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Race recap: Scott Dixon wins IndyCar race, with highlights, updates, crashes

scott horner, indianapolis star
·4 min read

The IndyCar Series races at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill., in the Bommarito 500, which is 260 laps on a 1.25-mile oval.

Scott McLaughlin qualified for the pole position, but he was assessed a 9-place grid penalty for making a fifth engine change this season. He gets the championship point but starts 10th. Josef Newgarden, who is 4-for-4 in oval races this season, starts at the front.

We will have highlights and incident reports here.

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Scott Dixon wins IndyCar race at St. Louis

Scott Dixon earns his second IndyCar victory in a row and the 55th of his career, beating Pato O'Ward by 22 seconds. Dixon, who started 16th, stretches his final fuel load 65 laps.

Dixon is the only driver with a chance to catch Alex Palou in the points championship with two races remaining: Portland next weekend, and Laguna Seca on Sept. 10. Palou finishes 7th and holds a 74-point edge on Dixon.

Josef Newgarden, trying to sweep the season's ovals and win at this track for the fourth straight year, crashes out on Lap 211. That leaves him in 25th place and ends his slim title hopes.

Lap 211: Josef Newgarden hits wall

He had pitted on Lap 208. The course remains green but he must pit. His chance to sweep this season's oval races is done, as are his championship hopes.

Lap 195: Scott Dixon, Romain Grosjean on alternate pit strategy

They are 1-2 just before pitting, and they believe they can run the rest of the way on one fuel load. Pato O'Ward is third and Josef Newgarden fourth. Those two will have to pit again.

Lap 175: Scott Dixon keeps lead

Josef Newgarden and Pato O'Ward pit, knowing they will have to come in again despite falling a lap behind. Dixon's lead is 6+ seconds on Marcus Ericsson. Dixon is trying to extend fuel so needs only one more pit stop.

Lap 136 restart: Scott Dixon leads

Scott Dixon leads as Josef Newgarden holds off Pato O'Ward for second heading into Turn 1. O'Ward believes Newgarden improperly blocks him.

Lap 127: Marcus Ericsson stalls on pit road

Ericsson, who is using a backup chassis after a practice crash, stalls after leaving his pit box. He needs to refire. Scott Dixon and Josef Newgarden both pit during the caution.

Lap 123: Takuma Sato hits the wall

Scott Dixon, who started 16th, leads; the rest of the field had taken their second pit stop.

Lap 100: Josef Newgarden is in control

Josef Newgarden leads Pato O'Ward by about 1 second, followed by another 4 seconds to Colton Herta, David Malukas and Felix Rosenqvist.

Lap 60: Full round of pit stops

Alex Palou is the first of the series leaders to take on the alternate tires as Josef Newgarden has led from the start. Callum Ilott sustains rear end damage after brushing the wall.

Lap 1: Benjamin Pedersen gets hit

The A.J. Foyt driver doesn't make it to the first turn as Ed Carpenter hits him from behind. Pedersen's car sustains significant damage, and Carpenter serves a 30-second pit-and-hold penalty, putting him several laps behind the leaders. Pedersen started 25th and Carpenter 27th.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar: Scott Dixon wins in St. Louis: highlights, updates, crashes