Dixon Does It Again for Honda in St. Louis
World Wide Technology Raceway
・Scott Dixon uses strategy, fuel mileage to score his second consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES win of 2023 at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500
・Honda clinches 2023 Drivers' Championship as title chase comes down to Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Dixon and Alex Palou
・David Malukas stars at World Wide Technology Raceway for the second year in a row with a third-place finish
Starting deep in a 28-car field, Scott Dixon once again demonstrated why he is one of the best Indy car drivers of his generation, conserving fuel while maintaining a race-winning pace to take the victory in Sunday's Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
Starting 16th, Dixon was able to complete the 260-lap contest in his Chip Ganssi Racing Honda on just three pit stops, one (or more) less than the rest of his competition to claim his second consecutive win of 2023 by the comfortable margin of 22.2 seconds over second-finishing Pato O'Ward.
Combined with the retirement of Josef Newgarden following late race wall contact, the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship is now down to a duel between Ganassi Honda teammates: 6-time champion Dixon and 2021 series champion Alex Palou, who finished seventh today. The pair head into the final two races of the season separated by 74 points, with 108 points on offer in the remaining events.
Following up on his second-place finish here in 2022, an impressive David Malukas for Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Honda home third today, for his second career IndyCar podium.
Fast Facts
・Honda continues to lead the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers' Championship, with 10 victories and 10 poles in 15 races this season. The company is seeking its fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers' Championship in the last six years in 2023.
・After winning seven of the nine most recent 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES events, Honda continues to lead the Manufacturers' Championship standings, with an unofficial 43-point lead [1299-1256].
・This is Dixon's second win at Gateway in the last four years. His most recent previous win here – his 50th career Indy car win – came in 2020. Dixon went on to claim his sixth NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship at the end of that year.
Next
The NTT INDYCAR SERIES started its stretch run of three consecutive races to close out the 2023 season. The series now heads to the Pacific Northwest for next weekend's Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland, September 1-3 at Portland International Raceway.
It's all these guys on my team. Chip [Ganassi, team owner] steers the ship and I'm just so proud of everyone on this team. Starting where we did [16th], we had to go for an alternate strategy. How about that Honda mileage? They gave me a [fuel mileage] number, and we had no problem at all hitting it lap after lap. This win was driven by Honda today, but a massive thanks to everyone on the #9 team for making it happen. We'll continue to give it our all in these next two races, and see how the championship plays out.
It's all these guys on my team. Chip [Ganassi, team owner] steers the ship and I'm just so proud of everyone on this team. Starting where we did [16th], we had to go for an alternate strategy. How about that Honda mileage? They gave me a [fuel mileage] number, and we had no problem at all hitting it lap after lap. This win was driven by Honda today, but a massive thanks to everyone on the #9 team for making it happen. We'll continue to give it our all in these next two races, and see how the championship plays out.
It was a really good day for us. We had a race-winning car today, we were right there with [pole starter Josef] Newgarden right there at the start. We put our head down, but our race strategy just didn't work out. Obviously [race winner Scott] Dixon had the right strategy. We tried to fuel save, but were just losing too much time [on track]. So we changed strategy and, because our car was very good, we were able to recover for third.
It was a really good day for us. We had a race-winning car today, we were right there with [pole starter Josef] Newgarden right there at the start. We put our head down, but our race strategy just didn't work out. Obviously [race winner Scott] Dixon had the right strategy. We tried to fuel save, but were just losing too much time [on track]. So we changed strategy and, because our car was very good, we were able to recover for third.
As we like to say, 'that did not suck'. It's nice to clinch the Drivers' Championship with two races remaining. We'll leave it up to Alex [Palou] and Scott [Dixon] to duke it out to the end. Congrats as well to David Malukas on his second career podium finish, both here at St. Louis. It was another exciting run for David and the Dale Coyne team. But at the end of the day, it was another amazing drive by Scott, it definitely showed you why he is still the king. We've now won this year on every type of track the series has – road course, street circuit and oval – which is what makes INDYCAR so cool. Thanks to all the men and women back at HPD, and looking forward to the last two weeks of the season.
As we like to say, 'that did not suck'. It's nice to clinch the Drivers' Championship with two races remaining. We'll leave it up to Alex [Palou] and Scott [Dixon] to duke it out to the end. Congrats as well to David Malukas on his second career podium finish, both here at St. Louis. It was another exciting run for David and the Dale Coyne team. But at the end of the day, it was another amazing drive by Scott, it definitely showed you why he is still the king. We've now won this year on every type of track the series has – road course, street circuit and oval – which is what makes INDYCAR so cool. Thanks to all the men and women back at HPD, and looking forward to the last two weeks of the season.
