Dixon pounces on late Palou error to take victory

Alex Palou’s late error handed Chip Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon victory in IndyCar’s Mid-Ohio round.

On a day when it looked like Alex Palou was set to claim another victory, Dixon had stretched his fuel on to a two-stop strategy to rise into second. It was a savvy drive from the veteran, but one that was poised to be overshadowed by Palou, until the championship leader made a rare mistake.

A short trip off-track for the Spaniard opened the door for Dixon to take over the lead with six laps remaining, and the Kiwi fended off Palou over the closing laps to secure his first win of the season – and become just the third different winner in the 2025 IndyCar season.

“Just lost it a little bit on entry and then couldn’t really get power going on,” Palou explained about his off. “Nobody to blame but me. Just got a bit wide on entry and lost it completely.”

“It was definitely a tough race,” Dixon said, celebrating his 59th series win and extending his record to 21-consecutive seasons with at least one IndyCar victory. “Full credit to everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing. We had fantastic cars. It was my fault in qualifying. But just so much fun. To try to pull off what we did and do it with what we had was fantastic.”

Palou had positioned himself to earn his seventh win in the opening 10 races of 2025, continuing a streak of dominance that’s seen him establish a near-insurmountable advantage in the championship standings.

With Dixon still saving fuel in the closing laps, Palou was able to close back up on his rear wing and challenge him through Mid-Ohio’s keyhole section – but he couldn’t find a way past before the chequered flag flew.

Arrow McLaren’s Christian Lundgaard wrapped up the podium in third, with Andretti’s Colton Herta and Lundgaard’s team-mate Pato O’Ward completing the top five, while Kyle Kirkwood lost vital points for his distant title ambitions, coming home in eighth place for Andretti.

Palou extended his lead the drivers’ standings to 113 points from Kirkwood with seven races to go.

It was another disaster race for Team Penske, starting when Josef Newgarden locked his rear tyres and spun heading into the first corner, clipping Graham Rahal in the process, which eliminated Newgarden from the race.

Team-mate Will Power was also out a handful of laps later after contact which induced a mechanical issue that put him out of the race.

IndyCar Mid-Ohio – Race results