Kiwis in top six after IndyCar IMS Road Course race

Scott Dixon led home compatriots Marcus Armstrong and Scott McLaughlin in this morning’s IndyCar race. Chip Ganassi’s Alex Palou won at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course.

The defending Champion Palou led 39 of the 85 laps to take his first win of the season. It vaults him to the top of the championship standings.

Australia’s Will Power was second, heading home Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Christian Lundgaard, who led for 35 laps.

Lundgaard took the lead off pole-sitter Palou at Turn 1 off the start when the Chip Ganassi driver ran wide.

The order at the front remained unchanged when the leaders made their first stops. Power pitted first from third in an attempt to undercut Lundaard and Palou. They both followed in on Lap 20, with Lundgaard retaining the lead. However, Palou faced increasing pressure from the Australian, who got past on Lap 21.

Power was again the first to stop in the second cycle, boxing from second. But he resumed in third, behind Lundgaard, once the stops played out while Palou retained his spot at the front.

Dixon remained in the mix entering the final stages and was fourth for the final round of stops on Lap 62.

The race’s only caution came with 20 laps remaining when Lucas Ghiotto stopped on the track.

The intervention set up a 17-lap sprint to the flag, with Palou leading Power, Lundgaard, Dixon, Armstrong and McLaughlin. The latter benefitted from the caution to emerge sixth.

There was no change at the front when the chequered flag fell, with the defending champion pulling clear from the early challenges to win by 6.6 seconds.

Dixon was fourth, 5.4 seconds off the podium places, having defended well from Armstrong over the final laps as his rear tyres faded.

McLaughlin finished on the tail of the Chip Ganassi duo for sixth as the three Kiwis finished within one second of each other.

Tom Blomqvist came home 23rd, one lap off the pace.

Palou now holds a 12-point lead over Power in the Drivers’ Championship, with Dixon third, 25 points adrift of his teammate.

Despite his disqualification from the podium in St. Petersburg, McLaughlin is sixth. Armstrong holds 11th, two points outside the top ten.

IndyCar returns to IMS for Indy 500 qualifying next weekend, before the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 26.