Scott Dixon extended a remarkable streak when he notched his first win of the IndyCar season at the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday in Lexington, Ohio.
The New Zealander, who turns 45 later this month, has now won an IndyCar Series race in every season since 2005, a 21-year streak. It marks the 59th victory of his illustrious career.
Dixon drove his No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda to victory lane after teammate and series leader Alex Palou made a crucial error down the stretch.
Palou had a slight lead with five laps to go but ran wide as his No. 10 car reached Turn 9. The Spaniard slowed down in the dirt and Dixon made it past him, taking the lead the rest of the way.
“It was definitely a tough race,” Dixon said afterward. “We had fantastic cars. But just so much fun to try and pull off what we did and do it with what we had was fantastic.”
Palou was vying for his seventh win of the season but settled for his second runner-up finish, just .4201 seconds behind Dixon.
“Just a stupid mistake, honestly. A mistake on my part,” Palou said. “The car was amazing all weekend, all race. I just lost it a little bit on (corner) entry and kind of really couldn’t get power going on.
“Nobody to blame but me. Just got a bit wide on entry and lost it completely.”
Rounding out the top five were Christian Lundgaard of Denmark, Colton Herta and Mexico’s Pato O’Ward, who was aiming to go back-to-back at Mid-Ohio.
Palou led a whopping 75 of the 90 laps, while Dixon led 11. The win will be a welcome sight for Dixon, who entered the week tied for fourth in the points race and last got the checkered flag at the 2024 Detroit Grand Prix 13 months ago.
–Field Level Media
