Tag: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

‘I just needed to do a little better’ Elliott says after Indy defeat

Chase Elliott’s hunt for a 2023 NASCAR Cup Series victory continues after coming up one spot short Sunday in Indianapolis to Michael McDowell. The Hendrick driver felt he had a solid No. 9 Chevrolet, but not enough to erase a gap of over 3s in the …

Chase Elliott’s hunt for a 2023 NASCAR Cup Series victory continues after coming up one spot short Sunday in Indianapolis to Michael McDowell.

The Hendrick driver felt he had a solid No. 9 Chevrolet, but not enough to erase a gap of over 3s in the final stint. On the final green flag pit stop, Elliott cycled to second when Daniel Suarez had an issue and was initially able to make up ground on McDowell. The gap only ever got down to just under one second when McDowell led Elliott across the finish line.

“[I] just needed to do a little better job,” Elliott said. “Michael did an outstanding job getting through traffic, and I didn’t. [I] gained a lot of time on him those last couple of laps, just not quite enough.”

Sunday had one natural caution, and Elliott kept in mind the need to pace himself over a long green flag run. But he ended up losing too much time on the pit cycle even though he gained a spot.

It was one of the strongest race weekends Elliott has had in recent weeks. He qualified third and finished third in the first stage, earning more points with a fifth-place effort in the second stage.

“We had a fast NAPA Chevy, so it’s always good to have pace,” Elliott said. “We just needed a little bit more.”

Elliott remains below the NASCAR Cup Series playoff grid cutline, sitting 80 points out of a transfer spot with two races remaining in the regular season. The easiest and most realistic way for the 2020 series champion to make the postseason is through a victory.

Watkins Glen, where the series visits next, was the site of Elliott’s first victory in the Cup Series in 2018. He also won at The Glen in 2019 and finished fourth in the race there last season after starting from the pole.

“We got a shot at it,” he said.

Suarez disappointed after spirited drive at IMS falls short of a win

Daniel Suarez is confident the end of Sunday’s race at Indianapolis was going to be an entertaining fight for the win, but he was too far behind Michael McDowell for it to play out. “My car actually got better at the end, so I think we were going to …

Daniel Suarez is confident the end of Sunday’s race at Indianapolis was going to be an entertaining fight for the win, but he was too far behind Michael McDowell for it to play out.

“My car actually got better at the end, so I think we were going to have a pretty good shot,” Suarez said after finishing third. “It was going to be fun because I felt that the No. 9 (Chase Elliott) was pretty good, and then he was falling off at the end of the run. The No. 34 (McDowell) was pretty good in the middle part of the run, and I felt I was pretty good at the end of the run.

“So it was going to be a good fight. Disappointed that we didn’t get to see it.”

Suarez’s chance to be in the picture ended on pit road with 34 laps to go. The air hose got stuck under the left front when the jack was dropped and the team headed to the other side of the No. 99 Chevrolet. It was a costly hiccup on the stopwatch as the jackman had to return to the left side and jack the car back up so the tire changer could pull the hose out before the team completed the stop on the right side of the car.

“Just a few different things there, I believe, just looking at it quickly,” crew chief Travis Mack said of how the hose got stuck. “It just had a weird loop in it. Those hoses are really thick and awkward and just had a little weird loop in it. There are three guys involved: you’ve got Daniel stopping in the box, the tire changer who’s holding the hose, and then you got a guy behind the wall throwing the hose.

“It’s definitely a team thing, a team issue, that we’ll work on this week. We’ll just look at the film and see what we can do better next time.”

The Trackhouse Camaro lost time to McDowell and fell behind Chase Elliott in the running order. At the finish, Suarez had cut the gap to 5.7s behind McDowell from the 9s he lost on pit road.

“They were trying to keep me motivated, which I appreciate,” Suarez said of his team. “I love hearing that. It was good. I feel like we did a good job today. If I could rate ourselves today from one to 10, I feel we did a solid eight. But to win you need nine to 10s and today we were an eight, so we just have to be a little better next week.”

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A victory would have locked the No. 99 into the playoffs, which is what it did for McDowell. Suarez entered Indianapolis five points below the cutline and below McDowell, who was three points out of a playoff spot.

Suarez started from the pole Sunday and led six laps. He finished second to McDowell in the first stage and was third behind Denny Hamlin and McDowell in the second stage.

