
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