Dixon's fuel-efficient mastery paves the way to 55th win

©IndyCar

Scott Dixon once again relied upon his outstanding fuel-saving prowess to beat his IndyCar rivals in Sunday's Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway.

The Chip Ganassi Racing charger's strategy skills were so efficient that he only needed three stops to complete the race's 260 laps of the 1.25-mile oval, or one stop fewer than his rivals.

Dixon and his CGR crews opted for the thrifty approach as a countermeasure for his lowly P16 grid position, which itself was due to a penalty levied upon the Kiwi for an unauthorized engine change.

©IndyCar

It was the 43-year-old's 55th career win in IndyCar and his second this season. McLaren's Pato O'Ward and Dale Coyne Racing's David Malukas completed the podium in Illinois.

"It’s all these guys, man," Dixon said as he praised his CGR team.

"Chip steers the ship. We took a pretty good grid penalty today. We had to go the alternate route, and it worked out perfectly.

"This team was perfect. They gave me the (fuel) number I needed to be getting, so massive thank you to everybody on the PNC Bank No. 9 crew."

Dixon's win coupled with a mistake by poleman Josef Newgarden who hit the wall on lap 211 put the latter out of contention for this year's NTT IndyCar title, while championship leader Alex Palou now holds a healthy 74-point lead over Dixon in the standings with two races to go.

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.