Test Patterns: Scott Dixon Sends Late Message on IMS Road Course
Scott Dixon sent a small reminder to the rest of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers testing Thursday, March 27 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course: I'm still here.
Dixon's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Alex Palou has captured plenty of attention after winning the first two races this season. But six-time series champion Dixon isn't shrinking from the challenge posed by Palou, as he turned the quickest lap of an eight-driver private test in the final five minutes the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course was open.
Drivers from all four teams – AJ Foyt Racing (Santino Ferrucci, David Malukas), Chip Ganassi Racing (Dixon, Palou, Kyffin Simpson), Dale Coyne Racing (Jacob Abel) and Juncos Hollinger Racing (Conor Daly, Sting Ray Robb) – all turned laps to prepare for the Sonsio Grand Prix on Saturday, May 10 on the IMS road course that kicks off the Month of May at the track.
This wasn't an Open Test, so no times and speeds were released, but it's still time for some itemized deductions:
Dixon Sends Message
Sure, it's only testing, but Dixon had to be satisfied with edging his unbeaten-in-2025 teammate by slightly more than a tenth of a second in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. And the fact he pulled ahead on the last of his 90 laps of the day also must be gratifying.
It's easy to forget with all the attention on Palou that Dixon has produced a very solid start this season. He finished second at St. Petersburg and 10th at The Thermal Club and is third in the standings, 41 points behind leader Palou and two behind second-place Pato O'Ward.
The Iceman remains in good shape in his quest for a series record-tying seventh championship. Winning the Sonsio Grand Prix – an event Palou won in 2023 and 2024 – would be an excellent springboard toward that goal.
Daly Steps Up
It's sort of odd: Daly cut his proverbial racing teeth in road racing, including winning a GP3 race in 2012 at Barcelona during the Spanish Grand Prix Formula One race weekend.
Yet Indiana native Daly is regarded by some as an oval specialist in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES because his only career pole came at Iowa Speedway, and he has produced three straight top-10 finishes the last three years in the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
Daly was third quickest in testing March 27 on the IMS road course in the No. 76 Juncos Hollinger Racing Chevrolet, only about two-tenths of a second shy of the leading pace set by Dixon.
That should remind the 'Conor is an oval guy' crowd that this driver is capable of producing results on tracks with left turns only and with left and right turns. Remember, Daly's best career finish in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES came on the old street circuit at Belle Isle in Detroit, where he placed second in 2016.
Progress for Simpson
It's not easy being just a second-year driver in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. It's even tougher when your only yardsticks under the same paddock canopy are six-time series champion Dixon and three-time and two-time reigning champion Palou.
That's Simpson's reality. Palou won the first two races of this season, while Dixon finished second and 10th. INDY NXT by Firestone graduate Simpson placed 18th and 15th in the same two races.
But Simpson, just 20, made progress during testing Thursday at IMS. He ended up fourth overall, just slightly more than two-tenths of a second behind Dixon and less than a tenth behind current series demigod Palou.
Foyt Lands New Partner
Malukas and Ferrucci ended up a solid fifth and sixth in the running order Thursday, with Malukas a tenth of a second ahead of his teammate and only three-tenths behind Dixon.
But the day already was a win for AJ Foyt Racing before the checkered flag flew to finish testing.
The team announced earlier in the day a new partnership with the Alzheimer's Association to draw attention to the nonprofit organization's critical work in advancing research and providing free care and support programs for millions of people impacted by Alzheimer's disease and all other dementia.
Activation of the partnership starts with the next event, the 50th Acura Long Beach Grand Prix on Sunday, April 13.
