Dixon powers to victory at Grand Prix of Long Beach
Scott Dixon has dedicated his first win in the 2024 IndyCar Series to the late Sir Colin Giltrap, after prevailing in a dramatic finish at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
“He obviously helped start my career,” said the Kiwi motorsport driver – one of several Giltrap aided over the years. “We lost him this week unfortunately, but a huge thank you to him.”
Dixon said his win in the second event of the season “was up there” with some of the best of his career, as he held off chasers Josef Newgarden and Colton Herta while managing his fuel expertly.
“This was up there, man,“he said on the broadcast. ”The stress level was high. Those guys were coming fast and strong.
“We were off by a lap or two for making it easy. Other races I've done, I've had it under control for the whole stint. I saw Josef and thought this is going to be really tough.
“I don't know what happened there, but I knew Colton was going to be strong.
“The last few laps the team came on and said ‘just go for it, we've got plenty of fuel,’ and away we went.”
What “happened there” was a collision at a hairpin turn with just over eight laps to go, where Herta ran into the back of Newgarden, dropping him from second down to fourth.
Herta took over as Dixon’s main pursuer, but ultimately finished .98 sec behind the Kiwi, with Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Racing
team-mate Álex Palou coming home in third, ahead of Newgarden.
Speaking on the broadcast, Herta said: “I misjudged it a little bit, but I think he set up pretty wide and was cutting back in, so he was a little slower at apex, but ultimately it's up to me to carry the race speed into the corner and not run into the back of people.
"I don't like to race like that, especially with Josef, who I have a lot of respect for."
Newgarden said: “It is what it is. It'd be the same if I hit somebody, but if we’ve got to take a fourth, we'll take a fourth."
The crash gave Dixon a bit of extra breathing space and Herta never seriously challenged him for the lead from second.
“That was tough,” he said on the broadcast. That was real tough.
“Honestly, I didn't think we were going to make it. They kept giving me a number and I was close, but just not enough. "Luckily we were on the safe side there." Dixon is in his 22nd season racing in the IndyCar Series and has now won 57 races – 10 shy of the record of 67, held by AJ Foyt.
The 2024 season continues next Monday with the Grand Prix of Alabama.