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New Zealander Scott Dixon and Takuma Sato repeated their 20-lap run from the Indianapolis 500 a week ago, with Dixon reversing the finishing order today by winning at World Wide Technology Raceway outside of St. Louis in the United States.
Scott Dixon stops during the IndyCar race at World Wide Technology Raceway on August 30, 2020. Source: Associated Press
Sato held Dixon at bay a week ago for his second Indy 500 win in four years. Dixon had 20 laps to chase Sato, but a yellow flag ended the race.
At Gateway, Dixon took the lead by first beating Pato O’Ward in the pits and then pedaling forward as Sato made his stop with 25 laps remaining. Sato returned to the track in third place, quickly past O’Ward and set his sights on Dixon.
Dixon had 20 laps to navigate the turn traffic while keeping Sato at bay.
“Sato was getting strong at the end and I didn’t realize how strong he was coming,” Dixon said. “We were going into reserve mode a bit to take care of the engine and then he was coming fast.”
Dixon beat Sato by 0.1404 seconds for his fourth win of the season and 50 overall and praised his Chip Ganassi Racing team. The New Zealander led 111 of 200 laps at Indy, but was unable to catch up with Sato in the final laps before the yellow flag froze the field.
“Last week in Indianapolis was a bit of a bummer,” Dixon admitted.
Dixon moved within two victories of Mario Andretti on IndyCar’s win list. Andretti is second with 52; AJ Foyt is the leader at 67.
Scott Dixon greets the crowd during driver introductions at last year’s event at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas. Source: Photosport
Dixon holds a 117-point lead in the IndyCar championship standings as he chases a fifth title.
That was a Scott Dixon textbook run. Relax, one at a time, here, there, nothing fancy, ”said the owner of the winning team, Ganassi.
Sato finished second with a 1-2 sweep for Honda. O’Ward, the highest-scoring rookie in last week’s 500, was third for Chevrolet.
Sato was attempting to become the first driver since Arie Luyendyk in 1997 to win the race immediately after the Indy 500.
“Since last week we’ve had a lot of momentum,” said Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Sato. “The guys did a fantastic job two weeks in a row, I’m very proud of them.”
The race got off to a rocky start with a multi-car accident when the green flag was flown. Alex Palou and Oliver Askew, both rookies, were penalized by IndyCar for triggering a crash that knocked out three Andretti Autosport cars.
Alexander Rossi, still seeking his first win of the season in a horrible year for the perennial title contender, reunited with his teammates Marco Andretti and Zach Veach. It also ended the race for Ed Carpenter and Simon Pagenaud eventually had to retire with damage to his car.
“He was driving straight. I don’t know what you want me to say, “said Rossi, who compared the incident to an iRacing career.
