Scott Dixon had a rare poor result in this past weekend’s IndyCar race, and it all stemmed from a single mistake in qualifying that came at a crucial time in the battle for the points lead.
Coming into the race on the familiar Indianapolis road course, the six-time champion was in second place in the points, 42 points adrift of his younger team-mate Alex Palou.
During the first round of qualifying on Friday, Dixon was struggling to put a lap together and was in danger of being knocked out in the first round.
Pushing extra hard on his final lap, Dixon lost control of his #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda and spun just before the final timing line. Not only did he ruin his own lap, but he was penalized for ruining his competitors’ efforts as well.
His lap time up to that point was his fastest yet, and it would have been fast enough to land the New Zealander on the seventh row of the grid if he had completed the lap cleanly. Far better than the 26th starting position he found himself in.
Stuck in the middle of the field most of Saturday’s race, Dixon struggled to make meaningful ground while continuously in the wake of those in front of him.
He eventually was able to climb into the top half of the field, just to have another major setback in the final five laps.
His spin in qualifying ruined one set of the softer, red-walled tires, leaving Dixon with one less set for the race. That forced him to don a slower set of tires on the last pit stop, and left him vulnerable for the remaining laps.
“Just a horrible weekend, to be honest,” said a frustrated Dixon after the race. “Had a mistake in qualifying, and that affected our starting position.
“We actually made good progress, I think we got up to 12th or 13th. Could have maybe been in the top 10, had we had red [tires] in for the last stint.
“When I spun [in qualifying], it ruined those tires and I didn’t have those tires for the race. Frustrating weekend, and frustrating day.”
Dixon’s misfortune was mitigated a bit by his team-mate’s engine troubles, which meant he actually gained a bit of ground in the points standings, despite ending the day in 17th.
If he had not made that single error in the final corner of qualifying, however, it’s not hard to imagine the reigning champion finishing 10 positions higher, which would have gained him an additional 13 points.
As it stands, Dixon now sits third in the points, once again behind Pato O’Ward, and 34 points out of the top spot.
With only four races remaining in the 2021 IndyCar season, the battle at the top continues to tighten, and no one driver has yet stood out from the rest.
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