IndyCar News: Dixon holds off Ericsson to win Detroit GP
Chip Ganassi Racing veteran Scott Dixon held off Andretti Global driver Marcus Ericsson by 0.86s to win the Detroit GP IndyCar race on the tight, short Detroit GP circuit.
Marcus Armstrong was passed by Ericsson with 2 laps to go but held on for third, 4.9s behind Dixon.
Ericsson’s teammate Kyle Kirkwood was 4th, while Alexander Rossi rounded out the top-5 for Arrow McLaren.
“The team called it perfectly,” Dixon said. “We were on the right strategy. We won, man. How cool is that?
“It’s just always the variables. Trying to stay out of trouble, trying to keep your car on track. We had rain. It was all over the shop out there. You had no idea how the transitions were going to fall or even the strategy. So stoked for everyone on the team. That was cool.”
Dixon took the championship lead by 18 points from teammate Alex Palou with his second victory of the season, joining his win in April at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Dixon earned his 58th career victory, pulling him within nine wins of tying A.J. Foyt’s record of 67 career wins.
“For sure; I think it always is,” Dixon said when asked if he’s focusing on tying Foyt’s record of seven series championships. “Until you’re out of it, you’re going to keep chasing it. It’s a team effort.”
Dixon took the lead for the first time and for good on Lap 66 when 2023 Detroit winner Palou made the last of his five stops in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. Two-time and reigning series champion Palou finished 16th, snapping his streak of 23 consecutive finishes in the top eight in points-paying events.
Polesitter Colton Herta led the first 34 laps before making his first pit stop. After the rain started to fall, he returned to the on Lap 37 to put on wet tires.
On Lap 46, the Andretti Global driver attempted to make a pass and ended up in the barrier in Turn 5, ending his chances of winning. The American finished 19th.
Scott McLaughlin was running second on Lap 30 and then made contact with the barrier in Turn 1 on Lap 33. The Kiwi received a penalty for Avoidable Contact on Lap 68 and had to move to the back on the field. He finished 20th today.
Josef Newgarden, last week’s winner of the Indy 500, did not have a good day today. On Lap 43, Newgarden left the pits and hit the wheelgun on exit and received a drive through penalty on Lap 61.
On Lap 70, the American and Alex Palou made contact with each other in Turn 3. Newgarden finished 26th today.
Detroit GP Results
| Pos | No | Name | Laps | Behind | Gap | Led | ST | Engine | Points | Team |
| 1 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 100 | 0.000s | 0.000s | 35 | 5 | Honda | 216 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 2 | 28 | Marcus Ericsson | 100 | 0.8567 | 0.8567 | 0 | 9 | Honda | 108 | Andretti Global |
| 3 | 11 | Marcus Armstrong | 100 | 4.9129 | 4.0562 | 0 | 19 | Honda | 116 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 4 | 27 | Kyle Kirkwood | 100 | 6.1249 | 1.2120 | 24 | 6 | Honda | 148 | Andretti Global |
| 5 | 7 | Alexander Rossi | 100 | 8.9532 | 2.8283 | 0 | 16 | Chevy | 150 | Arrow McLaren |
