Dixon’s 39th win in American Championship Car Racing on the weekend ties him on the all-time wins list with Al Unser Sr. with 39. Only Michael Andretti (42), Mario Andretti (52) and A.J. Foyt (67) have won more Champ Car races in North America.
The victory also gives Dixon the record for getting at least one win in 12 consecutive years.
“It’s mind-boggling,” Dixon said. “I love doing what I do.”
The Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix marked the return of the IndyCar series to Phoenix International Raceway for the first time since 2006.
Dixon, who led a race-high 155 laps, went to the front of the field on Lap 96 and stayed there for the remainder of the 250-lap race. Despite saying the Phoenix Grand Prix was “definitely one of the toughest races,” Dixon said he never really felt like the race got away from him.
“The Target car was fast, really, really fast,” he said. I think at any point we had enough for anybody that was challenging. We definitely, definitely had some speed in reserve for sure.”
The race finished under caution after an on-track incident force a yellow flag three laps from the end. Simon Pagenaud finished second and Will Power was third. The race runner-up said it was tough to pass at the Arizona racetrack.
“It’s so difficult to pass, there was no reason for me to take that many risks and try,” he said. “I was tring, don’t get me wrong, but Will was trying too at the end, but there only so much you can do.”
Power said finishing third and getting as many points as possible was only a means toward the championship run.
“We’ll see as the season goes along.We’ll see what happens at the end,” said Power, who finds himself 47 points behind in the driver standings. “It’s a very long championship and you’ve got a couple of double-points races. I think I can crawl back.”
The second-place finish puts Pagenaud in the lead of the Verizon IndyCar Series driver standings. Dixon moves into second overall after the win, dropping Juan Pablo Montoya to third and Ryan Hunter-Reay to fourth.
Next on the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule is one of the premier events on the circuit. The Toyota Long Prix of Long Beach runs April 17 in California.
