Scott Dixon Runs Fifth for Honda To Close Out Doubleheader Weekend
- Scott Dixon wins on Saturday, finishes fifth Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway
- Late-race wall contact drops Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato to ninth
- Third NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader race weekend of 2020
MADISON, Ill. (Aug. 30, 2020) – Hot and humid conditions led to a contest of strategy and track position in the second race of an NTT INDYCAR SERIES doubleheader race weekend Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, with Honda’s Scott Dixon backing up his win in Saturday’s opener with a fifth-place finish in today’s 200-lap event.
Dixon moved to fourth in the opening laps, and then extended his opening stint in an attempt to make up ground on the leaders when they made initial pit stops. However, lapped traffic affected that strategy. After falling to seventh following the first round of stops, he then made an early final stop, putting him back near the leaders, and ultimately a fifth-place finish. He ends the weekend with a 96-point lead in the drivers’ championship [416-320] over race winner Josef Newgarden.
After claiming a second-place finish yesterday, Takuma Sato’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan team adopted the same strategy today, but also fell back in the field as a result. Recovering to seventh, he made light contact with the wall on Lap 197, leading to a finish under the caution flag.
Colton Herta combined a sixth-place finish with a fourth on Saturday for a strong overall weekend result, surviving contact with rookie Rinus Veekay in the closing laps as the pair battled for position.
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Quotes
Scott Dixon (Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) Started 6th, finished 5th; scores his 50th IndyCar win in Saturday’s race; leads the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship by 96 points after 9 races: “The PNC Bank crew did a great job today, and we’re always proud to be powered by Honda and HPD. We got into a little bit of traffic in those [mid-race] sequences and that totally screwed us. A guy was laps down, and was totally slowing everyone [else] down. I’m not sure if he was trying to help his teammate but he screwed my race and [Takuma] Sato’s race. It was a decent point’s day and we just made the most of what we had.”
Colton Herta (Andretti Harding Autosport Honda) started 10th, finished 6th today; finished 4th in Saturday’s race: “I think we had a really good car today, again, and a really good opportunity to get on the [victory] podium. But our qualifying just hindered us, starting in 10th. We made it up about sixth, and then slowly made up [a few more] spots in stops and led some laps. We were looking pretty good there toward the end but had some contact [while fighting for position with Rinus VeeKay] that shuffled us back to sixth. It’s unfortunate, but that’s kind of how racing is. Sometimes it’s brutal. Until next time, hopefully we’ll be back at a racetrack real soon.”
Allen Miller (Race Team Principal, Honda Performance Development) on Sunday’s race at WWT Raceway: “This was a race of track position and strategy, and unfortunately none of our teams caught any breaks today. Things didn’t go our way in this race, but we come out of the weekend with a great 1-2 result from Saturday, and solid leads in the Manufacturers’ Championship for Honda [747-674 over Chevrolet] and drivers’ for Scott [Dixon]. We’ll regroup and be ready for the next one.”
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Race 2
Circuit: World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (1.25-mile oval) Madison, Illinois
Saturday Winner: Scott Dixon [Chip Ganassi Racing Honda) 143.522 mph average
2019 Winner: Takuma Sato (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda) 136.874 mph average
Weather: Sunny, warm, humid, 84 degrees F
Top-10 Race Results:
| Fn | St. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Notes | |
| 1. | 2. | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 200 | 162.594 mph average | |
| 2. | 4. | Pato O’Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | Chevrolet | 200 | +1.4356 seconds | |
| 3. | 3. | Will Power | Team Penske | Chevrolet | 200 | ||
| 4. | 18. | Rinus VeeKay-R | Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | ||
| 5. | 6. | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 200 | ||
| 6. | 9. | Colton Herta | Andretti Harding Autosport | Honda | 200 | ||
| 7. | 10. | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 200 | ||
| 8. | 15. | Conor Daly | Carlin Racing | Chevrolet | 200 | ||
| 9. | 1. | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Honda | 200 | ||
| 10. | 16. | Santino Ferrucci | DCR with Vasser-Sullivan | Honda | 200 | ||
Other Honda Results
| 11. | 12. | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 200 | Running | |
| 12. | 14. | Alex Palou-R | DCR with Team Goh | Honda | 200 | Running | |
| 13. | 5. | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | Honda | 200 | Running | |
| 14. | 11. | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 200 | Running | |
| 15. | 20. | Marco Andretti | Andretti Herta Autosport | Honda | 199 | Running | |
| 18. | 23. | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan | Honda | 198 | Running | |
| 22. | 17. | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | Honda | 196 | Running | |
| 23. | 7. | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 190 | Running – delayed | |