Stealthy Dixon becomes the man to beat
INDYCAR SERIES TEXAS (USA) JUNE 9 ROUND 8/16
In the first six races of this season, Scott Dixon had not so much as led a single lap, although he had been fabulously consistent. Now two wins in the space of eight days have vaulted the four-time champion to the top of the 2018 points standings, and he and the Honda-powered Chip Ganassi Racing team are looking a formidable combo once more.
Some felt Dixon deserved it, as much as anything, for approaching the race in a positive frame of mind, despite the three Team Penske Dallara-chevrolets lining up on the grid 1-2-3. At Texas Motor Speedway Indycar had increased the allowed rear-wing angle of the spec aerokit compared with Indianapolis two weeks earlier, to create more downforce. A softer tyre compound from Firestone had also created more mechanical grip, but the tyres would go off more rapidly. In fact, they would blister according to set-up and driving style. Through the two practice sessions, some teams/drivers got it right, others didn’t, and predicted it would be a boring race because there’d be no passing, despite the tyre degradation.
Yet last year, the race had been at the other end of the scale – a fearsome pack race where the cars had far too much grip and could follow closely with impunity. Dixon was among the many grateful for having that situation radically altered for 2018.
After evening practice, he commented: “Personally, I’d rather it be on the driver side of it and safety side of it as opposed to having a big pack race and a lot of yahoos that are trying silly things.”
What he didn’t say was that he and race engineer Chris Simmons had found a set-up that would allow him to reach the end of a fuel stint without tyres blistering. Penske drivers could only dream of such things. Polesitter Josef Newgarden, who had led the first 59 laps, had to make a very early second stop when he felt blisters forming on his right-front tyre and, with the 60mph pitlane speed limit extended down the warm-up lane all the way to the back straight, that put him two laps down. He would eventually suffer more blistering issues and then a drivethrough penalty that would consign him to 13th place.
Will Power had gotten around Simon Pagenaud for second, but would then drop back, desperately needing more front wing to deal with traffic. Even eventual runner-up Pagenaud had major drop-off at the end of his second stint.
By contrast, Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Robert Wickens had moved forward right from the drop of the green and, like Dixon, they were unhampered by tyre issues. So they passed the troubled Penske drivers and each took turns at the front – Wickens for a total of 31 laps. Yet when a great stop from Dixon’s #9 crew put him in the lead just past midway, it was game over. Now in clean air (except when passing backmarkers), he had even fewer tyre issues and no-one else led for the remaining 118 of 248 laps.
Wickens should have finished second, but while he was lapping Ed Carpenter the veteran squeezed down on the rookie, and the pair spun up the track and into the
wall, Carpenter accepting full blame.
The third and final yellow was caused by sixth-placed Power colliding with rookie Zachary Claman Demelo. Having just received instructions to go for it and ignore his fuel consumption, Power swung up the track to pass Ryan Hunter-reay for fifth, but due to another communication from pitwall he didn’t hear the simultaneous call from spotter CR Crews that there was a fast-moving Demelo on his outside. The collision was relatively minor considering they were running 200mph, but Power’s second impact with the wall cracked a rib.
The full-course caution allayed the only dilemma the frontrunners had regarding fuel, of whether to run hard and bank on another yellow coming or to eke out fuel to the end. The top six – Dixon, Pagenaud, Rossi, James Hinchcliffe, Hunter-reay and Graham Rahal – all stopped for fresh rubber. Rossi’s refueller – who’d struggled to deliver fuel on the previous stop – was fault-free but it wasn’t enough to jump his driver ahead of Pagenaud, even though he was potentially faster. Dixon disappeared up the road, while Pagenaud put up a masterful defence of second place, which he held to the flag.
Dixon now holds third place alone in the all-time Indycar winners’ list, with 43 victories – nine behind Mario Andretti. But long before he passes the greatest all-rounder of all time in terms of
Indycar wins, he may have beaten him in Indycar titles by scoring his fifth.
We’re nine races down with eight to go…