Dixon extends his win streak to 18 consecutive seasons. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
An eventful IndyCar race from the streets of Toronto has left Scott Dixon with his first win of the season, which he claimed in dominating fashion.
The six-time champion started on the front row, and was able to jump the polesitter Colton Herta with a speedy first pit stop and never looked back.
Dixon’s win places him tied with the great Mario Andretti for second all-time on the IndyCar victory list with 52. It also marks his first win of the season, and extends his streak of winning at least one race per season to an incredible 18 seasons.
Herta finished second, but didn’t have anything for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver for the second half of the race.
Felix Rosenqvist earned the final step on the podium, and said that he hopes that his performance gives Zak Brown something to think about when deciding which drivers will be in IndyCar next season.
Following behind in fourth was Graham Rahal, which badly needed the good result. He had a strong car all weekend, and was able to put together his best finish of the season.
Marcus Ericsson rounded out the top five, and was able to keep his car free from damage through multiple on track battles for position. The same can’t be said of others, as there were multiple instances of broken carbon fiber due to the full contact racing.
Takuma Sato was the first to find the wall, and that only took one corner. He simply ran out of room when battling with Pato O’Ward, and was pushed into the barriers hard enough to move them backwards nearly a foot.
AJ Foyt racing had another tough day, as both of its drivers had to retire early. Dalton Kellett was the first to retire on account of an engine failure, smoking heavily as he rounded the back portion of the course.
Kyle Kirkwood also retired a few laps later, but his was due to contact with Jimmie Johnson that was caused by an overly-optimistic move by the rookie in one of the tightest sections of track. It was an expensive weekend for the struggling team that already had money issues coming into the weekend.
Alexander Rossi was another driver that collided with the barriers, with his future team-mate Felix Rosenqvist forcing him to make heavy contact with in turn 3. They were fighting for one of the top positions, and the retirement cost the California native a lot of points.
Josef Newgarden was set to have a good day, but he stopped too far away from the pit wall and his fuel hose had trouble reaching the car. He salvaged a decent finish and crossed the line in 10th.
A strange issue arose with 10 laps remaining as race control lost power for a few laps. All teams’ timing and scoring and some data channels were affected for a few minutes while power was restored, making for an extra complication in a hectic race.
The issue was fixed before the race ended, however, and Dixon’s win was confirmed the moment he crossed the line on the 85th lap.
IndyCar’s next stop is the short oval of Iowa, with the season’s only double-header greeting the field in the busy back half of the season.
Keyword: Dixon breaks his drought, dominates on the streets of Toronto