Scott Dixon in the No.9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda put on a masterclass at World Wide Technology Raceway on Sunday.
The Iceman who started the race from 16th due to a grid penalty came through the field using a three stop strategy to his advantage to claim his second consecutive victory.
The win sees the Iceman remain in the championship hunt cutting teammate Alex Palou’s championship lead to 74 points with just 108 available from the final two races.
Speaking to Paddock Eye following the action, Dixon said:
I think they’re all special, right? It’s like kids: you love them all in different ways. No, I’m joking (laughter).
I think some are from pure speed. These last two races I think have been good on all fronts, right? We’ve had to cover all bases, whether it was speed, strategy, consistency throughout, great pit stops.
These ones feel big as a team. I think especially when you have to come back from such a deficit, obviously two weeks ago kind of the spin, thinking you’re down and out, and today getting the good penalty with the engine change, you feel in the same situation.
Definitely much more appreciation for race wins as you get older. I think I’ve mentioned that a few times. Especially with the competition of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES right now, as well.
This is the newest one, so I love it very much.
The Iceman, who celebrated his 55th career win went on to say:
“I am so happy for everybody. We took a good penalty today with one of those changes. We had to go the alternate route and it worked perfectly. The Honda mileage was great once again. I know everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing does a tremendous job going after the championship and it’s a huge accomplishment for everybody.”
Dixon admitted that he will need a bit of luck to win the championship this year as his teammate Alex Palou has had a flawless season but Dixon says they will try everything until they are out of the running.
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.”
