Indy 500 - Race Report
Target Chip Ganassi Racing (TCGR) driver Scott Dixon finished fourth at the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Dixon and Team Target started the day on the inside of Row 1 after winning the team’s fourth pole for The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, which also marked the second for the New Zealander (2008). The No. 9 car took the lead on the opening lap of the 200-lap race, and led the first 19 laps until dueling with teammate Tony Kanaan for the top spot, and giving up the lead on Lap 34.
Dixon regained the lead on Lap 41 and held the point until Lap 66. Approaching the halfway point of the race the team again traded the lead with teammate Kanaan and the No. 22 car until Lap 76. Dixon would lead five more times over the course of the race until Lap 187. The turning point of the race came on Dixon’s last pit stop when he asked for a change on the car that resulted in understeer, making it difficult for the car to turn through the corners.
After a total of six pit stops, in the final stages of the race Dixon maintained a position in the top five and ultimately brought the Target car home in fourth place.
With the result, Dixon holds the third position in the Verizon IndyCar Series point standings with 211 markers, 61 points behind the points leader Juan Pablo Montoya.
Notes of Interest
· Dixon led the race for a race-high 84 laps, which was double that of the second highest in the category (No. 22, 35 laps).
· CGRT teams combined to lead 124 of the 200 total laps (Dixon-84, Kanaan-30 and Kimball-10).
TCGR Quoteboard
Scott Dixon, No. 9 Target Chevrolet:
"I think the whole race went fairly well, but we had a few little issues there with pulling my tear-offs off, and my head pad came loose. All in all I think the Target car had some pretty good speed. I don’t think I asked for the right changes on the last stop and we had some understeer. When we got back there behind a few cars there at the end we couldn’t quite keep the momentum going.”
Next up for the Verizon IndyCar Series is the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit Race 1 Saturday May 30 at 3:30pm on ABC.
