American Racing News Vol 1, Issue 2 Issue 7 | Page 10

WATKINS GLEN, NY – It’s safe to
say Scott Dixon is happy the Verizon IndyCar Series is back at Watkins Glen International.
The No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet driver capped off a
perfect weekend, leading 50 of 60
laps in today’s INDYCAR Grand Prix
at The Glen presented by Hitachi
to collect his fourth win on the
3.37-mile permanent road course.
Stretching his final tank of ethanol
over the final 19 laps, Dixon
cruised across the finish line
16.5308 seconds ahead of Josef
Newgarden.
Meanwhile, the battle for the
2016 Verizon IndyCar Series cham-

pionship was whittled to two drivers. Leader Simon Pagenaud
finished seventh in the race and
takes a 43-point lead over Team
Penske teammate Will Power into
the double-points finale, the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma on Sept.
18.
“It was a pretty eventful day," Pagenaud said after completing his
first Verizon IndyCar Series race at
The Glen. “The last caution made
it so the guys in front had to save a
lot of fuel, and we didn't save
enough at the start of the stint and
were very slow. We made it back

in seventh and, for the championship, the day was very good.
“We collected a lot of points and
we have a bit of a cushion going
into Sonoma. We still have to race
hard, but it's going to be a lot more
comfortable.”
Power crashed out in 20th place
after making contact with Charlie
Kimball on Lap 39. Power, who
missed the season opener with an
inner-ear infection, was checked
and released from the infield care
center but not cleared to drive
pending further evaluation of concussion-like symptoms.
After pacing every practice session
and winning the Verizon P1 Award
for pole position on Saturday, Dixon was unstoppable in collecting
his 40th career Indy car win, moving the 36-year-old alone into
fourth on the all-time list ahead of
Al Unser. Dixon also now has led
4,899 laps in his 16-year career,
moving him ahead of Bobby Unser
into sixth on that all-time chart.
“The car was just fantastic,” Dixon
said after scoring Chip Ganassi

Photo | Chris Jones