Kiwi motorsport legend Scott Dixon has claimed his 57th IndyCar victory, winning the Grand Prix of Long Beach in California by less than a second after a terrific drive.
The six-time IndyCar Series champion won by 0.9798 seconds over rival Colton Herta, followed by Alex Palou, Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson.
He dedicated his his first win of the 2024 IndyCar season to late motorsport stalwart Sir Colin Giltrap, who died on Thursday.
“He obviously helped start my career,” said Dixon, one of several drivers Giltrap helped over the years. “We lost him this week unfortunately, but a huge thank you to him.”
The result moves Dixon from ninth to second place on the overall season standings, 12 points behind leader Newgarden.
After qualifying 8th place to start the race, the six-time season champion took the lead in lap 33 after leader Herta headed into the pit lane.
As the 85-lap race went on, Dixon's biggest challenge came from Newgarden, however the 2023 Indy 500 winner suddenly lost two spots after stalling when he was contacted from behind by Herta.
Dixon was chased by Herta for the final two laps but was able to hold on and secure the victory.
"That was real tough. I didn't think we were going to make it on fuel", Dixon said before taking the podium. "The stress level was high. Those guys were coming fast and strong."
“The last few laps the team came on and said ‘just go for it, we've got plenty of fuel,’ and away we went.”
The victory means Dixon has extended his record streak of consecutive seasons with at least one victory to 20.
Fellow New Zealander Marcus Armstrong finished 12th, while Scott McLaughlin failed to finish.
