Scott Dixon wins record 4th Detroit Grand Prix in caution-filled race
Scott Dixon won a record fourth Detroit Grand Prix, outlasting the competition in a caution-filled race on Sunday to become the first IndyCar driver with two victories this season.
The six-time IndyCar Series champion won his 58th career race, trailing only A.J. Foyt's total of 67 in the series. Dixon, who is from New Zealand, broke a tie in the Detroit Grand Prix record books with Will Power and Helio Castroneves.
The Chip Ganassi Racing driver finished nearly a second ahead of Marcus Ericsson, followed by Marcus Armstrong, Kyle Kirkwood and Alexander Rossi.
In the shadow of General Motors' world headquarters, Honda dominated in Detroit, with only Rossi cracking the top five in a Chevrolet.
Josef Newgarden had a humbling afternoon a day after Team Penske announced a multiyear contract extension with the back-to-back Indianapolis 500 winner. Late in the race, Newgarden lost control of the back end of his car — with no one nearby — and hit a wall to set up a 26th-place finish in the 27-car field.
The Detroit Grand Prix got off to a rough start and failed to find much of a flow for most of the afternoon because of a series of cautions stunting the 100-lap race.
Theo Pourchaire tapped Power from behind on the third turn of Lap 1, tangling several cars in a rare spot to potentially pass on the short and bumpy track.
Santino Ferrucci, whose driving had drawn Kyle Kirkwood's ire in practice on Saturday, tried to get around Castroneves and clipped him. Castroneves, a four-time Indy 500 champion, was filling in for struggling Tom Blomqvist for Meyer Shank Racing in the hopes of picking up points, only to finish 25th.
As if the tight track didn't pose enough of a challenge, conditions added another obstacle on the nine-turn, 1.6-mile street course near the banks of the Detroit River.
Overnight rain removed some rubber from the street circuit and sporadic showers made it slick in spots.
Pole sitter Colton Herta, who led 31 laps early in the race, attempted to make an aggressive inside move midway through the race and lost control of the No. 26 Honda, sending it into a tire barrier and leading to a 19th-place finish.
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