Dixon holds off Herta for improbable NTT IndyCar Series win at Long Beach
NTT IndyCar Series driver Scott Dixon, driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing, celebrates after winning the Acura Long Beach Grand Prix on Sunday. Photo courtesy of the NTT IndyCar Series
By John Sturbin, Raceday San Antonio
Scott Dixon reaffirmed his position as “greatest open-wheel driver of this generation” Sunday afternoon, winning INDYCAR’s 40th edition of the Acura Long Beach Grand Prix via a cerebral combination of patience and aggression.
The NTT IndyCar Series’ master of fuel-saving, Dixon completed the last 34 laps of the 85-lap/167.28-mile street event on one tank of Shell 100 percent Renewable Race Fuel to hold off a charging Colton Herta _ running a more conventional, less risky fuel strategy _ by 0.9798-seconds.
“That was tough; that was really tough,” said Dixon, driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda fielded by Chip Ganassi Racing. “I think it was definitely a bit sketchy in the fact that the pressure is coming hard and strong. We have a light (in the cockpit) that comes on that gives you a couple of laps heads-up that you’re actually going to run out of fuel. I didn’t see it with two laps to go. They came on the radio saying, ‘Go flat-out, overtake, whatever you need.’
“That was definitely nice to hear at that point because the stress level was pretty high. To get after it for the last two laps without a concern was big. Luckily, we were on the safe side there.”
Dixon, who qualified eighth, scored his second victory on the tight and scenic, 1.968-mile/11-turn temporary Southern California circuit that is INDYCAR’s version of Formula One’s famed Monaco Grand Prix. A six-time series champion, Dixon also won this event in 2015.
Dixon finished with enough fuel for his Honda engine to perform a celebratory burnout after claiming his first victory of the 2024 season and 57th of his legendary career. A native of New Zealand, Dixon now is 10 victories short of tying open-wheel icon and native Texan A.J. Foyt Jr.’s long-standing record of 67 career victories.
“Still sounds like a lot,” said Dixon, an ever-fit 43, and longest-tenured driver in the history of the Ganassi juggernaut at 23 years and counting. “Some years there you could knock out five, six or seven (wins). If it’s a good year, you can possibly get four or five. That’s strong. We’ll just keep our head down, man. It’s one of those things that I always say hopefully when you leave the sport, you’re happy with the stats.
“Of course, these are big stats. This is a big deal. We’re still a long way away from that.”
In addition, Dixon’s latest win extended his consecutive starts streak to 323 races _ the longest “Ironman” run in domestic open-wheel history.
Two-time/reigning series champion Alex Palou of Spain finished third in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. “Once he took (the lead), I was like, ‘He’s going to make it work,’^” Palou said of his celebrated CGR teammate. “Probably he’s cheating and he has an extra fuel cell that I don’t know about. Yeah, that’s it. I’m joking.”
Meanwhile, Josef Newgarden was hardly amused after placing a disappointing fourth in the No. 2 Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet. Newgarden, a two-time series champion, appeared to be Dixon’s biggest threat until Herta’s No. 26 Gainbridge Honda fielded by Andretti Global made contact with his car late in the going.
Marcus Ericsson of Sweden completed the top-five in the No. 28 Delaware Life Honda fielded by Andretti Global, as Michael Andretti’s organization and Chip Ganassi Racing each claimed two of the top-five finishing positions.
The 27-car field splintered into two groups of differing strategies on Lap 15 when what played out as the only caution period was triggered by Danish driver Christian Rasmussen’s spin and wall contact in Turn 4 in the No. 20 GuyCare Chevrolet fielded by Ed Carpenter Racing.
Race-leader Will Power and Dixon led a group of drivers who dove into the pits during that caution, with defending event winner Kyle Kirkwood, New Zealander Marcus Armstrong, Graham Rahal and Linus Lundqvist of Sweden among others opting for the tactic.
That strategy handed the lead to Newgarden on Lap 17, and the Penske ace retained the top spot when green-flag racing resumed on Lap 19. Over the next 45 laps, the early-stopping drivers used every tactic to save fuel, from lifting the throttle early in corners to babying it upon acceleration. Every engineer’s calculation on the pit wall showed the margin to make it to the finish on just one more stop to be razor-thin without another caution.
Meanwhile, the rest of the contenders entered the pits between Laps 30 and 33 for their first stops, with Herta going the longest to Lap 33. That group pitted for the final time on Laps 52-53.
