IndyCar
Scott Dixon Fighting For 6th IndyCar Championship As The Series Heads To Pocono
LONG POND, PA (Pittsburgh Racing Now) – PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon’s win in the last NTT IndyCar Series race at Mid-Ohio is helping Dixon stay in the hunt for his sixth Championship.
“Those are the kinds of weekends that you need,” said Dixon reflecting on Mid-Ohio. “You’ve got to take it.”
Dixon trails points-leader Josef Newgarden of Team Penske by 62-points heading into this weekend’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.
“I think he’s going to be the person to beat,” said Dixon. “That team is super strong right now and we’re going to have our work cut out.”
Two other drivers stand between Dixon and Newgarden. Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi is in second place, 16-points behind Newgarden and Penske’s Simon Pagenaud is in third place, 42-points out of the lead.
The lead for any of the top four driver’s trailing Newgarden is not insurmountable because double-points are available at the season finale at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca.
Dixon is laser-focused on one thing, wins.
“Anything is possible,” said Dixon. “We’ve just got to keep our head down; we can’t start thinking about that (points racing) right now. If you win races that will take care of itself.”
IndyCar series teams should take notice that if Dixon gets on a roll, and the No.9 PNC Bank CGR team is certainly capable, the “Iceman” should not be counted out.
Dixon trailed Penske’s Juan Pablo Montoya by 47-points going into the season finale in 2015. Dixon and his “Wolfpack” crew went out, won the race and finished tied with Montoya atop the standings, winning the Championship by tie-breaker, 3-wins to 2.
The Ganassi team has been involved in eight of the closest IndyCar Series Championship finishes since 1999.
In 1999 Montoya, who was driving for CGR tied Dario Franchitti, who was driving for Team Green, with Montoya taking the title based on the tie-breaker of most wins with seven in his rookie campaign.
The 2006 Championship came down to a tie-breaker as well. Dan Wheldon tied Sam Hornish Jr., who was driving for Penske, but lost the championship based Hornish’s four wins to Wheldon’s two.
Dixon rallied from 39-points behind in 2013 to beat Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves. One of the wins on Dixon’s 2013 run to the Championship, came at Pocono.
In 2011 Franchitti, driving for CGR, edged his teammate Dixon by 11-points to win Franchitti’s fourth Championship.
Franchitti grabbed his third championship in 2010 by rallying from 59-points to beat Penske’s Will Power.
Franchitti’s first Championship in 2007 came with Andretti Green Racing. Dixon was the runner-up finishing 13-points behind Franchitti.
Dixon picked up his first Championship in 2003 where he beat Penske’s Gil deFerran by 18-points. Dixon and de Ferran both won three races, but Dixon had 4-second place finishes versus one for de Ferran.
The ABC Supply 500 takes place Sunday August 18, 2019 with a one hour practice session Saturday morning from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Qualifying takes place on Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Final practice is on Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
There will be an autograph session on Sunday in the Firestone Fan Village from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with the green flag waving at 2:45 p.m. Tickets and information is available at www.poconoraceway.com.
The race will be televised by NBCSN and can be heard on the Advance Auto Parts IndyCar Radio Network.
WASHINGTON D.C. (August 22, 2026) – Alex Palou’s blistering lap of 56.8993 seconds in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda puts the four-time NTT IndyCar Series Champion on the pole position for Sunday’s Freedom 250 on the streets of Washington D.C.
“Incredible,” said Palou. “My car was on rails. Super-fun lap, super-fun car to drive. Couldn’t be happier. Looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, man, 250 miles.”
Andretti Global’s Kyle Kirkwood lines up second after a lap of 57.4661 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda.
“P1 both first and second group, and the last one Alex Palou is just a legend and goes faster on his one-lap dash than he did the whole rest of the run, I think,” Kirkwood said. “He made us look silly out there.”
Scott McLaughlin spoiled the Honda party up front, putting the No. 3 PPG Chevrolet third on the grid after a fast lap of 57.4200.
Palou’s CGR teammates Scott Dixon and Kyffin Simpson did not fare as well as their teammate.
Dixon was on a lap that would have allowed him to transfer into the next round of qualifying, when Simpson hit the wall, triggering a red flag which cancelled Dixon’s lap. The No. 9 PNC Bank Honda will start 14th.
Bringing out the red flag penalized Simpson of his two fastest laps so the No. 8 Sunoco Honda will start last in 25th.
Coverage of the Freedom 250 starts at 11:30 a.m. on Fox and IndyCar Radio with the green flag waving in our nation’s capital at 1 p.m.
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 15, 2026) – The NTT IndyCar Series is making it’s first visit to a new street circuit in Markham, Ontario but a familiar face topped the speed charts after the first practice.
Four-time Series Champion Alex Palou turned the fastest lap around the 12-turn, 2.19-mile temporary street course, a 1-minute, 14.9915-seconds (100.811 mph) lap in the No. 10 DHL Chip Ganassi Racing Honda.
A.J. Foyt Racing rookie Caio Collett was second quick with a 1-minute, 15.0454-seconds (100.739) in the No. 4 Chevrolet.
Louis Foster was third quick in the No. 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda at 1:15.0278 (100.702) followed by Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin 1:15.2981 (100.401). Will Power rounded out the Top 5 at 1:15.3152 (100.378).
Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammates were not as strong. Six-time Series Champion Scott Dixon was 20th at 1:16.4583 (98.877) in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda. Kyffin Simpson was 24th at 1.17.3893 (97.688) in the No. 8 Sunoco Honda. Simpson made contact with the wall at Turn 6, causing damage to the rear suspension. Simpson limped to pits for repair and returned to action later in the session.
Practice 2 is set for 2:30 p.m. as delayed track construction forced officials to cancel Friday’s activities and condense Saturday’s schedule. NTT P1 Pole Qualifying is set for 6:30 p.m. ET
MARKHAM, ONTARIO (August 14, 2026) – Issues with the completion of the temporary street circuit in Markham Ontario has forced the NTT INDYCAR SERIES first practice to be moved to Saturday as all of Friday’s on-track activity had to be scrubbed from the schedule.
“INDYCAR is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that. New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Green Savoree Promotions also issued a statement.
“Ensuring the safety of the drivers and the completion of the certification process of competing on a brand-new racetrack delayed all on-track activities today. Today’s sessions have been rescheduled to Saturday, August 15, to allow for further track preparations.”
“We greatly appreciate all the fans who made it out to the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham today and chose to spend the day with us. The attendance and support were overwhelming.”
The revamped schedule calls for the first practice to take place at 10:00 a.m. followed by a second practice at 2:30 p.m. and P1 Pole Qualifying at 6:30 p.m.
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