Dixon Continues Win Streak as Honda Runs 1-2 at Indianapolis
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Scott Dixon wins for the 19th consecutive season, holding off Graham Rahal for a 1-2 Honda finish at the Gallagher Grand Prix
Honda drivers claim the victories at both Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course events in 2023
Alex Palou closes in on Drivers' Championship with seventh-place finish
Recovering from a first-lap incident that left him last in the field, Scott Dixon and his Chip Ganassi Racing team made a quick stop for repairs, then used a two-stop strategy to get to the front of the field. In the final laps, he held off a charging Graham Rahal to win today's Gallagher Grand Prix on the road course of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The victory was Dixon's first this season, but the 54th NTT INDYCAR SERIES win for the six-time series champion – second only to A.J. Foyt – and stretched his record of consecutive seasons with at least one victory to 19. Dixon also stretched his "Iron Man" streak of 319 consecutive INDYCAR starts today.
After starting from the pole, Graham Rahal was the leading contender on a three-stop strategy, which saw him closing on Dixon throughout the final 10 laps of today's 85-lap contest. But the veteran Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver came up less than a half second short at the checkers, still completing a 1-2 finish for Honda.
Already a four-time winner this year, including the May race on the IMS road course, Alex Palou increased his championship lead to 101 points with a seventh-place finish today in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda with three races remaining.
Fast Facts
・Honda continues to lead the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers' Championship, with nine victories and 10 poles in 14 races this season. Honda currently has an unofficial 38-point advantage (1,204-1,166) over rival Chevrolet. The company is seeking its fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers' Championship in the last six years in 2023.
・In addition to sweeping all five temporary street circuit races this year, Honda drivers and teams have now won on four of the five permanent road circuits on the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule. Prior to today's victory by Scott Dixon, current championship leader Alex Palou claimed the victories here at the GMR Grand Prix of Indianapolis in May, followed by Road America and the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
Next
The 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES next heads west to World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis, Missouri, for the Bommarito Auto Group 500, the final oval race of 2023.
Huge credit to the team for this one. I had a fantastic start, but then got T-boned there in Turn 7 [on the opening lap, dropping him to last in the field]. But this team never gives up. Honda was amazing today. It was so much fun driving my Honda out there today, getting the fuel mileage, cruising along; and fantastic pace when we needed it. The only problem I had all day was I think I pushed too hard on my out lap [after his final pit stop] to build a gap to Graham [Rahal] and unfortunately used the tires up, so it was pretty sketchy at the end. But we put on a show for everyone, and we're going to keep on trying. It's cool to be here.
We have nothing to be ashamed of, our Code Three #15 car was excellent today, Honda was excellent today, as always. I mean, I'm not bummed [to finish second], but I'm bummed. Even on a day where we did everything right, lady luck wasn't quite on our side. I think that first yellow hurt us. It went on for a long time and made a two-stop race possible. I knew during that first yellow that Dixon was going to come into play, and he did. On the last two laps, I was on 'overtake', but he was too, and I just wasn't gaining ground. So I couldn't get close enough to make a lunge at him. But that's nothing to be ashamed of. We're going against the best of all time, by far, and we just have keep our heads down, and keep getting better.
Hats off to everyone at Honda Performance Development and our teams for an awesome weekend. The pole by Graham Rahal on Friday, followed by another win for Honda, and a 1-2 finish for Scott Dixon and Graham today. We maximized our points for the Manufacturers' Championship, and Scott showed he's still very good at this! Huge thanks to him and everyone at Chip Ganassi Racing on a well-earned victory today; and to Rahal Letterman Lanigan for another strong performance from them in the second half of this season.
