This race, which normally marks the start of ‘Month of May’ at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was delayed by two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Penske’s Will Power led from pole, ahead of Jack Harvey, Graham Rahal, Colton Herta and Josef Newgarden, while Dixon, who qualified in seventh place, skipped a place in the first corner to run sixth. Fifth-place qualifier Oliver Askew lost places at first, falling to eighth.
Dixon stepped out of the strategy, facing lap 11 to grab the alternative tires and committed to a three-stop strategy. Power faced off on lap 17, but the car to follow was Rahal, who stayed ahead for a long first season that put him on a two-stop strategy.
All of the racing strategies were impacted by Askew who lost control of the back of his car in the final corner just before mid-range and hit the wall. The full-course caution that followed played into the hands of Dixon, who had just faced the problem. On the restart, he made his way to the front, passing Rahal for the lead on lap 48.
Yellow meant that power dropped back to 14th and was caught in traffic as Dixon charged in the front. Power’s chances of victory were completely over when he stopped after his last pit stop.
Rahal faced the new red tires with 25 laps to go, so Dixon covered him one lap later for his last pit stop, meeting in striped reds. Dixon reached the goal, despite losing the air hose in his helmet, and beat Rahal for 20 years.
After a disappointing qualification, last year’s Indy GP and Indy 500 winner Simon Pagenaud switched to a three-stop strategy from the start and the moment of yellow fell into his hands. He finished third, just behind Rahal, ahead of Herta and the impressive rookie Rinus Veekay.
IndyCar Indianapolis Grand Prix Results