“We just needed to get to them,” Suarez said. “I felt if I was within [range] like I was in Stage 1 and Stage 2, I think we were going to be good to fight. Unfortunately, we were a little bit too far away in the last stage and I cut that gap — I don’t know how much, but it just wasn’t enough.

“I feel like in the last stint I was stronger than them but not 8s stronger than them. It’s part of it. We have to continue to build. Continue to work. We have a few things to clean up, and I’m sure we’re going to be better.”

There will be a chance for redemption for Suarez at Watkins Glen. Suarez and his team head there riding a wave of momentum off back-to-back top-five finishes and confident they can repeat the strength shown in Indianapolis.

“Absolutely, we feel like we probably gave one up today, for sure,” Mack said. “We had the lead and the car was really good there at the end. I think we lost 9s in the pits; we came out 9s behind those guys and we ran them down within a few seconds. The car was definitely faster the last run, and if we could have come out in the lead there, I don’t think they could have gotten to us.

“But you never know what could have happened. The best thing we can do right now is bring the same car [next week], same speed, and do it again at another road course.”

Justin Marks said Suarez’s path to the playoffs is a matter of winning over the next two weeks.

“He has to win,” Marks said. “He has to win now. He did everything today. He performed today at the highest level that I’ve seen him perform. We had some problems on the pit stops but his pace, his commitment, his fire was exactly why we pay him to do what he does, and he was awesome today.

“It changes the landscape with [McDowell] winning, so now we got to go to Watkins Glen, try to win that race, and if we don’t, we have to go to Daytona and try to win that race. It’s simple as that. It’s a simple thing now.”

McDowell snatches Cup playoff berth with dominant Indy win

Running a race he knew he could win, Michael McDowell held off Chase Elliott in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard a grabbed a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. The driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford led 54 of 82 laps at the …

Running a race he knew he could win, Michael McDowell held off Chase Elliott in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard a grabbed a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.

The driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford led 54 of 82 laps at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in a race that featured just one caution and ran under the green flag for the final 77 laps.

“My family comes to the races we think we can win,” said McDowell, who shared hugs with his wife and children after climbing from his car. “We thought we could win this one.”

McDowell’s second career victory was a convincing one. He passed pole winner Daniel Suárez for the lead after a restart on lap six and held it until he brought the No. 34 Mustang to pit road on lap 17 for a green-flag stop.

After pitting for a second time on lap 49, McDowell regained the top spot when Bubba Wallace pitted on lap 53 and held it the rest of the way. Over the last 29 laps, Elliott—needing a victory to advance to the Playoffs—narrowed McDowell’s 4s margin to 0.937s at the finish, but that was as close as the 2020 series champion could get.

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“I was really trying to pace myself,” McDowell said. “I figured there would be a late-race caution, and I didn’t want to burn my stuff up. I was just trying to maintain that gap.

“Then when I got into traffic, [Elliott] started closing, I had to push it, but I just can’t believe it.”

McDowell now has victories at Daytona (the 2021 Daytona 500) and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, arguably the two most iconic venues in the sport. He put a Ford in Victory Lane at a road course for the first time since Ryan Blaney won the inaugural race at the Charlotte Roval in 2018.

“Winning the Daytona 500 was one of the coolest moments you could ever have,” said McDowell, one of the most accomplished road racers in the Cup Series. “But going to Victory Lane without your family, that was tough.

“So we cherry-pick. We come to the races we think we can win… Just so proud… You know, I thought we could point our way in [to the Playoffs], but after the car that we had yesterday in practice, I thought, ‘Man, we’ve got a good shot at winning if we could just get track position and maintain it.’”

That’s exactly what McDowell did. After Suarez beat McDowell of pit road on lap 17, McDowell chased the No. 99 Chevrolet until they caught the cars of Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski at the end of Stage 2 on lap 35.

Hamlin and Keselowski were on older tires, and McDowell surged past Keselowski and Suárez through the Turn 12 and 13 complex. When Hamlin and Keselowski finally came to pit road on lap 36, McDowell was back in the lead.

Much of the race was a three-way battle between McDowell, Elliott and Suárez, but Suárez lost valuable time when his left front tire landed on an air gun hose during the lap 49 stop. The snafu cost Suárez 6s and a chance to win.

“We win and we lose as a team, and that’s all I can say,” said Suárez, who salvaged a third-place finish. “The guys brought a very fast race car. I felt that maybe we were one adjustment behind in the first run with the back of the car, but then we made it a little bit better.

“But I felt like I was always one step behind the No. 9 and the No. 34, and then at the end, I felt that when my car came alive again, we had that issue.

