Dixon Continues Win Streak as Honda Runs 1-2 at Indianapolis

• Scott Dixon wins for the 19th consecutive season, holding off Graham Rahal for a 1-2 Honda finish at the Gallagher Grand Prix
• Honda drivers claim the victories at both #Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course events in 2023
• Alex Palou closes in on Drivers' Championship with seventh-place finish

Recovering from a first-lap incident that left him last in the field, #scottdixon and his Chip Ganassi #racing team made a quick stop for repairs, then used a two-stop strategy to get to the front of the field.  In the final laps, he held off a charging Graham Rahal to win today's Gallagher Grand Prix on the road course of the #Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 

The victory was Dixon's first this season, but the 54th NTT INDYCAR SERIES win for the six-time series champion – second only to A.J. Foyt – and stretched his record of consecutive seasons with at least one victory to 19.  Dixon also stretched his "Iron Man" streak of 319 consecutive INDYCAR starts today.

After starting from the pole, Graham Rahal was the leading contender on a three-stop strategy, which saw him closing on Dixon throughout the final 10 laps of today's 85-lap contest.  But the veteran Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver came up less than a half second short at the checkers, still completing a 1-2 finish for Honda. 

Already a four-time winner this year, including the May race on the IMS road course, Alex Palou increased his championship lead to 101 points with a seventh-place finish today in his Chip Ganassi #racing Honda with three races remaining.

Gallagher Grand Prix Honda Race Results

•   1st Scott Dixon                         Chip Ganassi #racing Honda
•   2nd Graham Rahal                   Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
•   4th Christian Lundgaard            Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda   
•   7th Alex Palou                          Chip Ganassi #racing Honda
•   9th Kyle Kirkwood                    Andretti Autosport Honda
• 10th Marcus Ericsson                 Chip Ganassi #racing Honda
• 12th Linus Lundqvist-R               Meyer Shank #racing Honda
• 13th Colton Herta                       Andretti Autosport Honda
• 14th Jack Harvey                       Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda
• 15th Helio Castroneves              Meyer Shank #racing Honda
• 16th David Malukas                    Dale Coyne #racing with HMD Honda
• 18th Romain Grosjean                Andretti Autosport Honda
• 19th Devlin DeFrancesco            Andretti Autosport Honda
• 22nd Sting Ray Robb-R              Dale Coyne #racing with RWR Honda
• 24th Marcus Armstrong-R           Chip Ganassi #racing Honda

R – Rookie

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers' Championship (unofficial, after 14 of 17 rounds)
Honda                  1,204 points
Chevrolet             1,166 points

NTT INDYCAR SERIES Drivers' Championship Standings (unofficial, after 14 of 17 rounds)
1. Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi #racing Honda                    639 points
2. #scottdixon, Chip Ganassi #racing Honda                -101
3. Josef Newgarden, Team Penske                                   -105
4. Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske                                   -144

Quotes
Scott Dixon (#9 Chip Ganassi #racing Honda) race winner, first win of 2023 and 54th career victory; 19th consecutive IndyCar season with at least one victory: "Huge credit to the team for this one. I had a fantastic start, but then got T-boned there in Turn 7 [on the opening lap, dropping him to last in the field]. But this team never gives up.  Honda was amazing today. It was so much fun driving my Honda out there today, getting the fuel mileage, cruising along; and fantastic pace when we needed it. The only problem I had all day was I think I pushed too hard on my out lap [after his final pit stop] to build a gap to Graham [Rahal] and unfortunately used the tires up, so it was pretty sketchy at the end.  But we put on a show for everyone, and we're going to keep on trying. It's cool to be here."

Graham Rahal (#15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda) finished second: "We have nothing to be ashamed of, our Code Three #15 car was excellent today, Honda was excellent today, as always.  I mean, I'm not bummed [to finish second], but I'm bummed. Even on a day where we did everything right, lady luck wasn't quite on our side.  I think that first yellow hurt us.  It went on for a long time and made a two-stop race possible.  I knew during that first yellow that Dixon was going to come into play, and he did.  On the last two laps, I was on 'overtake', but he was too, and I just wasn't gaining ground.  So I couldn't get close enough to make a lunge at him.  But that's nothing to be ashamed of.  We're going against the best of all time, by far, and we just have keep our heads down, and keep getting better."

Wayne Gross (Manager, Trackside Services, Honda Performance Development) on today's Honda win on the #Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course: "Hats off to everyone at Honda Performance Development and our teams for an awesome weekend.  The pole by Graham Rahal on Friday, followed by another win for Honda, and a 1-2 finish for #scottdixon and Graham today.  We maximized our points for the Manufacturers' Championship, and Scott showed he's still very good at this!  Huge thanks to him and everyone at Chip Ganassi #racing on a well-earned victory today; and to Rahal Letterman Lanigan for another strong performance from them in the second half of this season."

Fast Facts

• Honda continues to lead the #2023nttindycarseries Manufacturers' Championship, with nine victories and 10 poles in 14 races this season. Honda currently has an unofficial 38-point advantage (1,204-1,166) over rival Chevrolet. The company is seeking its fifth NTT INDYCAR SERIES Manufacturers' Championship in the last six years in 2023.
• In addition to sweeping all five temporary street circuit races this year, Honda drivers and teams have now won on four of the five permanent road circuits on the #2023nttindycarseries schedule.  Prior to today's victory by #scottdixon, current championship leader Alex Palou claimed the victories here at the GMR Grand Prix of #Indianapolis in May, followed by Road America and the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

Next
The #2023nttindycarseries next heads west to World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis, Missouri, for the Bommarito #auto Group 500, the final oval race of 2023,