Scott Dixon scored the IndyCar victory Sunday afternoon at Pocono Raceway. Photo by Chris Jones
Scott Dixon proved that it isn’t where you start an IZOD IndyCar Series race. It’s where you finish.
Dixon led a first-ever Chip Ganassi Racing podium sweep to win INDYCAR’s return to Pocono Raceway after a 24-year absence.
Dixon earned his first victory since Mid-Ohio last August, while Charlie Kimball tied his career high of second and four-time series champion Dario Franchitti finished third.
“Going into this morning, I was not thinking we could win,” Dixon said. “The team definitely hasn’t given up, and you’ve got to hand it to Honda, as well. I think fuel mileage was the key today. And we still had speed up front without having to save all the time. I don’t know what to say.”
It was the 100th win in all forms of motorsports for Chip Ganassi Racing and the 200th in Indy car competition for engine manufacturer Honda.
“It’s the 100th win for Target, as well, which is just fantastic,” said Dixon. “I’m just so happy. I love this place. Pocono, the fans, just everyone has been fantastic. It’s great to be back. It’s been a long drought, almost a year, so it’s fantastic to be back in winner’s circle.”
Dixon, who earned his 30th Indy car victory (his first was at Nazareth, PA), is the eighth different winner in 11 IZOD IndyCar Series races this season. He crossed the finish line .4572 of a second ahead of Kimball in a race slowed by only two cautions for 12 laps. The average speed of 192.864 mph bested Danny Sullivan’s Indy car record 170.720 mph in the 1989 race on the 2.5-mile tri-oval.
The last 1-2-3 team finish was by Team Penske (Will Power, Helio Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe) at Sonoma Raceway in August 2011.
Will Power placed fourth and Josef Newgarden matched his best finish of fifth at Sao Paulo in May.
Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan’s prospects of claiming the $1 million Fuzzy’s Triple Crown bonus vanished on lap 107 when he moved to overtake Dixon’s No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car for the lead on the inside entering turn 1. The right-front wing sustained damage when it clipped the rear of the No. 9 car, and Kanaan pitted three laps later.
Still, Kanaan remains eligible for the $250,000 prize — along with Dixon — if either wins the MAV TV 500 on Oct. 19 at Auto Club Speedway.
Castroneves, who finished eighth, stretched his championship points lead to 23 over Ryan Hunter-Reay heading to the Honda Indy Toronto doubleheader July 13-14, which pays full points in both races. Pole sitter Marco Andretti, who finished 10th after dominating the early portion of the race, remains third and Dixon, a two-time series champion, jumped three positions to fourth with eight races remaining.
IZOD IndyCar Series
Pocono Raceway – Long Pond, PA
Pocono INDYCAR 400 – July 7, 2012
1. (17) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 160, Running
2. (12) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 160, Running
3. (20) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 160, Running
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5. (15) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 160, Running
6. (8) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 160, Running
7. (22) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 160, Running
8. (6) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 160, Running
9. (14) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 160, Running
10. (1) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy, 160, Running
11. (9) Simona De Silvestro, Dallara-Chevy, 160, Running
12. (13) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 160, Running
13. (5) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 160, Running
14. (19) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Chevy, 159, Running
15. (21) Pippa Mann, Dallara-Honda, 159, Running
16. (11) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 159, Running
17. (24) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 158, Running
18. (16) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 158, Running
19. (10) Tristan Vautier, Dallara-Honda, 158, Running
20. (2) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 121, Handling
21. (23) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy, 104, Handling
22. (7) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 61, Contact
23. (18) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 2, Mechanical
24. (3) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy, 0, Contact
Winners average speed: 192.864
Time of Race: 02:04:26.4178
Margin of victory: 0.4572 of a second.
Cautions: 2 for 12 laps
Lead changes: 16 among five drivers
Lap Leaders: Andretti 1 – 29, Kanaan 30 – 31, Power 32 – 33, Kimball 34, Andretti 35 – 60, Kanaan 61 – 62, Power 63 – 65, Kanaan 66 – 71, Andretti 72 – 94, Kanaan 95 – 96, Dixon 97 – 106, Kanaan 107 – 109, Power 110 – 111, Andretti 112 – 121, Power 122 – 129, Kimball 130 – 132, Dixon 133 – 160
Point Standings: Castroneves 356, Hunter-Reay 333, Andretti 301, Dixon 292, Hinchcliffe 272, Kanaan 271, Pagenaud 269, Wilson 253, Power 242, Sato 241.
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