The differing strategies generated the day’s decisive drama after the second group pitted for the final time between Laps 58-62. Newgarden emerged in second, about three seconds behind Dixon, after every contender finished their final stops. Newgarden’s Firestone Firehawk tires were seven laps fresher than Dixon’s and he did not have to worry about saving fuel.
Conventional wisdom dictated it would only be a matter of time before Newgarden passed Dixon for the lead and a perfect start to his season. Recall that Newgarden won the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (Fla.) presented by RP Funding street race on March 10.
Dixon, however, was just beginning to work his magic, masterfully balancing fuel-saving with short bursts of push-to-pass to parry Newgarden over the waning laps. Still, Newgarden drove to within a half-second of Dixon on Lap 71 and appeared to be biding his time.
Newgarden pulled close to Dixon’s gearbox entering the hairpin leading into the long front straightaway on Shoreline Drive on Lap 77, apparently setting him up for a passing attempt. That never happened, as Herta nudged Newgarden from behind entering the relatively slow hairpin. The impact lifted Newgarden’s rear wheels off the ground and engaged his anti-stall function, letting Herta and Palou pass and dropping Josef to fourth.
“I’m not sure how lifting someone two feet in the air isn’t a penalty,” said Newgarden, winner of this race in 2022. “That seems pretty black-and-white to me, but I’d ask the question to everybody else. If it were in the reverse, I’d expect to be penalized.
“It seemed pretty obvious. He just misjudged it and ran into me. I’m not saying we were going to get Dixon. It was very, very difficult for me to get the run I needed to. I think traffic was going to provide me an opportunity, so that run right there, I was really excited about it. I think that was going to be my last chance. Never know if I would have pulled it off or not.
“Just couldn’t quite get him.”
Herta’s version of the contact was apologetic, almost. “I think he (Newgarden) set up pretty wide and was cutting back in and was a little slower at apex,” said Herta, a second-generation racer. “But ultimately it’s up to me to carry the right speed into the corner and not run into the back of people, and I just misjudged it.”
California native Herta, who won this race in 2021, noted that Dixon possesses the uncanny ability to save fuel while wheeling a fast-enough race car. “You need to be good at fuel-saving, but you also need a good car to do that,” Herta said. “There’s a few guys in the series that are probably capable of doing it, but they need a lot of things to go right, a lot of things for their car to be able to handle saving fuel.
“Obviously, seems like Dixon is the only one that goes for these things sometimes _ and they always work out.”
Newgarden realized a career milestone with his 200th career series start and 149th with Team Chevy. The reigning Indianapolis 500 winner finished with 19 laps-led.
And for real-time consolation, Newgarden retained the series point lead he fashioned via victory in the season-opener on the 1.8-mile Streets of St. Pete layout. “The Hitachi Chevrolet team did a great job,” said Newgarden, who has a 12-point advantage over Dixon after two races. “I can’t be more proud of the work we did. Fast car, great pit stops. They were aces all-around. It was a good team effort. Top-five, we’ll have to take that today.”
The Newgarden-Herta incident gave Dixon breathing room from behind as he navigated lapped traffic ahead. Herta pulled to within 0.328-seconds with three laps remaining. Again, Dixon was given clearance to use all the fuel-gulping, push-to-pass he had left and pulled away for another calculated win. Last season, Dixon earned unlikely victories on the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road-Course and World Wide Technology Raceway’s 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Ill., in August using similar tactics.
“Way up there,” said Dixon, asked to rank this effort among his so-called “strategic” victories. “The stress level was high. Those guys were coming fast and strong. I think we were off by a lap or two of making it easy. Other fuel races I’ve done I’ve had it under control for the full stint.”
Power, a two-time series champion from Australia, began the race by tucking in behind pole-sitter Felix Rosenqvist of Meyer Shank Racing as the green flag waved down Shoreline Drive. Power then bolted inside of the Swede’s No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda diving into the first corner. The winner of this event in 2008 and 2012, Power went on to lead 15 laps in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet.
“Had a choice to take the yellow and take tires and have massive fuel-save and go hard, but we made the most of what we had there,” said Power, alluding to the caution period that dictated overall strategies. “We didn’t have any green tires to run in those fuel-save stints, so we didn’t have any defense against Dixon. Otherwise, it would have been fine to do exactly what he did. Disappointing with how far we started up, but still a top-six. All you can do is maximize each day and move on to the next one.”
Reigning FIA Formula 2 champion Theo Pourchaire finished 11th in his series debut in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet, emerging as the top rookie. Frenchman Pourchaire was substituting for David Malukas, who is continuing to recover from surgery to repair left wrist injuries suffered in a preseason mountain biking accident.
