A calculated fuel-saving drive and a late defensive effort has seen Scott Dixon hold on for a thrilling victory in the IndyCar Grand Prix of Long Beach.
The six-time Champion ran towards the front through early proceedings, having qualified ninth, and elected to make his first stop when a caution was called on Lap 16.
The interruption came when rookie Christian Rasmussen crashed out at Turn 4, having earlier made contact with the Turn 11 wall with his left rear.
Will Power, who had taken the lead on the opening laps, came in for fuel and tyres, and Dixon followed suit, jumping to second of those who were running the alternate strategy, behind the Australian.
The Chip Ganassi driver made short work of the Penske entry off the restart, and then began working past those ahead who had not stopped.
Josef Newgarden led the way as the next group came into the pits under green on Lap 30, and Dixon would hit the front with a sizeable margin over the field, which continued to grow until he made his second stop on Lap 51.
Newgarden returned to the lead, which was handed to Colton Herta when he boxed on Lap 58. Herta followed on Lap 62, with defending champion Alex Palou close behind.
Dixon reassumed the lead once the second round of stops were complete, holding a 5-second advantage over Newgarden but needing to save fuel in the dash to the line.
The American quickly reduced the gap to the Kiwi, and was on his rear but in dirty air with 17 laps to go.
As lapped traffic became a factor, Herta and Palou joined the leading two, and the former ran into the rear of Newgarden with nine laps to go, which slowed him on the corner exit and dropped him to fourth.
As that unfolded, Dixon had put lapped traffic between himself and the followers, and his teammate Kyffin Simpson became a vital factor in the battle for the win, letting the Kiwi past but making Herta work for the same result.
Once clear, the American was quickly back on to the rear of the Kiwi, but he ran out of laps to get the move done, settling for second, ahead of Palou, with Newgarden fourth.
Marcus Armstrong also ran an alternate strategy to finish 12th, one place behind former F2 rival Theo Pourchaire, who was making his IndyCar debut.
Tom Blomqvist was classified 22nd, while Scott McLaughlin failed to finish with gearbox issues impacting his Penske entry late in proceedings.
IndyCar returns at Barber Motorsport Park next weekend.
Header Image: Penske Entertainment/ Chris Owens
