Chip Ganassi Racing Driver Alex Palou putting on his helmet preparing for the Gallagher GP at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Ind, on Saturday, August 12. Photo by Hilary Ott /The American Legion

Palou strengthens points lead with P7 in Indy

On a day when one Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) driver made NTT INDYCAR SERIES history, one of its others put an even stronger hold on a series championship.

Scott Dixon set an NTT INDYCAR SERIES record with his 319th consecutive start, and then overcame a spin on the opening lap to win Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix during Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Brickyard Weekend. It was Dixon’s 19th consecutive season with an INDYCAR win, also a record, and his 54th win in the series – second all time.

Meanwhile, CGR teammate Alex Palou – driving the No. 10 American Legion Honda – recorded his 14th top-10 finish in as many starts this season, starting the race eighth and finishing seventh. Dixon moved into second in the points standings with the victory, but Palou’s championship lead sits at 101 points over his teammate.

"We played an aggressive strategy which worked really well on the first couple of stints. Then, when we wanted to go fast on the better tire, we didn't make it work,” Palou said. “We had some issues with tire degradation, but it was a solid day for us on the championship side. It was an amazing day for Scott winning the race today."

Palou had started the weekend with an 84-point series lead over Josef Newgarden. Newgarden struggled during qualifying, starting just 19th, but then an INDYCAR penalty moved him to 25th for the start of the race. He finished in that spot and dropped to third in the points race, 105 points behind Palou.

Just three races remain this season: the Aug. 27 Bommarito Automotive Group 500 and two road courses. Palou has three wins in five road course races this season, with an average finish of third.

“Finishing the race today was important,” Palou said. “A good result for the team with Scott winning the race today and a good result for us in the championship.”

Also sporting American Legion branding was Chip Ganassi Racing’s Marcus Ericsson, who entered the weekend fifth in the series points race. He started the race 17th and was able to move up to 10th by the end. It was his 12th top 10 this year; he sits in sixth in the points race.

"It was a tough race for us,” Ericsson said. “We were battling there in the midfield and had some good battles back and forth with different cars. Things felt okay, but we couldn't really make a lot of progress. It's a hard track to overtake, so we were sort of stuck in a cluster of cars and didn't go forward the way we wanted to or planned to.

“It was still nice to recover in the end, pick up a couple of cars and get a top-10. Big congrats to Scott and the No. 9 crew. I'm really happy to see them win the race."

In the INDY NXT Series, CGR developmental driver Kyffin Simpson had another solid day on the Indianapolis road course. After finishing third on May 13 in the INDY NXT by Firestone Grand Prix, Simpson delivered a fifth in the INDY NXT race on Friday. He currently sits at ninth in the points standings.

INDYCAR next heads to Illinois for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline on Sunday, Aug. 27, on the World Wide Technology Raceway oval.