Enter Pourchaire, who at age 20 clearly is one of open-wheel’s rising global talents. “It was a crazy, crazy race. I enjoyed it,” Pourchaire said. “My first INDYCAR weekend is done now. We had a strong performance, so I’m super-happy. I have to thank the onsemi Arrow McLaren Chevy team for the car. The car was awesome today. I was the biggest mover of the race, which is amazing from 22nd to 11th. Super-happy with that.
“I have to thank the whole INDYCAR organization. The championship is amazing. The racing is here. Long Beach is a crazy-good place and I hope to be back in the future there. I learned much more in the race, it’s crazy. Every five laps in a row _ many pit stops, out-laps, in-laps, saving fuel, overtaking cars _ and I enjoyed it.
“It’s pure racing in INDYCAR. Physically, it’s tough. I’m quite tired right now but it was a dream come true to do an INDYCAR race for me, with McLaren. Such a legendary brand and racing team. I’m quite emotional, but it’s amazing. I don’t realize it yet, but I’m super-happy.”
Round 3 of the series is one week away, with the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix powered by AmFirst set for Sunday, April 28, at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala. Native New Zealander Scott McLaughlin of Team Penske is the defending event winner on the natural-terrain, 2.3-mile layout. Live coverage will start at 1 p.m. (EDT) on NBC, Peacock, INDYCAR LIVE and the INDYCAR Radio Network.
Results of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach NTT IndyCar Series event on the 1.968-mile/11-turn Streets of Long Beach, Calif., with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
- (8) Scott Dixon, Honda, 85, Running
2. (4) Colton Herta, Honda, 85, Running
3. (6) Alex Palou, Honda, 85, Running
4. (3) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 85, Running
5. (5) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 85, Running
6. (2) Will Power, Chevrolet, 85, Running
7. (10) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, 85, Running
8. (16) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, 85, Running
9. (1) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, 85, Running
10. (13) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, 85, Running
11. (22) Theo Pourchaire, Chevrolet, 85, Running
12. (9) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, 85, Running
13. (17) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, 85, Running
14. (18) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, 85, Running
15. (20) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, 85, Running
16. (14) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, 85, Running
17. (12) Graham Rahal, Honda, 85, Running
18. (25) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, 85, Running
19. (26) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, 84, Running
20. (27) Nolan Siegel, Honda, 84, Running
21. (24) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, 84, Running
22. (15) Tom Blomqvist, Honda, 84, Running
23. (7) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 84, Running
24. (19) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, 84, Running
25. (23) Jack Harvey, Honda, 83, Running
26. (11) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, 71, Running
27. (21) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, 14, Contact
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 98.350 mph
Time of Race: 01:42:03.1416
Margin of victory: 0.9798-seconds
Cautions: 1 for 4 laps
Lead changes: 8 among 6 drivers
Lap Leaders
Rosenqvist, Felix 1
Power, Will 2-16
Newgarden, Josef 17-29
Herta, Colton 30-32
Dixon, Scott 33-50
Kirkwood, Kyle 51
Newgarden, Josef 52-57
Herta, Colton 58-61
Dixon, Scott 62-85
Point Standings _ 1, Josef Newgarden, Team Penske, 87; 2, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, 75; 3, Colton Herta, Andretti Global, 72; 4, Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing, 63; 5, Will Power, Team Penske, 61; 6, Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren, 54; 7, Felix Rosenqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, 50; 8, Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, 45; 9, Alexander Rossi, Arrow McLaren, 44; 10, Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske, 40;
11, Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing, 36; 12, Marcus Ericsson, Andretti Global, 35; 13, Romain Grosjean, Juncos Hollinger Racing, 30; 14, Santino Ferrucci, A.J. Foyt Racing, 28; 15, Augustin Canapino, Juncos Hollinger Racing, (tie) with Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Kyffin Simpson, Chip Ganassi Racing, 27; 18, Linus Lundqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing, 24; 19, Marcus Armstrong, Chip Ganassi Racing, 23;
20, Tom Blomqvist, Meyer Shank Racing, tie with Pietro Fittipaldi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 21; 22, Theo Pourchaire, Arrow McLaren, 19; 23, Christian Lundgaard, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 18; 24, Sting Ray Robb, A.J. Foyt Racing tie with Callum Ilott, Arrow McLaren, 17; 26, Jack Harvey, Dale Coyne Racing, 16; 27, Christian Rasmussen, Ed Carpenter Racing, 14; 28, Nolan Siegel, Dale Coyne Racing, 10; 29, Colin Braun, Dale Coyne Racing, 8.
