Dixon and Armstrong on podium in Iowa

Kiwi IndyCar racers Scott Dixon and Marcus Armstrong finished second and third respectively at the IndyCar Farm to Finish 275 in Iowa. The race was won by Alex Palou, his seventh win of the season which saw his lead in the championship extend to more than 120 points. 

Armstrong’s effort saw him get on the podium for the first time this season, while it was his sixth top-10 finish in a row.

Scott McLaughlin had a disappointing race, eliminated in a crash on the first lap.

Palou won by just half a second to his hard charging team mate Dixon, who was a winner in the last round of the championship. A pit stop by Palou during a caution period helped him to victory. 

With 11 laps to go, Palou had the lead and Dixon edged past Armstrong. And it remained that way until the finish line, Armstrong two seconds a drift of second place. 

“I cannot really believe it, honestly, and winning here is super special. I struggled on short ovals for so long. Super happy. Another win. Seven wins in one year is insane,” said Palou after the race.

Dixon struggled with car issues during the weekend. “We weren’t sure how it was going to go,” Dixon said after the race. “We needed a longer race today.”

Armstrong was happy with his first podium finish of the season for Meyer-Shank Racing. “We made it happen today,” he said. “We are getting better every single race, I’m gelling with my crew better every race.”

Palou extended his lead in the driver standings. He now has 515 points, ahead of Pato O’Ward, who won Sunday’s race, on 386 with Dixon third on 342.

Armstrong, who finished ninth on Sunday, is seventh with 267 points, while McLaughlin is 12th with 234.