After not winning for a full 12 months, Dixon has now won the last two races. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
IndyCar took to the final oval of the season on Sunday, completing 260 laps around the World Wide Technology Raceway, also known as Gateway.
Firestone brought a second compound of tires to the track, the first time that has been done for an oval event, and that mixed up the pit strategy a bit more than usual.
Employing the best strategy, and the best fuel saving among the entire field, was the perennial threat Scott Dixon. The veteran walked away in the final laps, pulling a gap while conserving fuel all the way to the checkered flag.
Dixon made his final pit stop a full 10 laps earlier than the other front runners, made one fewer stop over the second half of the race, and was still able to grow his lead over the final 63 laps.
The win is Dixon’s second consecutive victory after his win at the Indianapolis road course, and keeps him in contention for the championship, if only just.
Pato O’Ward crossed the line in second, but was a full 22 seconds behind at the end. He lamented post-race at how Dixon is the only one that seems to be able to keep his speed up while saving fuel.
Crossing the line third, as the final driver on the lead lap, was David Malukas. The sophomore driver showed just how much he loves this track by notching his second career podium at the same track where he earned his first.
Josef Newgarden led much of the start of the race and was in position to win and complete the oval sweep of the season, but he was taken out of contention when he drifted too high with just 50 laps remaining.
The veteran attempted to catch his Team Penske Chevy and stop it from hitting the wall, but a hefty touch damaged his toe link and he was taken out of the lead group.
The marbles were treacherous by that point in the race, and multiple other drivers had close calls when they got just a foot or two too far up the banking.
In fact, just a couple laps after Newgarden’s troubles, Scott McLaughlin very nearly suffered the same fate while battling with David Malukas. He successfully recovered from a severe wiggle, however, and continued on.
Before the race even truly got underway, there was a caution and an early retirement on the part of Ben Pedersen.
The rookie was turned from behind by the veteran Ed Carpenter before the two even got to Turn 1, and Pedersen’s car was wrecked against the outside barriers.
There was plenty of side by side racing, and some tempers as well. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
Carpenter was given a severe penalty for the incident, and had to serve a stop-and-go plus 30 seconds penance.
A second caution came out just before the halfway point when Takuma Sato ran high in Turn 2 and could not stay out of the wall, another victim of the marbles in the high line.
Alex Palou maintained his points lead with a seventh place finish, although the gap to Dixon shrank to 74 with just two races remaining.
There is no rest for the paddock, which heads west for the penultimate round at Portland next weekend.
Keyword: Dixon employs flawless strategy to take victory at Gateway