Scott Dixon maintained his hold on first place in the IndyCar championship point standings with his win of the Honda Grand Prix of Toronto last Sunday. The 85 lap affair was held at the Exhibition Place street course and was the last street course race of the season.
Josef Newgarden won his fourth pole of the season and Dixon was beside. Will Power and Simon Pagenaud were in row two. Newgarden grabbed the early lead and lost it to rookie Jordan King after the first round of pit stops. Newgarden slid and hit the retaining barrier which necessitated an extra stop for repairs and took him out of contention. Alexander Rossi and Will Power tangled and required lengthy pit stops to rejoin the fray. This essentially put them out of contention for a top five finish. Graham Rahal lost control and caused a five car bang up. Everyone involved had to pit for repairs. Rahal lost 11 laps but got back on the course.
Dixon took control of the race in the second half and never let go. Pagenaud and rookie Robert Wickens dueled for second place for a while but Pagenaud had the better handling car and pulled away. Wickens held on for third. James Hinchcliffe, coming off his Iowa win, drove a careful race and finished fourth. Charlie Kimball had his best finish of the year with a fifth. Tony Kanaan likewise finished sixth — his best finish of the season. He even led a lap. Rossi and Newgarden had to drive hard to get eighth and ninth respectively. Conor Daly, in his second appearance of the season, finished thirteenth.
Will Power’s bad luck since his Indy win continued to dog him. He finished eighteenth. For Pagenaud, this was just his second podium finish of the year. He is the only Penske driver without a win so far. There are five races left on the schedule with the next being at the Mid-Ohio track at Lexington ,Ohio on July 29th.
Indiana Derby
The 24th running of the Indiana Derby was run last Saturday, July 15, at the Indiana Grand in Shelbyville. With a purse of $1.1 million on the line, there was a lot of interest in the annual summer event.
Axelrod, with jockey Florent Geroux aboard, scored an upset win for trainer Mike McCarthy and Sam Dunk Racing who own him. The Indiana Grand is a fast track, and the leader for most of the race, Rigger Warning, wavered and Geroux was able to slip by Axelrod and take the win in a photo finish. King Zackery, who was the favorite, finished third. Axelrod was 5-1 going into the race and paid $26.80. The Indiana Derby has become a popular and well attended sporting event that draws fans from all over the Midwest.
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