Dixon wins in Toronto to extend series lead
Scott Dixon has won his third race of the season to continue his grip on the IndyCar Series.
The New Zealand driver – striving for a fifth Indycar championship – profited from an error by arch rival Josef Newgarden to grab victory at the Indycar Toronto race in Canada yesterday.
Newgarden led the race early, but a lapse in judgment when he brushed a wall after a restart allowed Dixon, who had been patiently running second, to take control.
While Dixon told the IndyCar
Radio Network that he ‘‘got lucky when Josef made a bit of a mistake’’, he felt his car was running so well that he was also confident of success.
Dixon collected his 44th career win to consolidate his place as the third most successful IndyCar driver of all time behind A J Foyt with 67 victories and Mario Andretti (52).
It was the Kiwi’s 149th top-five finish – the second highest of alltime.
Dixon now leads the series by 62 points with five rounds remaining.
He has 464 points with Newgarden, who has had three wins and four pole positions this season, on 402 with Alexander Rossi third on 394.
Asked if he felt another championship victory was in sight, Dixon said: ‘‘You hope so.
‘‘Every year we set two goals – first to win Indy [500 in Indianapolis] and two to win the championship.
‘‘Obviously we came up short with Indy [where Dixon has only won once, in 2008].
‘‘Our focus is definitely on the championship right now.’’
The Kiwi had the race commentators marvelling at his ability to produce mistake-free drives and his ‘‘smooth, beautiful driving style’’ in his 18th season on the Indycar circuit. Dixon told the IndyCar Radio
Network that he put his ability to churn out top-five placings to great support from his Chip Ganassi Racing team.
‘‘I’ve been with these guys for 18 years. We’ve achieved a lot together and hopefully that continues.’’
After leading for 49 of the 85 laps at Toronto, Dixon won in style from Simon Pagenaud with Canada’s Robert Wickens third.
Dixon had started second on the grid after Newgarden had grabbed pole position in qualifying.
The 37-year-old New Zealander had set a track record in round two of qualifying but was disappointed in himself when Newgarden grabbed pole position for yesterday’s race.