Ferrucci will carry an Alzheimer's Association logo on his No. 14 Chevrolet all season. Fans attending races can engage with the Alzheimer's Association through on-site activations, including educational displays, donation opportunities and special appearances by the organization's supporters.
recommended
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
5 hours ago
- Fox News
Alex Palou Pads Championship Lead With Iowa Win: 'It's Magical'
NEWTON, Iowa — Alex Palou could skip the next two races and still have at least a 21-point lead over the next closest driver with three races remaining. Palou has no plans to skip a race. But with a 129-point lead on Pato O'Ward with five races remaining, he can race knowing it would take a total collapse for him to lose the championship. The thing is, Palou, following his win Sunday at Iowa Speedway, said they have raced that way all year, that they have raced that way in most of his championship seasons in 2021, 2023 and 2024. "Honestly, that's how we've been racing since Race 1 in St. Pete," Palou said. "We started racing not thinking about the points because it was the first race of the season. And I raced hard today, as hard as I could, risking everything because I wanted to get the win and I wanted to fight hard. "I don't think we've ever raced for points. The only places I remember was probably Nashville last year and Long Beach in 2021, where you know that if you finish in [a certain] position, you can be the champion." The contenders just know they are racing against greatness. O'Ward finished fifth on Sunday in the second race of the Iowa doubleheader, a day after he won the first race of the weekend. That would, on most weekends, cut into the championship lead. But Palou built on Saturday's fifth-place finish and rode to a victory on Sunday. With a pole and the number of laps he led, he actually earned four more points over the weekend than O'Ward. "He's got to not finish for two races, and we've got to be on the podium — or even winning — and maybe we'll catch a whiff [of him]," O'Ward said. "The longer this championship goes on, the more you see it not happening." Kyle Kirkwood had entered the weekend 113 points behind, but he left fourth in the standings, 180 points back. Scott Dixon, with a second-place finish Sunday, moved to third but sits 173 points behind. "They're firing really well and just doing a better job than everybody else," Dixon said. The current car also seems to fit into Palou's wheelhouse. "Alex, if you look at driving style, he has a very smooth driving style, actually quite similar to Dario [Franchitti]," said Dixon, a six-time series champion and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate to Palou. "Whereas with all that weight at the back in the hybrid, it's quite difficult for me. "It's not something that feels natural, and I just agitate the car a lot with my aggressive kind of style." Things certainly fell Palou's way Sunday. Josef Newgarden seemed to have the most speed but on his last green-flag pit stop, the caution came out for a wrecking Callum Ilott. That left Palou in the lead (Palou had not yet pitted) and needing to hold off David Malukas, Dixon and Marcus Armstrong. But Palou was also able to work his way through traffic. After the race on Saturday, his team opted to focus on speed and not fuel mileage. They turned Palou loose and let him race everyone straight up. "I was passing so many cars I felt like I was Lightning McQueen or something," Palou said. "It's the first time that I'm not getting overtaken every single lap on a short oval. It was very fun. "There was a lot of traffic, which was good. It was fun getting to see different people struggling in different areas. Then you would get to another car and he would be running the line that you liked, and then you would struggle for five, 10 laps." It is hard to wipe the smile off Palou's face these days. Even as he was worried Friday during a tornado warning, he tried to smile as his wife and their baby daughter took shelter in the media center with many INDYCAR team members. The team members probably figured that if Palou is somewhere, it's safe. He has, after all, been mostly the definition of invincible these days. "Being here [in the media center] seeing so many people actually makes it feel safer. And seeing like 90 percent of the paddock [being outside] taking pictures and videos, at least it makes it seem like you're not being irresponsible," Palou said about the adventure earlier in the weekend. Leave it to Palou to be responsible. He has pretty much taken care of business all year. And he's now eyeing a lofty goal of 10 wins this year, if he wins three of the final five events. "I'm going to work toward getting 10, obviously, but I'm not waking up and thinking about getting 10," Palou said. "I think it's a pretty realistic goal, and it's far — it's three wins. "It seems like it's 'only' three, but it's very far. That's the amount of wins I got in 2023, and that's one more win than I got in 2024." But he already has seven this year. "Honestly, it's crazy," Palou said. "It's been an amazing season. When I say I don't really have words, it's tough to describe. It's magical." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Hamilton Spectator
