Scott Dixon has equalled Mario Andretti for second on the all-time wins list with his 52nd IndyCar Series race victory.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver dominated the Honda Indy Toronto, putting on a clinic after snatching the lead from pole position winner Colton Herta following the first round of pit stops.
It was also Dixon’s fourth win at Exhibition Place and continued a streak of at least one IndyCar series win a year dating back to 2005.
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Only AJ Foyt stands above Dixon on the all-time wins list with 67 successes to his name.
“It’s amazing to be close to Mario,” said Dixon.
“Every time I’m asked these questions, I’m just so thankful that we still have AJ [Foyt] and him in the pits and we get to see them and we get to talk to them. It’s just fantastic.”
The win puts Dixon firmly into title contention, moving him up a spot in the standings to fifth.
“I’m hoping this is the start of the roll,” Dixon said of his title aspirations.
“The team definitely deserves it. I know we’ve been working as hard as any.”
“It was a tough drive man. Ended a streak there, which is fantastic. I’m just so happy for the team.”
From pole position, Herta got the holeshot into the first turn despite efforts from Dixon to dethrone him.
In the turn one melee, Takuma Sato got bundled out and into the tyre wall. That resulted in terminal damage to his car with the left front wheel out of alignment.
After a frantic first lap, it was Herta who led Dixon, Josef Newgarden, Alexander Rossi, Scott McLaughlin, David Malukas, Felix Rosenqvist, Callum Ilott, Marcus Ericsson, and Christian Lundgaard.
Green flag pit stops began in earnest on lap 10. The decisive moment of the race came on lap 18 when Herta finally came to the pit lane.
As Team Penske’s McLaughlin pulled in front of Herta, the Andretti Autosport driver baulked to avoid hitting the preceding car.
Just as Herta returned to the course, Dixon darted to the inside of him at turn one and stole the effective lead of the race.
A handful of drivers opted to run long on their first set of tyres including Graham Rahal, Rinus VeeKay, Pato O’Ward, and Jimmie Johnson.
Once the pit stop sequence was cleansed, the top two – Dixon and Herta – held a commanding advantage over the rest of the field as the race neared halfway.
Newgarden sat 15 seconds in arrears having had to battle traffic followed by Rossi, Rosenqvist, Malukas, McLaughlin, Ericsson, Simon Pagenaud, and Graham Rahal. Alex Palou made headway courtesy of an undercut, rising to 12th from 22nd on the grid.
After a relatively quiet run, drama struck on lap 45 when Rosenqvist dived to the inside of Rossi at turn three and made wheel-to-wheel contact. That spat the Andretti Autosport driver hard into the outside wall, bringing his day to an early end.
“He just shoved me off,” Rossi said on the team radio.
It was an ironic twist of fate for Rossi, who was only recently announced to join the McLaren SP squad where it is expected he will take Rosenqvist’s seat. The full course caution was duly drawn, neutralising the race.
With the field bunched up, pit lane came alive for the second round of pit stops on lap 47. The biggest loser in that sequence was early podium contender Newgarden who lost places hand over fist due to a slow tyre change.
As racing resumed on Lap 49, it was an off-strategy VeeKay who led Connor Daly. Dixon was the first of those in that group who pitted ahead of Herta, Rosenqvist, McLaughlin, Rahal, Pagenaud, Ericsson, and Palou.
https://twitter.com/MarioAndretti/status/1548778956249243648
Another full course caution was drawn on lap 56 for debris due to the track surface breaking up. At that moment, Daly took the chance to pit and handed Dixon second.
Racing recommenced on lap 59, although it was a short-lived green flag run. Kyle Kirkwood got into the side of Jimmie Johnson at the penultimate turn, sending the Chip Ganassi Racing driver into a spin.
The green flew on lap 67 once more with Dixon in the lead courtesy of VeeKay pitting under the caution. McLaughlin struggled on the restart, ceding a spot to Rahal before being cast wide out of turn one and dropping spots to Pagenaud, Ericsson, Palou, and Christian Lundgaard.
At the head of the field, Dixon ran untroubled. Herta was forced to save fuel and spent the dying moments of the race defending second place from Rosenqvist.
Ultimately, Dixon would cruise across the finish line to take his first win of the season, becoming the sixth different victor this year.
Herta and Rosenqvist completed the podium while Rahal claimed a season-best fourth ahead of series leader Ericsson. Palou, Pagenaud, Lundgaard, McLaughlin, and Newgarden rounded out the top 10.
The series heads to Iowa Speedway for a double-header on July 24-25 (AEST).
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