IndyCar gifts Scott Dixon 3rd via ridiculous penalty to Graham Rahal

By Asher Fair | Apr 14, 2019

SONOMA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Graham Rahal, driver of the #15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /

Graham Rahal finished the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in third place, but IndyCar gifted Scott Dixon the final podium position via a ridiculous penalty.

The chances of Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon finishing the fourth race of the 2019 IndyCar season, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, in the top two — specifically in second place behind a dominant Alexander Rossi — went out the window due to a lengthy final pit stop.

This final pit stop relegated the driver of the #9 Honda to fifth place, but he was able to work his way past Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay for fourth a few laps later.

Dixon then set his sights on the #15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda of Graham Rahal in third place. By the time lap 85 of the 85-lap race around the 11-turn, 1.968-mile (3.167-kilometer) temporary street circuit on the streets of Long Beach, California had rolled around, the five-time champion looked poised to make a move.

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However, Rahal successfully defended him through the majority of the race’s final lap. He then locked up his breaks heading into turn eight, but he continued to protect against the threat of being passed by Dixon by taking a different line exiting the corner to make Dixon go the long way around him if he want to pass him in turn nine, which he failed to do.

Dixon tried to side draft Rahal coming to the finish line, but he ultimately finished just 0.1156 behind him, just missing out on what would have been his third podium finish in the season’s first four races.

Dixon was furious with Rahal despite the fact that Rahal clearly never at any point moved in reaction to Dixon coming off of turn eight. As a result, he called on IndyCar to review the incident.

You can see the this incident in the following two videos.

"Car 9 has finished third."

Graham Rahal gets called for blocking Scott Dixon. Dixon will finish third in the @GPLongBeach. #AGPLB pic.twitter.com/YPSFiet259
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) April 14, 2019

"Did I block? Yes I blocked. You're allowed to block in this series."@GrahamRahal says he made his move on the last lap of the @GPLongBeach, but was penalized and did not finish on the podium as a result. #AGPLB pic.twitter.com/5SiwaWHi4s
— INDYCAR on NBC (@IndyCaronNBC) April 14, 2019

This incident comes just one race after Dixon was upset with Rahal for “blocking” him in last Sunday’s Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park at the start of the race despite the fact that Rahal literally just held his line, at which point Dixon urged IndyCar to review the incident.

But this time, IndyCar gave in to Dixon’s review request and penalized Rahal, costing him what would have been his first podium finish since he finished in second place in the 2018 season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. Dixon was officially scored in third while Rahal was officially scored in fourth, which still ended up being his top finish since he finished in second in last year’s season opener.

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Scott Dixon is one of the all-time greatest drivers in IndyCar history, and it is difficult not to respect what he has done in the series. But any time a driver is practically gifted an accomplishment such as a podium finish in the Indianapolis 500-equivalent of street course racing, it is ridiculous no matter how you slice it, especially for Graham Rahal, who, quite simply, got hosed. Blocking is allowed. Moving in reaction to is not. Rahal committed the former, not the latter.