6 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Freddie Freeman's bloop single in 11th starts winning rally as Dodgers beat Giants 5-2
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Freddie Freeman blooped a single into shallow right-center with two outs in the 11th inning to score James Outman for the go-ahead run, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Sunday for a winning series, one day after snapping a season-worst, seven-game losing streak. Spencer Bivens (2-3) intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani to start the 11th and retired Mookie Betts and Will Smith before Freeman delivered with a ball that dropped between three Giants. Teoscar Hernández then beat out an infield single for an insurance run and Andy Pages followed with an RBI single. Ben Casparius (7-3) got Willy Adames to ground out ending the 10th, then pitched a perfect 11th for the win. Pinch-hitter Luis Matos hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth after Matt Chapman's one-out single started the rally against Tanner Scott, who blew his seventh save in 26 opportunities. Miguel Rojas homered and Freeman had an early RBI double that had Los Angeles ahead until the ninth. Dodgers starter and first-time All-Star Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out seven over seven innings and allowed three hits. The defending World Series champion Dodgers (58-39) entered the All-Star break atop the NL West after finishing the first half with nine straight games against clubs with winning records. Manager Dave Roberts and his staff head to manage the NL All-Stars in Atlanta, where he said Sunday he plans to pitch left-hander Clayton Kershaw early in what could be his final Midsummer Classic. Los Angeles had done just enough against Giants lefty Robbie Ray in a game featuring just 11 total hits. Key play Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos made a leaping catch on the wall to rob Ohtani of an extra-base hit to start the game. Ohtani walked in the fourth, singled in the fifth and flied out in the eighth. Key stat San Francisco (52-45) reached the break with 52 wins for the fifth time over the last 20 seasons — also doing so when it won the NL West with a franchise-best 107 victories in 2021, 2016, '14 and '11. Up next Neither club had set its rotation for after the All-Star break, when the Dodgers host Milwaukee to begin a six-game homestand on Friday and the Giants visit Toronto. ___ AP MLB:
San Francisco Chronicle
6 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Freddie Freeman's bloop single in 11th starts winning rally as Dodgers beat Giants 5-2
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Freddie Freeman blooped a single into shallow right-center with two outs in the 11th inning to score James Outman for the go-ahead run, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 5-2 on Sunday for a winning series, one day after snapping a season-worst, seven-game losing streak. Spencer Bivens (2-3) intentionally walked Shohei Ohtani to start the 11th and retired Mookie Betts and Will Smith before Freeman delivered with a ball that dropped between three Giants. Teoscar Hernández then beat out an infield single for an insurance run and Andy Pages followed with an RBI single. Ben Casparius (7-3) got Willy Adames to ground out ending the 10th, then pitched a perfect 11th for the win. Pinch-hitter Luis Matos hit a tying two-run homer in the ninth after Matt Chapman's one-out single started the rally against Tanner Scott, who blew his seventh save in 26 opportunities. Miguel Rojas homered and Freeman had an early RBI double that had Los Angeles ahead until the ninth. Dodgers starter and first-time All-Star Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out seven over seven innings and allowed three hits. The defending World Series champion Dodgers (58-39) entered the All-Star break atop the NL West after finishing the first half with nine straight games against clubs with winning records. Manager Dave Roberts and his staff head to manage the NL All-Stars in Atlanta, where he said Sunday he plans to pitch left-hander Clayton Kershaw early in what could be his final Midsummer Classic. Los Angeles had done just enough against Giants lefty Robbie Ray in a game featuring just 11 total hits. Key play Giants left fielder Heliot Ramos made a leaping catch on the wall to rob Ohtani of an extra-base hit to start the game. Ohtani walked in the fourth, singled in the fifth and flied out in the eighth. Key stat San Francisco (52-45) reached the break with 52 wins for the fifth time over the last 20 seasons — also doing so when it won the NL West with a franchise-best 107 victories in 2021, 2016, '14 and '11. Up next Neither club had set its rotation for after the All-Star break, when the Dodgers host Milwaukee to begin a six-game homestand on Friday and the Giants visit Toronto. ___
