An unpredictable race ended with one of the most predictable outcomes in IndyCar: Scott Dixon won with fuel strategy Sunday at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
With the win, the six-time champion moves into second in the championship. He’s now won at least one race in 20 consecutive years, one more year than his teammate Kyffin Simpson (No. 4) has spent alive.
Dixon (No. 9) has made a tradition out of winning with massive fuel saves in recent years, coming out on top while off-strategy twice last year. This one, Dixon said, was uncertain.
“It was definitely a bit sketchy,” Dixon said. “I didn’t get the [fuel] number consistently, so I was a little worried about that.”
With two laps to go, however, the New Zealander was told he was good to go on fuel, which let him defend from Colton Herta (No. 26) in second until the checkered flag flew.
“I knew he was gonna make it [on fuel]. I don’t know how,” reigning champion Alex Palou (No. 10) said. “Probably he’s cheating, he has an extra fuel cell,” he jokingly added.
It took a while for Dixon’s weekend to kick into gear. He was out of the top ten in both practice sessions and only qualified eighth. As it often does, though, the race fell perfectly Dixon’s way.
Polesitter Felix Rosenqvist (No. 60) lost the lead immediately, with Will Power (No. 12) hanging it around the outside at turn one. Power grew a five-second lead over second-place Marcus Ericsson (No. 28), while the Meyer Schenk driver quickly dropped to sixth.
On lap 16, the race turned upside down.
Rookie Christian Rasmussen (No. 20) broke a toe link and spun, taking him out of the race and bringing out a caution. About half the field, including then-leader Power, chose to change tires and refuel ten laps before the expected pit cycle. That group saved time on pit road, but assigned themselves a colossal fuel save.
After the restart, Power lost the lead of his strategy to Dixon, who quickly gapped the Penske driver. While multiple alternate strategy drivers finished in the top ten, only Dixon had success. The six-time champion started the race eighth, but found himself leading after the final round of pit stops. Power was second of those drivers, finishing sixth.
With 20 laps left, it was clear that Dixon would have a very tough time winning the race. Josef Newgarden (No. 2) quickly caught up to Dixon and was within a second of the New Zealander with 16 to go.
The two-time champion struggled to get past Dixon, with few overtaking opportunities around the two-mile street course. Newgarden stayed within a second, but he lost time at the start of the straight on Shoreline Drive — the main place to pass.
As Newgarden doggedly pursued Dixon, Herta began gaining around half a second each lap on the leading pair and shortly joined the battle for the lead. With nine left, Dixon caught lapped traffic, but Newgarden was sent into anti-stall after being hit in the gearbox by Herta, dropping Penske’s top car to fourth.
“I wouldn’t have been happy if it had gone that way for me, I apologize to him,” Herta said of the incident. “If he doesn’t go into anti-stall, then nothing happens.”
Just like Newgarden, Herta persistently tried to get past Dixon for the lead but could not get close enough to make a move.
“Sometimes you need more than just speed in car racing,” the California native said. “It’s always tough to lose the home race, but I’m happy with second.”
IndyCar returns next Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama, as the season kicks into gear.