Scott Dixon drove to a commanding victory in Sunday’s IndyCar Grand Prix from Watkins Glen, starting from pole and never once putting a wheel wrong at the iconic 3.37-mile permanent road course.
Dixon and the rest of the race leaders were forced to stretch their fuel tanks over the closing laps after Will Power made contact with Charlie Kimball on Lap 39. The impact put Power out of the race and set the remaining cars in the field up for a late-race restart.
Carlos Munoz led the field to green followed by Andretti teammate Marco Andretti and AJ Foyt Racing’s Takuma Sato. Less than two laps later, Dixon had found his way back around all three and pulled out a healthy lead while also saving enough Sunoco E85R ethanol to make it to the finish.
Not all were as lucky as Dixon, however. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ James Hinchcliffe was running second when his No. 5 Honda ran out of gas on the last lap, allowing Josef Newgarden to swoop in and take second. Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves was third.
Series leader Simon Pagenaud seventh overall, extending his lead over Power to 43 points. Dixon moved into third in the standings with the win and is now sitting 104 points behind Pagenaud, but with just one race left in the season, only Pagenaud and Power have a shot at the championship.
The 2016 IndyCar season finale, the GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma, is up next on September 18th. Click here for full results from the 2016 IndyCar Grand Prix from Watkins Glen and here for a schedule for Sonoma.
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