“Just a little bit heartbreaking, but that’s part of the sport. All we can do is continue to push, continue to build race cars like this, and I’ll keep on winning races.”

Elliott was gracious in his praise for McDowell, and he identified where his No. 9 Chevrolet needed to be stronger.

“Just to be a little better through the back half [of the course] over there and get off of [Turn] 14 a little better just to have myself in a better spot getting into [Turn] 1.

“Just really appreciate the effort, man. Our Napa Chevy was really good, really good. Just needed just a little bit more and came up a bit short. But congrats to Michael, man. He did a good job. Ran a great race and stayed mistake-free, and that’s what you’ve got to do to win.”

Tyler Reddick finished fourth, followed by Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell. Shane van Gisbergen, who won the Chicago Street Race in July was 10th in his second NASCAR Cup start.

McDowell’s win reduces the number of available Playoff spots to three. Keselowski and Kevin Harvick are comfortably situated on points—barring more different winners at Watkins Glen and Daytona—but Wallace’s hold on the final spot was reduced from 58 points pre-race to 28 over Suarez.

RESULTS

Gallagher GP Victory Lap with winner Scott Dixon

Scott Dixon, winner of the Gallagher Grand Prix, enjoys a hearty beer with RACER’s Marshall Pruett and tells the tale of his day and the history he made along the way with Chip Ganassi Racing. Or click HERE to watch on YouTube. Presented by: RACER’s …

Scott Dixon, winner of the Gallagher Grand Prix, enjoys a hearty beer with RACER’s Marshall Pruett and tells the tale of his day and the history he made along the way with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Or click HERE to watch on YouTube.

Presented by:
RACER’s IndyCar Trackside Report at the Gallagher Grand Prix is presented by Skip Barber Racing School. With multiple locations in the US, Skip Barber Racing School has developed more winning racers than any other school. Their alumni have taken the podium in all facets of motorsports including NASCAR, INDYCAR, SCCA, World Challenge and IMSA. Click to learn more.

Prospect of NASCAR returning to IMS oval gaining steam

Oval or road course? Or both? The future of NASCAR at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has not been confirmed, but recent industry chatter has the sport very likely returning to the oval in 2024. Although the change isn’t offical, Goodyear is tire …

Oval or road course? Or both?

The future of NASCAR at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway has not been confirmed, but recent industry chatter has the sport very likely returning to the oval in 2024. Although the change isn’t offical, Goodyear is tire testing Monday and Tuesday on the oval to make sure they are prepared for the future.

Doug Boles, IMS president, will be among those eagerly plugged into the test. But Boles also has some thoughts on the future of the NASCAR weekend at the Brickyard, telling SiriusXM NASCAR Radio a lot depends on how the Goodyear tire test goes, but also throwing out that perhaps there is a conversation to be had about rotating the oval and road course race, which would also keep the NASCAR and NTT IndyCar shared weekend.

“I do think that it’s no secret the oval, the Brickyard 400, started out as packed — sold out practically — and toward the end, it wasn’t really that,” Indiana native Chase Briscoe said. “I think we had to do something to switch it up as a sport to get it back. Obviously, we lost a crown jewel doing that, but I do think maybe that’s a possibility. You run the road course every two or three years in a row, bring the oval back the fourth year or something because it definitely seemed like when we ran the oval every year, it did lose a little bit.

“Truthfully, with this Next Gen car and how it’s raced on the ovals, it might be this incredible race, so I don’t know. I wouldn’t be against running the oval the next three or four years, but at the same time I wouldn’t be against switching back and forth. I do think it’s hard to have a crown jewel on the schedule and take it away, bring it back, take it away. If we’re going to do it, I would love to see it be a mainstay, at least for a couple of years.”

Briscoe will be one of the drivers participating in the Goodyear test. A car from each manufacturer will be included, so alongside Briscoe (Ford) will be Ty Gibbs (Toyota) and Alex Bowman (Chevrolet).

“I think it’s (about) seeing how the test goes,” Tyler Reddick said of the future of Indianapolis. “A lot of folks in NASCAR — even for me, honestly — I enjoy being on the oval, but we need it to be a good race. We need to be able to race each other. What we kind of departed from, and the style of racing we had here, was it was just very difficult to do anything.

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“If we really can’t race each other well and pass, I don’t know if we really should run the oval. We’ll see shortly. If it works out to where we can run both, I think a lot of the die-hard NASCAR fans would love to see the oval only back, but you’ll never hear me complain about road course racing.”

