Scott Dixon continues to defy the might of Team Penske in the IndyCar Series; winning his second race in a row in the open-wheel category's post-Covid-19 race schedule.
Held at the Indianapolis road course, Dixon dominated this morning's Indy Grand Prix to lead home Graham Rahal and Simon Pagenaud by almost 20 seconds.
.@scottdixon9 is pretty pumped 👊🏻
— Chip Ganassi Racing (@CGRTeams) July 4, 2020
How could you not be while standing in victory lane at @IMS!? #BankOnThe9 | #INDYGP pic.twitter.com/2Le2REgQm1
Dixon had only managed to qualify seventh for the race, as Australian Will Power took pole. And for the opening half of the race, Dixon was reporting his car to be handling ill on the unique circuit.
The Kiwi's big reprieve came via a safety car period for the crashed Arrow McLaren SP entry of Oliver Askew. Dixon had made his penultimate stop just prior to the crash, and was able to leap-frog Power, Josef Newgarden, and a selection of other front-runners.
Read more: Scott Dixon dominates - Kiwi claims 'untouchable' win in Texas
This left him just behind Rahal, Spencer Pigot, and Conor Daly. On relatively healthy 'red' tyres, Dixon was able to pick off the group one by one before building a comfortable gap.
By the time the last cycle of stops had ensued, Dixon held a whopping 13-second gap. And by the finish that gap had swelled to 19 seconds.
The battle for second between Rahal and a fast approaching Pagenaud was the tightest fight to the flag on track; Rahal claiming the spot by just six tenths of a second.
The win means Dixon now holds a commanding 29-point lead over Pagenaud, with Newgarden and Colton Herta in tow.
What a start to the season for @ScottDixon9!
— IndyCar on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) July 4, 2020
After winning at @TXMotorSpeedway in June, he kicks off July with a win at @IMS in the GMR #IndyGP! #NBCRacingWeekend pic.twitter.com/r6kOxx2VL6
Herta was able to bolster his championship situation with a fourth-place finish, just ahead of Rinus VeeKay in fifth. Marcus Ericsson, Newgarden, Patricio O'Ward, Santino Ferucci, and Takuma Sato rounded out the top 10.
After being a contender for much of the race, strategy and a poor final pit-stop meant Power finished 20th.
The series now turns to Road America for a double-header event next weekend. The following weekend it will then head to Iowa Speedway, making this one of the busiest months of IndyCar racing to date.