Dixon Wins at IMS Road Course, Becomes INDYCAR’s All-Time Iron Man with 319th Straight Start

Scott Dixon stormed through the field at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course today, seizing victory for the 19th consecutive season, and his 21st overall, both of which are INDYCAR records. 

Dixon captured the win in what was his 319th consecutive start, setting a new all-time mark as INDYCAR’s Iron Man. It marked the 54th career victory for Dixon, which ranks second on the all-time wins list behind only A.J. Foyt.

Dixon and the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda team faced early adversity after finding themselves in the grass on lap one as a result of a multi-car incident. The team rallied to gain 14 positions over the course of the race on an alternate strategy, taking the checkered flag as the “Biggest Movers” on the day. 

“We recovered and Scott did his job. He drives so well and understands in the cockpit what we’re doing from the timing stand,” said CGR Managing Director and No. 9 Strategist Mike Hull. “It’s been a pleasure to be with him all these years, win all these races and guess what, he just keeps on winning.”

Dixon jumped to second in the points standings with just three races remaining thanks to his victorious performance. The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda driver led 34 laps on the day and defended his leading position in the closing laps to win by 0.4779 seconds.

With the win, Chip Ganassi Racing secured a sweep of the IMS Road Course races and secured their sixth victory of the season. It also marked the team’s 252nd overall victory and their 130th in the INDYCAR SERIES. 

Alex Palou, winner of the previous IMS Road Course race, piloted the No. 10 American Legion Honda to a P7 finish. Palou scored valuable points and extended the team’s championship lead to a margin of 101 points.

Marcus Ericsson gained seven positions throughout the course of the race and wrapped up the day with a P10 finish. Ericsson and the No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz team have now finished in the top-10 in 12 of 14 races this season. 

Marcus Armstrong was unfortunately forced to pit for repairs after the No. 11 was involved in a multi-car incident on lap one. Armstrong returned to the race off of the lead lap and battled throughout the day to ultimately finish in P24.

Up Next: With three races remaining in the championship chase, INDYCAR will head to World Wide Technology Raceway from August 26-27.

Scott Dixon
No. 9 PNC Bank Honda
“This one was very special, especially breaking the Iron Man record of 319 straight races. This was the way to do it. The competition in this series is tough and this is a testament to the team and what they bring to the table. We’ve had a very successful year and to get one with the No. 9 PNC Bank team feels very good.” 

Alex Palou
No. 10 American Legion Honda
“It was a busy day and a very busy first couple of laps. We played an aggressive strategy which worked really well on the first couple of stints. Then, when we wanted to go fast on the better tire, we didn’t make it work. We had some issues with tire degradation, but it was a solid day for us on the championship side. It was an amazing day for Scott winning the race today.”

Marcus Ericsson
No. 8 Huski Ice Spritz Honda
“It was a tough race for us. We were battling there in the midfield and had some good battles back and forth with different cars. Things felt okay, but we couldn’t really make a lot of progress. It’s a hard track to overtake, so we were sort of stuck in a cluster of cars and didn’t go forward the way we wanted to or planned to. It was still nice to recover in the end, pick up a couple of cars and get a top-10. Big congrats to Scott and the No. 9 crew. I’m really happy to see them win the race.” 

Marcus Armstrong
No. 11 IU Simon Cancer Center Honda
“It was a tough day. We got hit at the start and then after that we were a lap down. We were on a very heavy fuel saving strategy with some damage on the car, so we just tried to push to the end. The car was great up until that moment in time. Congrats to Scott and the 9 car team for the win.”