Scott Dixon has claimed win number two of his 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series campaign; leading home the field at the DXC Technology 600 in Texas.
The result is significant for a couple of reasons. It helps Dixon climb to the lead of the championship standings (23 points ahead of Alexander Rossi), and it solidifies his spot as the third most prolific winner in American wings and slicks history — perched on 42 wins.
“I love winning in Texas, this place is awesome,” Dixon said. “The car was just stuck, I don’t know what we did, the car was just nailed. I can’t thank the team enough, the pit stops were fantastic.
“Emma [Dixon] said ‘I haven’t been to one of your wins in three years’ so Emma and my Mum are here tonight. It’s fantastic to celebrate with them."
The big story of the race was a clash between former series leader Will Power and rookie Zachary Claman DeMelo. The pair crashed after Power eased wide coming out of turn four, not knowing that DeMelo had overlap. It put Power out of the race, and eventually down to third in the standings.
Dixon spent much of the early running hovering around eighth position, but then outraced and undercut many of the more fancied runners to take first.
Once in the lead, the Kiwi emerged as the driver to beat. He lapped the field all the way up to fifth position, though cautions for Power and DeMelo's crash as well as a separate crash between Robert Wickens and Ed Carpenter meant Dixon could never breath too easily.
The last race restart took place with 33 laps to go; Dixon's main rival being Simon Pagenaud. They eventually crossed the line in first and second; Dixon leading by just over four seconds. Rossi, James Hinchcliffe, and Ryan Hunter-Reay completed the top five.
Dixon won't have much time to celebrate the win, as he now looks to travel to France to race in the 34 Hours of Le Mans with Ganassi Racing's Ford GT GT-E Pro division.