Scott Dixon managed to secure his 42nd IndyCar race win during the first race of the 2018 Chevrolet Dual in Detroit on Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.
Scott Dixon was able to start the weekend strong by qualifying second overall for the first of two IndyCar races of the 2018 Chevrolet Dual in Detroit in his #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
In a race between drivers on two-stop or three-stop pit strategies, Dixon was able to use a quick first pit stop to capitalize on a two-stop strategy that allowed him to jump past Marco Andretti, who started the race from the pole position in his #98 Andretti Herta Autosport Honda.
This win is significant for the Chip Ganassi Racing organization as a whole, as they have seen a change in their IndyCar effort from last season to this season.
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They have gone through a major restructuring with the reduction to a two-car lineup from a four-cap lineup with Scott Dixon in the #9 Honda and Ed Jones in the #10 Honda.
The win in Detroit was a breath of fresh air for Dixon, as his last win came at Road America in the 2017 Kohler Grand Prix nearly one full year ago. His win on Belle Isle marked the 42nd time that he has stood on the top podium position.
Dixon was very appreciative of this win, and it showed in a post-race interview. Here is what he had to say, according to Racer.com.
"“[A win’s] always nice. I think right now with the competition in the Verizon IndyCar Series, it’s just through the roof. If you look back a few years, you can sort of run off five or six victories in a season, and it seems those days are pretty much gone. But yeah, super proud of everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing, and obviously PNC Bank’s first victory.”"
While Dixon is basking in his most recent IndyCar win, he is already looking forward to the future. He has the goal of making it to 50 wins before he calls it quits, according to Racer.com.
"“That’s the goal. I’d like to have another 10 or 15, but you know, it’s definitely got tougher throughout these years, and there’s some really strong teams. There’s no little teams anymore, and even some of these teams like to call themselves little teams, they’re not little teams. They’re very well funded and have very good engineering stuff and are able to pull off victories. It’s good for the health of the sport, and the problem right now is any team, any driver combination out there on the grid can win.”"
With this win, Scott Dixon now sits second in the Indycar championship standings with 272 points. Race #2 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit is not long away and could throw a wrench in the current points standings. The top three drivers in the standings are currently separated by only seven points.
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This result once again proves that the old guard are here and have the pace and enthusiasm to stay around. The young guns won’t have to wait long to try again, as Belle Isle hosts a unique doubleheader race weekend. Another race is set to be run today only one day after the first race.