| 6 | 12 | Will Power | 100 | 10.1045 | 1.1513 | 0 | 8 | Chevy | 185 | Team Penske |
| 7 | 5 | Pato O’Ward | 100 | 11.4821 | 1.3776 | 0 | 12 | Chevy | 160 | Arrow McLaren |
| 8 | 60 | Felix Rosenqvist | 100 | 15.4998 | 4.0177 | 0 | 22 | Honda | 140 | Meyer Shank Racing |
| 9 | 14 | Santino Ferrucci | 100 | 18.2882 | 2.7884 | 0 | 10 | Chevy | 117 | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
| 10 | 6 | Theo Pourchaire | 100 | 18.8912 | 0.6030 | 0 | 7 | Chevy | 58 | Arrow McLaren |
| 11 | 45 | Christian Lundgaard | 100 | 23.3158 | 4.4246 | 6 | 11 | Honda | 122 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 12 | 78 | Agustin Canapino | 100 | 27.3674 | 4.0516 | 0 | 17 | Chevy | 74 | Juncos Hollinger Racing |
| 13 | 30 | Pietro Fittipaldi | 100 | 28.3686 | 1.0012 | 0 | 15 | Honda | 67 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 14 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 100 | 29.4122 | 1.0436 | 0 | 18 | Chevy | 103 | Ed Carpenter Racing |
| 15 | 15 | Graham Rahal | 100 | 30.1565 | 0.7443 | 0 | 20 | Honda | 101 | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing |
| 16 | 10 | Alex Palou | 100 | 39.0438 | 8.8873 | 1 | 2 | Honda | 198 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 17 | 18 | Jack Harvey | 100 | 46.3377 | 7.2939 | 0 | 26 | Honda | 60 | Dale Coyne Racing |
| 18 | 51 | Tristan Vautier | 99 | 1 LAPS | 30.5222 | 0 | 24 | Honda | 12 | Dale Coyne Racing |
| 19 | 26 | Colton Herta | 99 | 1 LAPS | 12.8792 | 33 | 1 | Honda | 147 | Andretti Global w/Curb‑Agajanian |
| 20 | 3 | Scott McLaughlin | 99 | 1 LAPS | 7.5237 | 0 | 4 | Chevy | 141 | Team Penske |
| 21 | 41 | Sting Ray Robb | 99 | 1 LAPS | 14.2511 | 0 | 23 | Chevy | 55 | AJ Foyt Enterprises |
| 22 | 8 | Linus Lundqvist | 99 | 1 LAPS | 0.2748 | 0 | 21 | Honda | 81 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 23 | 77 | Romain Grosjean | 97 | 3 LAPS | 1 LAPS | 0 | 14 | Chevy | 87 | Juncos Hollinger Racing |
| 24 | 4 | Kyffin Simpson | 96 | 4 LAPS | 1 LAPS | 0 | 27 | Honda | 76 | Chip Ganassi Racing |
| 25 | 66 | Helio Castroneves | 94 | 5 LAPS | 1 LAPS | 0 | 25 | Honda | 15 | Meyer Shank Racing |
| 26 | 2 | Josef Newgarden | 93 | 6 LAPS | 62.0763 | 1 | 3 | Chevy | 128 | Team Penske |
| 27 | 20 | Christian Rasmussen | 24 | Mechanical | 57 LAPS | 0 | 13 | Chevy | 55 | Ed Carpenter Racing |
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 78.251 mph
Time of Race: 02:06:07.9684
Margin of victory: 0.8567 of a second
Cautions: 8 for 47 laps
Lead changes: 5 among 6 drivers
Lap Leaders:
Herta, Colton 1 – 33
Newgarden, Josef 34
Lundgaard, Christian 35 – 40
Kirkwood, Kyle 41 – 64
Palou, Alex 65
Dixon, Scott 66 – 100
NTT INDYCAR SERIES Point Standings:
Dixon 216, Palou 198, Power 185, O’Ward 160, Rossi 150, Kirkwood 148, Herta 147, McLaughlin 141, Rosenqvist 140, Newgarden 128, Lundgaard 122, Ferrucci 117, Armstrong 116, Ericsson 108, VeeKay 103, Rahal 101, Grosjean 86, Lundqvist 81, Simpson 76, Canapino 74, Fittipaldi 67, Harvey 60, Pourchaire 58, Rasmussen 55, Robb 46, Tom Blomqvist 46, Callum Ilott 39, Conor Daly 21, Kyle Larson 21, Takuma Sato 19, Castroneves 15, Ed Carpenter 14, Luca Ghiotto 14, Vautier
Lucille Dust reporting live from Detroit