Talk about sarcasm.
After building a record-breaking speed of over 376 km / h in qualifying, then breaking the long-running Indianapolis 500 record led by Max Lap, Scott Dixon got the ticket for the most expensive speed of his distinguished career.
New Zealand were on their way to their second Indy 500 win and were trying to figure out what their final pit stop should have been with 23 laps left while locking their Honda rear tires during the brakes.
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Officials flagged Dixon’s motion and awarded him a “pass-through” penalty that dropped him to 21st – his fourth – worst finish in the Indicar signing event – and allowed Sweden’s Marcus Erickson to win first in front of 300,000.
Dixon called it “heartbreaking” after his wife Emma was comforted, and it could be inherited-defined – in a bad way.
The six-time Indica champion is widely regarded as the greatest driver of his generation and is second in the 500 since his only win at Brickyard 14 years ago.
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“You qualify for an average of 234 miles per hour, and as Scott puts it, the mileage on Pitt Road is one mile or more, and that could be the difference for his second win,” said NBC’s Mike Tirico Stan in sports coverage.
“As we talked about pre-race, it’s something that could put Scott Dixon in that stratosphere for Indica drivers.
“Again, the third-highest win in the history of the series, 51, with only (Mario) Andretti and (AJ) Foyet more.
“It’s one of those things, like Patton Manning won his second Super Bowl, yes you are great, but now that you have won the biggest event more than once, there is no instability. What we saw increased the pain with that emotion in that shot.”
After the race, Dixon answered a few questions and began walking down Pitt Road when he realized he had forgotten someone … his wife.
Dixon turned around, grabbed Emma’s hand, and it became one of the most painful walks of his Indica career.
Frustration. Disgust. Discomfort. Dixon had to feel them all.
The 41-year-old could hit the car but the penalty means there is no chance to expand.
“It’s just heartbreaking, to be honest,” Dixon said.
“It must have been very close … I think it was like over an hour or so. It’s depressing. The car was really good all day. We had really good speed. The team did an amazing job with the strategy. I just made noise.” “
Yes, Dixon owned it.
He got out of his car number 9, apologized to every crew member he could track, and even went to the next house to do the same with everyone working in the box of Chip Gunsy Racing teammate Alex Palo.
It sure had a bitter sweet ending.
Another Ganasi teammate, Ericsson, was celebrating, and close friend and teammate Tony Kanan crossed the finish line in third place.
Dixon – who broke Al Unsar Jr.’s record (644) for leading the most laps in Indie 500 history – received a lot of sympathy and support as he walked the grid.
Fans cheered his name. Crumans from other parties expressed sympathy.
Ed Carpenter, a local in Indianapolis, stopped Dixon and asked what had happened.
Canaan and Dixon shared a long hug. Graham Rachel pressed his back.
Wife Emma asked the same question to both of them: Why did Indica throw that red flag with five laps?
It was only two years ago that race control was in the same position – second from Dixon Takuma Sato – when Indica carefully let the race end.
“Because there is no continuity,” Rahel replied. “They do whatever they want.”
Canaan had a different idea, saying Indica made the right call for a reason.
“I believe we’re here for the fans,” Canaan said.
“We’re listening to the fans. Yeah, a lot of people have different views on this … they’re here to see a race, a green flag and a checkered flag race. That was the right call. That’s what people wanted to do. I’m in full support. I want to see the end of the race under the green. “
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Dixon refuses to focus on different race-ending approaches.
“I don’t know. We were out of it by then so it wasn’t really important to us,” he said.
But what about 2020?
“Kauda, shoda, will, right?” He said. “So it’s very difficult to win this place.”
Dixon felt part of his anger at Indy.
He started off the pole for the fourth time in eight years and led a race-high 95 laps, more than double that of Palo and 82 more than Ericsson.
“It was definitely superfast, had a good pace all day,” he said. “I think if everything was smooth, we would have fought to the end. But obviously not.”
Still, Dixon ended up in the winning circle. Despite the heartache, his long walk with Emma took them to celebrate with Ericsson and his Gansi.
“They’re all personal (put feelings aside),” Gansi said.
“Of course, they all want to win the race. I hope they all want to win. But when the team wins, they know it’s good for them.
“You have to be realistic when you have more than one car. You can have a good day and a bad day on the same day … The good news is that good is more than bad.”
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