For some, like Ryan Blaney, just being at Indianapolis in any capacity is special. On the contrary, Denny Hamlin said the oval is needed for the prestige of Indianapolis.

“We need to run the oval at least once,” Hamlin said of having the oval or the road course on the schedule.

There have been plenty of drivers over the three years – since NASCAR made the switch to the road course – that haven’t hidden their dislike of driving the wrong way across the yard of bricks.

Kevin Harvick is retiring from competition at the end of this year and has been one of the most outspoken drivers about NASCAR needing to run the oval. Harvick acknowledged Saturday that, even though he won’t be driving next season as he moves into the Fox Sports booth, he still cares about what race NASCAR runs at Indianapolis.

“I have a big stake in caring about where this all goes, and sitting in the TV booth…my role is not driving anymore, but it’s very much a part of this sport that has kind of shaped my life and given me all the things that I have,” Harvick said. “I want to be involved and understand and make it better as you go forward and just doing something different. I’m all about mixing things up.

“I just think it’s a matter of what brings people to the grandstands and who watches on TV, and the amount of eyeballs you can move the needle with. Obviously, we did that with the Clash; we did that with the street course, so there are ways to do it. It’s just a matter of what that is. There are so many things that go into the mixture of what’s right and what’s wrong for the sport, the track, the people, the sponsors. There are a lot of elements that have to be talked through in order to make a good decision for everybody.”

NASCAR is not expected to release the 2024 schedule until September.

Harvick swears off any comeback after his final Indianapolis start

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the final time Kevin Harvick is in the starting lineup on the Yard of Bricks. No doubt? No leaving the door open for a race or two in the future? No coming back, even if NASCAR …

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the final time Kevin Harvick is in the starting lineup on the Yard of Bricks.

No doubt? No leaving the door open for a race or two in the future? No coming back, even if NASCAR returns to competing on the oval?

“That’s right,” Harvick said Saturday afternoon.

Harvick is a three-time Brickyard 400 winner, including in what can now be said was his final races on the oval in 2019 and 2020. Retiring at the end of the season, Harvick got the chance to make his position on return clear after it was said in the media room Sunday was “most likely” his last run at Indianapolis.

“There is no most likely; it is,” Harvick said. “Not my last visit, but last time on the surface as far as that goes.”

He’s not over competing at Indianapolis; he’s been infatuated with the Speedway since childhood and, for the last three years, has railed against competing on the road course.

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In a twist of fate, as Harvick retires, NASCAR is headed for a more-than-likely return to the oval next season, making it natural for the Cup Series veteran to face the question about wanting to run another race at Indianapolis. But make no mistake, shutting the door on the option simply boils down to the commitment it takes to competitively run a Cup Series race on a weekly basis.

“For me, that time will be over when we get to Phoenix at the end of the year,” Harvick said.

Sunday will be his 23rd start at Indianapolis between the oval and the road course. Harvick earned his first victory at Indianapolis in just his third start, 2003, while driving for Richard Childress Racing.

The first two road course races were nothing to write home about. He failed to finish last season and was 14th on the result sheet in the inaugural event. This year’s iteration, the Verizon 200, will see him take the green deep in the field in 38th.

On the oval (20 starts), Harvick’s three victories come alongside 389 laps led and 14 top-10 finishes, finishing every race he ran.

“Indianapolis has been a great place in my racing career,” Harvick said. “Grew up a kid in Bakersfield, California, wanting to race in the Indy 500 like Rick Mears, and to be able to come close to living that childhood dream of winning races at the Brickyard and having some success has been pretty special to me.

“It’s fun to have celebrated that, and to come back and be able to be here one last time is something that I’ll enjoy.”

Gibbs takes commanding Xfinity victory at IMS road course

In Saturday’s Pennzoil 150 presented by Advance Auto Parts NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, the fastest car met superior strategy. In this case, the fastest car-Ty Gibbs’ No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won …

In Saturday’s Pennzoil 150 presented by Advance Auto Parts NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, the fastest car met superior strategy.

In this case, the fastest car—Ty Gibbs’ No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won the battle—decisively—over the craftiness of AJ Allmendinger, as the two full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers stole the show and potential Playoff points from the Xfinity regulars.

Allmendinger, the pole winner, parlayed pit strategy into a pair of stage wins, but Gibbs charged ahead after a restart with 16 of 62 laps left and beat Sam Mayer to the finish line by 7.959s at the 2.439-mile, 14-turn circuit. Mayer passed a disappointed Allmendinger for the runner-up spot on the penultimate lap.

