Staff report
Madison, Ill. — August 27, 2023
Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing captured the victory at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway.
“I am so happy for everybody. We took a good penalty today with one of those changes. We had to go the alternate route and it worked perfectly. The Honda mileage was great once again. I know everybody at Chip Ganassi Racing does a tremendous job going after the championship and it’s a huge accomplishment for everybody,” said Dixon.
Dixon, in the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 9 car, showcased his prowess by leading for 123 laps for the 260-lap race.
Dixon maintained an average speed of 149.819 mph, showcasing his mastery of the 1.25-mile oval track. Dixon’s performance marked his 55th career win, further cementing his reputation as a legend in the open-wheel racing world.
Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren SP, in the No. 5 car secured the second position on the podium. O’Ward’s driving throughout the race allowed him to finish just over 22 seconds behind Dixon. Despite starting from the third position, O’Ward’s propelled forward, leading 18 laps in the process.
“It’s another P2 for the books this year. I haven’t quite gotten that one last spot that we want which is P1, but I’m happy with that. The team did a great job in the pits, but Scott Dixon did a Scott Dixon today. We’re onto Portland and Laguna, and we’ll keep pushing,” said O’Ward.
Rounding out the top three was David Malukas of HMD Motorsports in the No. 18 car. Malukas, who started sixth, demonstrated managed to secure 35 valuable points by crossing the finish line just a fraction of a second behind O’Ward.
“It was a really good day for us. We had a race-winning car today, we were right there with [pole starter Josef] Newgarden right there at the start. We put our head down, but our race strategy just didn’t work out. Obviously [race winner Scott] Dixon had the right strategy. We tried to fuel save, but were just losing too much time [on track]. So we changed strategy and, because our car was very good, we were able to recover for third,” said Malukus.
Josef Newgarden, who had clinched the pole position, experienced a devastating turn of events when he was involved in a contact incident, relegating him to the 25th position.
Takuma Sato’s race was similarly cut short due to contact, concluding his day after only 119 laps. Callum Ilott and Benjamin Pedersen also faced early exits due to contact incidents.
