IndyCar leader hits bump at Pocono

SCOTT DIXON QUALIFIES 13TH

Scott Dixon has been about flawless as he chases his fifth IndyCar championship. He hit a minor bump at Pocono. Days after signing a contract extension with Chip Ganassi Racing, Dixon had one of his worst qualifying performances of the season. He starts 13th today, well behind his closest championship contenders.

Dixon holds a 46-point lead over 2016 Indianapolis 500 champion Alexander Rossi in the standings. Rossi, Josef Newgarden and Will Power all have Dixon in sight with four races left in the IndyCar season.

“I need him to have a bad run and I need to have a good run,” Power said.

Power will begin his bid for a third straight win at Pocono Raceway from the pole. He turned a lap of 219.511 mph on Saturday to take the top spot and perhaps bolster his shot for a second championship.

Power won his 53rd pole and tied A.J. Foyt for second on the career list.

Power and Newgarden made it a 1-2 start for team owner Roger Penske.

“One, two for Team Penske. You can’t be mad about that,” Newgarden said. Rossi starts third for today’s 500-mile race. Newgarden, the defending series champion, trails Dixon by 60 points in the standings and Power is 87 points back in fourth place.

Dixon isn’t in any major trouble — though he’s a bit more at risk early at getting collected in a wreck in front of him — and starting in the middle of the pack hasn’t hindered him much this season. He started 17th and finished fourth at Phoenix and started 18th and finished second at the Grand Prix.

The New Zealand native has 44 victories, trailing only Foyt and Mario Andretti on the career wins list. “For me, it’s crunch time,” Dixon said. Here are other items of note from Pocono: Power said it was “cool” to match Foyt. Andretti leads the way with 67 career poles.

“It is possible to reach that,” Power said.