Dixon was not the favorite to win, but pulled out the victory. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
There was no shortage of action for this Sunday’s IndyCar season finale from Laguna Seca, with incidents interrupting the running all the way through.
The eventual winner after eight cautions was Scott Dixon, who at one point found himself down in 21st position following a penalty for causing a collision.
Ever the persistent driver, Dixon stayed the course and did his best to stay out of any further trouble as others around him continued to crash and spin.
The win is Dixon’s third of the season, will all coming in the final four races of the year. The veteran finishes second in the points standings, continuing an incredible streak of performance that is unmatched in the series.
Crossing the line in second was Scott McLaughlin, who was also involved in the opening lap chaos and had to fight his was from near the back of the pack.
The championship winner Alex Palou rounded out the podium, taking the checkered flags just over 10 seconds behind his team-mate at the head of the field.
The Spaniard was able to officially raise the Astor Cup for the first time in the post-race ceremonies, and can now officially call himself a two-time series champion.
READ MORE: IndyCar Laguna Seca – Full Race Results
Palou took a large lead at the start, and looked like he might run away with the win like he did the year before at Laguna Seca, but he was not able to keep the advantage due to the constant caution periods that plagued the event.
The race was full of chaos from start to end, with the first incident coming in the first couple turns of the race.
Christian Lundgaard got loose while side by side and hip-checked McLaughlin off the track. Everyone attempted to avoid the spin, and many more were eventually involved.
All three RLL drivers were collected in the opening lap wreck, as were Josef Newgarden, Scott Dixon, and Rinus VeeKay.
McLaughlin had more trouble after the restart, knocking his front wing askew on Ben Pedersen. He came in to replace the nose, and had a miserable day all around.
His team-mate Newgarden also continued to have trouble, spinning on his own and driving the rest of the race with a damaged sidepod.
Lining up for a restart was a common occurrence on Sunday. Photo: Kevin Dejewski
Felix Rosenqvist was having a good race near the front, but was tagged by fellow Swede Marcus Ericsson midway through the race and was relegated a few laps down in the process.
A couple of the restarts caused problems that brought the caution out immediately after, as drivers kept trying to jump each other in the lead-up to the green flag.
In all, there were eight caution periods, totaling 35 laps behind the pace car. So many, in fact, that the pace car had to be refueled mid-race.
Virtually every single driver was involved in an incident of some sort during the 95-lap event, and nearly everyone had thoughts that his race was over at some point.
There were plenty of tempers that flared throughout the race, and it’s fortunate that there is an entire off season to get emotions back under control.
Keyword: Dixon wins wild, chaos-filled IndyCar finale from Laguna Seca