NTT INDYCAR SERIES team owner Chip Ganassi says that Scott Dixon in the No.9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda would have won the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St Petersburg presented by RP Funding on Sunday had everything been 100 percent.
The Iceman who started the race 6th place had intermittent radio until lap ten of the race before it went completely.
The resulting failure meant that the six-time series champion was on his own when it came to fuel strategy and speaking following the race, Ganassi said:
Well, if everything was 100 percent, he would have won — it was simple. He would have won the race. The race was over. It was one stop to go, and we pitted a lap later than we wanted him to. That was the race. That was the difference between he and Palou.
Dixon’s teammate and defending series champion Alex Palou in the No.10 DHL Honda took victory by just over two seconds from Dixon giving Ganassi their first 1-2 finish since 2023.
Ganassi confirmed that due to the radio issue that Dixon had on Sunday, he made his final stop a lap later than the team had wanted him to.