The victory was the first of the season for Gibbs, who won last year’s Xfinity title before moving up to his full-time Cup ride. It was his first victory on the Indy Road Course and his 12th win in 58 starts in the series.

“Awesome car—great car—thank you, (crew chief) Jason Ratcliff,” exulted Gibbs, who will try to hold onto the final Playoff-eligible position in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Cup Series race (2:30 p.m. ET on NBC, IMS Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I raced go-karts down the street with a bunch of kids…it’s really special.”

His strategy for Sunday is uncomplicated.

“Just have a good car, set the car up right and go win,” Gibbs said.

Mayer, who won the first Xfinity Series race of his career on July 29 at Road America, was satisfied with second on Saturday.

“That was all I had right there to catch the No. 10 (Allmendinger) and get us some more points,” said Mayer, who scored his fourth straight top-five finish. “I’m really proud of our guys here today. Our Chevrolet was really fast. But a lot of positivity going into the next couple of weeks because we are clicking off top fives like it’s easy.

“These road courses have been good to us the last couple of weeks—and the ovals are just as good. I’m looking forward to what we have going into (Watkins) Glen next week and then a bunch of ovals after that.”

Series leader Austin Hill finished fourth, followed by Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer and Parker Kligerman. Sheldon Creed, Kaz Grala and Brett Moffitt completed the top 10. Allgaier clinched a spot in the Xfinity Series Playoffs.

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Allmendinger started from the pole but surrendered the lead to Ty Gibbs on lap three. Gibbs remained out front until lightning in the area forced NASCAR to red-flag the race at 6:04 p.m.

During the delay, rain soaked the track, but the skies began to clear before the cars restarted. A strategic call by Allmendinger put the driver of the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet back in the lead.

Before the field took the green flag after the resumption of the race, Allmendinger and Mayer pitted for slick tires, while the vast majority of the field stayed on slower treaded rain tires.

Allmendinger rapidly gained ground from the back of the field, and after Gibbs pitted for slicks on lap 14, Allmendinger held a lead of more than 16 seconds in the exchange. He lost just over one second of that advantage before the Brad Perez’s Chevrolet stopped on the track on lap 27 to cause the second caution of the afternoon.

“We were never fast enough to win the race,” Allmendinger said. “I thought Ty was the class of the field… We got in a good rhythm there, maybe if it would’ve stayed green. We just needed a 52-lap green run there to win today.”

In short order after a restart on lap 31, Allmendinger regained the lead from Mayer, who had stayed out on older tires during the caution.

Gibbs restarted three positions deeper in the field than Allmendinger and began to close the gap to the leader. After Gibbs out braked Mayer into Turn 7 and took the second spot on lap 38, he trailed Allmendinger by 3.049s.

When both Allmendinger and Gibbs pitted for tires and fuel on lap 43, however, Gibbs won the race off pit road, right before NASCAR called the third caution when Andre Castro stopped on the track.

On the subsequent restart on lap 47, Gibbs, who led a race-high 28 laps, pulled out to an immediate advantage, and expanded it the rest of the way.

Full results to come when available

Gallagher GP race report with David Malukas and Linus Lundqvist

The Gallagher Grand Prix is done, Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing won, and David Malukas and Linus Lundqvist join RACER’s Marshall Pruett to talk about their runs. Or click HERE to watch on YouTube. Presented by: RACER’s IndyCar Trackside Report …

The Gallagher Grand Prix is done, Scott Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing won, and David Malukas and Linus Lundqvist join RACER’s Marshall Pruett to talk about their runs.

Or click HERE to watch on YouTube.

Presented by:
RACER’s IndyCar Trackside Report at the Gallagher Grand Prix is presented by Skip Barber Racing School. With multiple locations in the US, Skip Barber Racing School has developed more winning racers than any other school. Their alumni have taken the podium in all facets of motorsports including NASCAR, INDYCAR, SCCA, World Challenge and IMSA. Click to learn more.

Suarez lights up tight playoff showdown with Indianapolis pole

Daniel Suarez will have the best view of Turn 1 at the start of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, having earned the pole for the Verizon 200 – going fastest in qualifying at 99.814mph. It is his third …

Daniel Suarez will have the best view of Turn 1 at the start of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, having earned the pole for the Verizon 200 — going fastest in qualifying at 99.814mph. It is his third career pole.

