Dixon admits ‘stress level was pretty high’ in Long Beach defense

Scott Dixon says that his 57th IndyCar victory, and his second on the streets of Long Beach, was difficult enough that even he questioned whether he might make it, at least while going at race-winning speed. But the six-time champion absorbed pressure from Josef Newgarden and Colton Herta in the closing stages to win by a little under one second.

Not only did the result ensure a clean sweep for Chip Ganassi Racing this weekend -- the Cadillac of Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande won the IMSA race here on Saturday -- it also means that Dixon has now won at least one race in 20 consecutive seasons of IndyCar racing.

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“I think it was definitely a bit sketchy in the fact that the pressure was coming hard and strong,” said Dixon. “I knew they would burn their tires off pretty quickly with kind of 10-lap offset. I think they had to close a 10- or 12-second gap. The abuse was coming thick and fast. I think we could have had the status quo there with Josef. We had over 100 seconds of OT [push-to-pass boost] left. I think he was down to the 20s by the time he even got to me. Even to get that, they weren't trimmed out, we were trimmed -- that would have made it difficult to pass.

“Once you get into the confinements of the corners, it's really tough. Obviously the incident between Colton and him [Newgarden] backed him up a little bit. We were OK once we got past a couple people in traffic.

“I would say I didn't get the [fuel mileage] number consistently, so I was a little worried about that. We have a light that comes on that gives you a couple of laps' heads-up that you're actually going to run out of fuel. I didn't see it with two laps to go. They came on the radio saying, 'Go flat out, mix one, overtake, whatever you need.' That was definitely nice to hear at that point because the stress level was pretty high. To get after it for the last two laps without a concern was big.”

Despite running conservatively for almost 70 laps of the 85-lap race, Dixon said he didn’t find it a problem to suddenly speed up when team manager Mike Hull and team owner Chip Ganassi gave him the green light to cut loose.

“I think when you're in the portion of saving, it's always nice to hear, ‘Hey, you don't have to save.’ I'll take that rather than going the other way, for sure! Sometimes these strategies go the other way. Luckily we were on the safe side of the fuel. The number I was getting was maybe not the actual number; it was bigger than what I was getting. It was nice to have that safe factor in there. We drove the car back to the pits, did a little burnout. There was sufficient fuel there.

“It can be [difficult]. When you go into the corner 10 or 15 miles an hour faster, which you do on OT, really pushing. The coast phase can sometimes start at the 700-yard [marker], and you brake at the 300. If you brake at the 300 full throttle, it gets pretty hairy. It's nice that you can push.”

Dixon also said there was no dilemma over pitting under that yellow and committing to an afternoon of fuel-saving.

“It was black and white,” he said. “I normally question it. Today I was like, ‘Hey, let's just get on with it.’ They kind of told me late, as well, which I think strategy-wise was so a bunch of others didn't dive in and take the same stop. I knew it was going to be tough. I think what you kind of hope for in the long run is that you get some caution laps again, which would have made it a lot easier for us.

“Again, the pace was pretty solid, man. We didn't really have to push crazy amounts. It saved the tires as well. The car had plenty of pace left at the end.”

Mission accomplished, once again, for Chip Ganassi Racing's Mike Hull and Scott Dixon. James Black/Penske Entertainment

Immediately post-race, Dixon dedicated his win to Sir Colin Giltrap, who died this week. Giltrap was a fellow New Zealander who dedicated much of his own wealth as well as support into furthering the careers of his compatriots. Dixon, Shane van Gisbergen, Brendon Hartley, Earl Bamber, Liam Lawson and Mitch Evans are among the current stars Giltrap helped.

“Yeah, definitely a big loss to lose Sir Colin,” said Dixon. “As I mentioned, a huge help for myself, but pretty much outside of motor racing as well, but any Kiwi that's raced internationally is because of him and his family. To have the foresight as he did at young ages to help… For me, it was definitely a huge help. I had an investment group that of course out of 14 or 15 people, you're going to have people that disagree. He had enough kind of clout to straighten out the people that weren't agreeing!

“Forever in debt to him and his family… It's a huge loss. What Colin has done for motorsport and many people around the world is huge. It's definitely a sad week, for sure.”