Alex Palou’s Rare Miscue Gifts Scott Dixon Win At Mid-Ohio: ‘A Stupid Mistake’

Bob Pockrass

FOX Motorsports Insider

Scott Dixon captured his first victory of the season, ending his teammate Alex Palou’s dominance on road courses this year.

Palou appeared as if he would cruise to his seventh win of the INDYCAR season, but he went off course on Lap 85 of the 90-lap race Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Dixon pounced, speeding by Palou and then holding him off — while still needing to save fuel — for the win.

It was a rare mistake for Palou during this season, where he has still won six of the first 10 races. He extended his points lead to 113 points ahead of Kyle Kirkwood with seven races left in the season.

“Just a stupid mistake, honestly,” Palou said. “A mistake on my part. … Nobody to blame by me. It sucks. It hurts a lot.”

It was the first win in more than a year for Dixon, who has won six series titles and celebrated his 59th victory. The veteran Dixon has now won in 23 different seasons and extended his streak of consecutive seasons with a win to 21.

“It was definitely a tough race,” Dixon said. “Full credit to everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing. … It was just a joy to drive.”

Palou still finished second as the Chip Ganassi Racing driver continues to eye a fourth series title.

Christian Lundgaard, who had started on the front row beside pole-sitter Palou, finished third with Colton Herta fourth and Pato O’Ward fifth.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.