Tyler Reddick, who won at Indianapolis last season, qualified second. His fast lap was 99.649mph.

Chase Elliott qualified third at 99.399mph and Michael McDowell qualified fourth at 99.288mph. Elliott and McDowell are two of the drivers to watch as the regular season winds down as both are outside the playoff grid. Whereas Elliott is in a seemingly must-win situation, McDowell is just three points below the cutline.

The driver sitting behind McDowell, ironically enough, is Suarez, five points below the cutline.

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Kyle Busch qualified fifth at 99.218mph, Kyle Larson sixth at 99.215mph and Christopher Bell seventh at 99.196mph.

Shane van Gisbergen qualified eighth for his second Cup Series start with a lap of 99.164mph.

Alex Bowman qualified ninth at 99.095mph and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top 10, also with a lap of 99.095mph. Gibbs holds the final spot on the playoff grid entering Indianapolis.

Brodie Kostecki slotted into 11th for his Cup Series debut, but his Richard Childress Racing team will be making repairs before Sunday’s race. The Australian got loose coming out of Turn 11 onto the oval and hit the outside wall with the left front.

Kamui Kobayashi ended up 28th for his Cup Series debut with 23XI Racing. Mike Rockenfeller qualified 37th in the No. 42 for Legacy Motor Club.

William Byron starts last after not being permitted to qualify. The No. 24 failed inspection three times, and he will also have to serve a pass-through after taking the green flag Sunday.

STARTING LINEUP

Dixon shocked how easy fuel and tire saving was at Gallagher GP

Chip Ganassi Racing legend Scott Dixon, who won Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix, said he was surprised by not only the consistent pace of his car but also by how “easy” it was to save enough fuel to run only two scheduled stops. Having been knocked …

Chip Ganassi Racing legend Scott Dixon, who won Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix, said he was surprised by not only the consistent pace of his car but also by how “easy” it was to save enough fuel to run only two scheduled stops.

Having been knocked into a spin on the opening lap at Turn 7, the six-time IndyCar champion was able to pit on lap five to get off the unfavored primary tires and run alternates the rest of the way, and also top off with fuel so that he could make two more scheduled stops when the front runners needed three.

He went on to claim the lead when the Rahal Letterman Lanigan and Arrow McLaren drivers made their third stops, and fended off polesitter Graham Rahal to the checkered lag.

“I felt like I had a fantastic start,” said Dixon, who started from 15th. “I think I picked up maybe five or six spots, then got to Turn 7 and there was a bit of a backup there. Just got spun around.

“We talked a lot in pre-race about pitting early, getting off the not-so-good tire for us, which was the black, doing it around lap four or six — trying to get the fuel mileage to get it done.

“I was actually shocked [at] the pace that we had. The car just kept doing the same lap times, mid 73s to 74 flats. The fuel mileage — huge credit to Honda and HPD, it was remarkably easy to get. I think the pace and obviously the tire deg that we didn’t really witness too much was fantastic. I think the only downfall for me was pushing too hard on the last stint on the first three or four laps, killed the tire a bit. The rest of the race we just kind of maintained a pace. It wasn’t that difficult to get.

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“[Had] some big laps early on in that last stint because I knew I was getting a fresh set of tires. Didn’t have to go that long; kind of hurt it. I guess made it a bit of a show and a bit of a race…

“It was just my mistake for pushing so hard at the start of that stint and kind of hurt the tire, otherwise I think it wouldn’t have been too difficult. Even in the second-to-last stint, we were on used reds. We were able to maintain the gap to Graham or actually pull away, so I figured once we get to the new tires, we can really go. That was not the right thing to do.

“We made a show of it. He was coming fast, man. It would have been interesting. I think once he got to us, it was going to be very tough to pass. We had similar overtake. The No. 9 car would have been very wide!”

Dixon said it was way past the mid-point of the race when he started to believe the team’s strategy would pay off.

“Probably halfway through the second-to-last stint on used tires where we were maintaining a gap [to Rahal],” he said. “He was behind me, where it pops up on my dash that he’s the next car. We had a like a 6s lead. I kept looking at it, running the lap times. He wasn’t gaining on us. ‘This is crazy, this might actually work out.’

“For me, the pace was not too difficult to get, but I think we were kind of in a happy spot of having to get fuel mileage and also looking after the tires where maybe some of those guys pushed quite hard early on like I did on my last stint.

“That was my first ‘Ah ha!’ moment where I’m [thinking], ‘We’re definitely in a strong position here to pull that off.’”