Scott Dixon, the victory of normality against the chaos of Detroit

We won't blame you for thinking that Dixon's victory came after a clear race, and a Sunday ride with which the Ganassi driver sometimes rewards us. A victory after starting in fifth position is not extremely unusual in IndyCar. But if Scott Dixon spent a good part of the event in the top 5, the six-time IndyCar champion was also sent back to the middle of the grid, and had to navigate between the different contacts to finally take victory. This 58th success allows him to get closer to just nine lengths from AJ Foyt, who still has the record for victories in IndyCar, as well as that for the number of titles. Dixon can match the latter with another crown this season, and he now leads the championship.

As with his victory at the start of the season near Long Beach (California), Scott Dixon had to try a daring strategy. The New Zealander actually stopped in the pits for the last time shortly after halfway. The choppy nature of the event so far made it possible to envisage extreme fuel savings. The second half of the event was smoother, but that didn't stop Dixon from winning.

“There was a lot of action today. I think there were a lot of ups and downs. It was a bit of a roller coaster. Obviously we adopted a pretty crazy strategy to refuel with I don't know how many laps, maybe 40 laps to go [actually, 44]. I said on lap 50 that we could finish from there, based on the many cautions. Most of the race was just restarts and looking in the rearview mirror to make sure there wasn't someone coming who was going to hit us all! »

Not an “embarrassing” race for IndyCar

As for whether this particularly choppy race (47 out of 100 laps were contested under neutralization) could tarnish the reputation of IndyCar, the most decorated driver of the 21st century is hardly worried: “I don’t think it’s embarrassing. I think if you do a survey you'll see that most people go to races to watch the crashes. This is not my case (smile). From my point of view, it was pretty quiet up front. There was a bit of madness with Pourchaire and Kirkwood at one point. Then, when I was at the back, it was pretty calm even though I was close to Ferrucci, who is a bit of a mad dog sometimes... Obviously, once I watch the race, I'll see what happens. 'happened. But you are on narrow streets here. It's difficult. You make any mistake… and it pays for itself immediately. »

In addition to this 58th success, Dixon can be satisfied with having led a Honda quadruple… on Chevrolet land! The circuit actually wound around the headquarters of General Motors. A group for which Scott Dixon will compete 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Cadillac. An astonishing situation, but one which fills the New Zealander with gratitude. This indeed requires a certain cooperative effort between the two brands, rivals in IndyCar.

“It's cool to see Jim Campbell [GM competition president] handing me the trophy. I think what's really cool is that the two manufacturers are collaborating. I know it's not easy for them to do it. It's probably harder for Honda because it's my day job, being an IndyCar driver. I can have fun four or five times a year with Cadillac. I can not wait to be there. It's obvious they have a great program. Who knows what Le Mans has in store for us this year? »

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