Dixon jumped into the lead on Lap 194, of the race total 248 laps, and stayed out in front of the field for all but one lap the rest of the way. Despite the wide gap, Dixon said “it’s never easy” to win a Verizon IndyCar Series race and complimented his pit crew for giving him a winning car.
“It didn’t start awfully good because we had a lot of understeer in the car, but, once we got the balance right, the car was basically on rails,” said Dixon. “Even toward the second-to-last stint (of pit stops) we were just trying to make changes to the car.”
Dixon grabbed the lead during the series of pit stops during the latter part of the race. He said his car was “very good in traffic” and he was able to maintain his speed all the way to the end.
“I knew once we got the balance right we could get up there and duel with (Tony Kanaan) to the end,” he said. “They understood what they were doing. That’s why they do what they do and I just drive the car.”
Kanaan finished the 600-kilometer race in second place, with Helio Castroneves close behind. Kanaan called the Firestone 600 “a great race” and said battling his friend and compatriot is always fun.
“We had a great battle, “ he said. “It reminded me, this guy, we’ve been racing together for 25 years.”
“From the early age, now to the old age,” replied Castroneves.
With only one caution period, to clear debris on the track, the Firestone 600 was a fairly quick race, at approximately one hour and 53 minutes in duration. The trouble-free race allayed the concerns many had about the possible impact the new aerodynamic kits would pose at the 2.4-kilometer (1.5-mile) track. IndyCar made the change in order to prevent incidents like the high-speed crashes that occurred during practice at the Indianapolis 500 last month.
Will Phillips, IndyCar’s vice president of technology, explained the aero kits were jointly developed by Chevrolet and Honda and designed to be attached to the rear-wheels guards to prevent cars from becoming airborne when spinning or sliding backward.
“The closure panels serve as a blocker so air cannot flow through the rear wheel guards,” Phillips said. “This will ultimately raise the point at which cars would experience lift when traveling backwards.”
Not all owners are pleased with the changes however. In fact, some Honda owners are voicing their displeasure with what is being called a “gigantic waste of money” and that it’s not going to be good for the sport in the long run.
“I don’t see what the purpose is after we had 11 different race winners last year,” said car owner Sam Schmidt. “If we lose a lot of Honda team sponsorships, it’s going to be a really bad thing.”
Michael Andretti adds that if he had a vote he would opt for going back to the package used in 2014.
“This is going to break the series if we continue going the way we are going. It’s getting ridiculously expensive for the manufacturers and is totally ridiculously expensive for the racing teams,” Andretti said. “I’m hoping smart minds prevail and we go back to last year’s car that gives you better racing on the track as well and that is better for the fans.”
Juan Pablo Montoya widened his grip on the Verizon IndyCar Series driver standings. He now leads teammate Will Power by 35 points, while sits third and is 43 points behind the leader.
The Honda Indy Toronto is the next race on the Verizon IndyCar Series schedule. The race will be run on a temporary street course along Toronto’s waterfront on June 14, 2015.
