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Scott Dixon produced a solid second run on the IndyCar doubleheader at Illinois, finishing fifth although he saw his championship lead take its toll.
Having won the opening race on Sunday to clinch his 50th career victory, Dixon did well to move up from sixth on the grid to finish fifth in the sequel at the Madison Oval Track on Monday (NZT).
Dixon will see the weekend as a success as he looks to win a sixth driver’s title this short season.
His only complaint on Monday was seeing Josef Newgarden and Pato O’Ward make up some lost ground and, with the race ending under another yellow card, he was not allowed to attempt a late challenge.
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American Newgarden, the 2019 series champion who ranks second in the 2020 points table, won the second race, while O’Ward, the Mexican star with title chances, finished second.
Having entered this race 117 points clear, Dixon still has a 96 point lead in the standings with three races remaining on the official schedule. A postponed doubleheader at Mid-Ohio is expected to be rescheduled to give IndyCar five races to close out the year.
“We can’t give up just yet,” said Newgarden, a two-time champion, of trying to chase Dixon in the final stages of the season.
“We have been bitten by bad luck this year. What are you going to do? Sometimes it occurs to you, sometimes it doesn’t. “
Importantly, Dixon also held off Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato and the Japanese driver finished ninth, having started from pole but being responsible for the late yellow flag.
Jeff Roberson / AP
Pato O’Ward of Mexico holds Scott Dixon at bay during IndyCar action in Madison, Illinois.
Newgarden put himself in position to win the race when his team pulled him out of the pit lane at the last stop before O’Ward. Newgarden and O’Ward had a drag race back to the track that Newgarden won.
“This was a pit victory for me,” Newgarden said. “Really proud of my team. I didn’t win the race, they won it. ”
O’Ward, the best rookie in the Indy 500 with a sixth place, earned his second podium of the weekend for Arrow McLaren SP. He was third on Sunday and has six finishes this season of eighth or higher.
“We are knocking on the door,” O’Ward said. “We are very close and we are going to keep pushing. I know our time will come. ”
Newgarden praised the progress O’Ward is making in his first full IndyCar season.
“He did an incredible job. He’s going to do great things in sports, ” Newgarden said.
Although O’Ward appeared to be waiting for the final laps to make a move on Newgarden, he said he didn’t think he would have a chance to catch it, even if the race had a final restart.
“I was pushing, pushing, pushing to get close to him and try to hit, and I just couldn’t do it,” O’Ward said.
Australian Will Power had a chance to win the race until his final pit stop, when he slowed behind Ed Carpenter as both cars headed down the pit lane. Power finished third to put two from Team Penske on the podium, but was compounded by his result.
“We had a really good car, I thought we had the car to win, but obviously it’s a traffic game,” Power said. “We have certainly had a lot of potential this year, it’s a very strange year.”
Rinus VeeKay finished fourth and was greeted after the race by Colton Herta, who finished sixth but was angered by how the rookie had made him run late. Herta and VeeKay exchanged words.
“I really don’t have too much fun driving against him,” Herta said, noting that the 19-year-old “still has a lot to learn.”
Bryn Lennon / Getty Images
Formula Three race winner Logan Sargeant, left, and third-placed Liam Lawson of New Zealand celebrate their efforts at the Belgian Grand Prix meeting.
Meanwhile in Belgium, New Zealand Formula 3 driver Liam Lawson is still clinging to championship hopes after another podium effort.
Lawson finished ninth and third in the two races held as part of the Belgian Grand Prix.
“It will be difficult, that’s for sure, very difficult from here on,” Lawson said of his title hopes as he slid to fourth in the points table, 41 points behind leader Logan Sargeant.
“The last three weekends, especially this weekend, were the weekends we were trying to capitalize on as we were 30 points down. Now we are even more than that.
“It is going to be difficult, but the goal has definitely not changed, and we will continue to push to achieve it. We just have to catch up on these little things.
