Last Saturday evening the 2020 IndyCar racing season finally got underway at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth for the Genesys 300. Twenty-three cars took the green flag in the cool of a Texas evening. Basically Scott Dixon and the Ganassi Racing Team gave a clinic on how to dominate an automobile race.
Defending series champ Josef Newgarden started from the pole with Dixon next to him. Simon Pagenaud and Ryan Hunter-Reay made up the second row while Zach Veach and Will Power were in row three. Takuma Sato put his car into the wall on a qualifying run and his crew was unable to repair it before the start of the race. He was given the 24th place finishing spot.
Newgarden took an early lead but had to pit for repairs to his electrical system on lap 47. This put him at the back of the field temporarily. Dixon took control and never let go. Dixon’s teammate, Felix Rosenqvist, who had started ninth, moved into second place and held off the rest of the field. The first incident took place on lap 37 when rookie Rinus Veekay lost control of his Chevy and made contact with fellow rookie Alex Palou’s Honda. Both cars were eliminated.
The Ganassi Hondas were clearly the superior cars and Dixon was running the table. Meanwhile, Newgarden was battling his way back up in the field and Conor Daley was driving a smooth, steady race to move up from 19th to the top ten in his Carlin Chevy. Zach Veach was driving well while carrying the Andretti Autosports banner, leading four laps and contending for a podium finish.
As Dixon was heading for the finish on lap 190, his teammate Rosenqvist, who had been running an outstanding race, came upon James Hinchcliffe with the intent to lap him. Hinchcliffe dropped low to oblige him. Rosenqvist went high and got into the marble. He lost control and went into the retaining wall, ending his night and giving him a 19th place finish. His frustration was evident as he climbed from his broken car.
Dixon took the checkered flag followed by Simon Pagenaud, who drove a very patient race, and Josef Newgarden who roared back from the rear of the field. Zach Veach was fourth, Ed Carpenter finished fifth, Conor Daley finished sixth, Colton Herta was seventh, Ryan Hunter-Reay was eighth and Rookie Oliver Askew was ninth in the Arrow McClearen SB Chevy. Askew was the 2019 Indy Lights Champ. Tony Kanaan was tenth in his A.J. Foyt Chevy. Kanaan is on his farewell tour. He will retire at the end of the season.
The race TV broadcast was the highest rated of any IndyCar race other than the Indy 500 in series history. Reminder: The 2020 Indy Lights season has been canceled. The next race is at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 4th for the GMR Grand Prix.
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