Scott Dixon Shines Bright at Long Beach

“The Ice Man” reigned supreme at Long Beach (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish).

LONG BEACH, Calif. — The game of articulate master drive and overall team strategy paid off in the sweetest way for Scott Dixon in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing squad. For the second time in his legendary INDYCAR career, Dixon held off Colton Herta to score the victory in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Sunday.

Dixon’s triumphant feat marked his first at Long Beach since 2015, the 57th of his career and extends his win streak to 20 consecutive years. But the victory was anything but easy as one caution period and late-race drama behind him made the 85-lap contest compelling for the Southern California crowd.

In the end, a tangle between Josef Newgarden and Colton Herta shook things up, but the ever always cool, calm and collective Dixon wasn’t fazed by the matter. It was a fun drive for the six-time INDYCAR champion who is more determined than ever in turning this win into a title run this season.

“I think it was definitely a bit sketchy in the fact that the pressure is coming hard and strong. I knew they would burn their tires off pretty quickly with kind of 10-lap offset. I think they had to close a 10- or 12-second lap. The abuse was coming thick and fast,” said Dixon, who led a race-high 42 of 85 laps.

“I think we could have had the status quo there with Josef. We had over a hundred seconds of OT left. I think he was down to the 20s by the time he even got to me. Even to get that out, they weren’t trimmed out, we were trimmed, that would have made it difficult to pass.

“Once you get into the confinements of the corners, it’s really tough. Obviously the incident between Colton and him backed him up a little bit. We were okay once we got past a couple people in traffic.

“I would say I didn’t get the number consistently, so I was a little worried about that. We kind of have a light 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, mix one, 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,” Dixon concluded.

Dixon ahead of a hard charging Newgarden late in the race (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish).

As Dixon was staying on pace, Newgarden was able to go all out as he pitted much later than the leader. Coming to eight to go, a bid for a second Long Beach victory were dashed as his No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet suddenly stalled in the hairpin, collecting Herta.

While Herta finished second after the tangle, Newgarden fell back to fourth but was able to keep his championship lead heading into Barber Motorsports Park next Sunday.

However, his 12-point lead over Dixon was a complete afterthought as Newgarden was the subject of post-race discussion with Herta saying over the radio that Newgarden stopped, but his stance was that nothing changed with the way he approached the very narrow corner at Long Beach.

“It is what it is, it’d be the same if I hit somebody,” Newgarden explained to USA Network’s Kevin Lee. “It was similar when I was following Dixon the last multiple laps.”

Herta said during the post-race press conference he recognized how upset Newgarden was with him, a scenario he understood the contact was a self-misjudgment.

“I wouldn’t have been happy if it went down,” said Herta. “Ultimately it is what it is. I just misjudged it. I apologized to him.”

Herta added that the ideal way of approaching the exit of the hairpin is by exiting as straight as possible for a strong run heading into the long and curvy front stretch.

From Herta’s point of view, Newgarden’s approach was wider and it required him to make a sudden reaction and avoid hitting Newgarden which wasn’t accomplished.

“You do that by opening up the entry. But it slows down your speed so much on the entry, if you’re not doing that every lap, it’s tough to kind of gauge on how fast he was going to be going there. (Josef) opened it up,” Herta explained.

“Ultimately, it’s his right to do that. It’s my right to not run into the back of him there. But that’s why he did it. He went wider. He did a different line to get a better exit to hopefully get a run on to Scott. In doing that, he was a lot slower mid corner.”

A visibly disappointed Josef Newgarden at Long Beach (Photo: Christopher Vargas | The Podium Finish).

Rounding out the top-three and capping off Honda’s podium sweep was Dixon’s teammate Alex Palou, who continues bringing DHL tremendous success at the 1.968-mile street course. It’s the primary sponsor’s third straight appearance on the podium after Romain Grosjean did it in both 2022 and 2023 when the brand was with Andretti Global before jumping ship to the Ganassi driver.

“It was a tough race I think for everybody. Different strategies. We also thought that the best thing was to stay out,” said Palou. “I think it was the best thing for the 10 car. I don’t think I could have made it work like Scott did. I was not surprised that he took it because he knows he can make it work. I don’t know how. I’ll study that probably tonight.”

Sunday’s third-place result marked Palou’s 27th career INDYCAR podium (Photo: Owen Jackson | The Podium Finish).

Sunday’s win by Dixon was dedicated to Sir Colin Giltrap, who’s been a tremendous asset for racers out of New Zealand, passed away April 17.

“Without him, I never would have gotten to this situation in my career,” said Dixon. “To have the foresight as he did at young ages to help.

“For me, it was definitely a huge help. I had an investment group that of course out of 14 or 15 people, you’re going to have people that disagree. He had enough kind of clout to straighten out the people that weren’t agreeing.

“Forever in debt to him and his family. Obviously, I’ve spoken to Richard. Haven’t gotten to speak with Michael yet. Jenny and everybody in the family. It’s a huge loss. But what Colin has done for motorsport and many people around the world is huge. It’s definitely a sad week, for sure.”

Far from being the young gun when he began his American Open Wheel Racing career in 2001, the 43-year-old Kiwi still has the fire and tenacity of contending for wins and championships. As his wife and kids are in the United Kingdom, Dixon appreciates his more recent wins because it’s allowed him to reflect more.

It’s a direct result of having “two shitty seasons” after his first INDYCAR title in 2003 and even when he isn’t on the top step of the podium.

“Spoke to Emma, the kids are obviously in bed. It’s cool to have these moments. It’s huge for the family and people along the way,” said Dixon. “I think early in my career, you probably don’t appreciate nearly as much as you should. Even my first championship, I was like, ‘Oh, that was kind of cool.’ You just move on.

“What helped me understand that was the next two years were really shitty. That put things in perspective pretty quickly. Motor racing is full of ups and downs. I’m lucky with a team that’s very successful and we’ve won a lot of stuff.

“Honestly, what drives me are the losses, the close misses, what keeps me up at night and definitely push me.”

Long Beach is now in the books as the push for the INDYCAR championship has fully begun. Gone will be the warm and sunny Southern California vibes as they’ll head South for another popular venue in the championship trail — Barber Motorsports Park.

Race coverage of the third round of the NTT INDYCAR Series begins Sunday, April 28 at 1:00 p.m. ET on NBC. Scott McLaughlin is the defending race winner.

A Honda podium sweep in Southern California (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish).

49th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach Results