Scott Dixon claimed his fifth victory of the season, winning the Indy Japan 300 at Japan’s Twin Ring Motegi. The Target Chip Ganassi driver currently holds the IndyCar Series points lead with one race remaining.
Dixon started the race from pole position and led for 149 laps of the 200 lap race, finishing 1.4475 seconds quicker than team mate Dario Franchitti. Newman Haas Lanigan racing driver Graham Rahal followed closely in third, with team mate Oriol Servia finishing fourth. Danica Patrick (Andretti Green racing), who won at Twin Ring Motegi last year, finished sixth.
Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske), started the race as series points leader, but a mistake after a pit stop on lap 106 meant he finished only eighteenth. Dixon now leads the standings with 570 points, followed by Franchitti on 565 and Briscoe on 562, meaning the championship title is still up for grabs.
Race winner Scott Dixon, #9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone, said:
"That is definitely what we needed. The Firestone tires were fantastic. I think considering Firestone brought a different tire than last year, they were very consistent. We had a little bit of a balance issues with the aerodynamics in the first two stints, so we put some front wing in. All the way through the stints, the Firestone tires were super consistent, super grippy, and we could pretty much do the same lap times from start to finish."
Al Speyer, Executive Director, Firestone Racing, said:
"I went to check on the used Firestone Firehawk tires after pits stops and found that they were showing only 50-70 percent wear. That was a very good indication that drivers would not have to worry about the performance of their tires as they fought for all the championship points they could get going into the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in three weeks. Congratulations to Scott Dixon and Target Chip Ganassi Racing for doing exactly what they had to do to tighten up this points race going into that event. They scored maximum points and showed that they have their sights clearly set on a repeat. As title sponsor of both this event and the Firestone Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, we couldn't be happier to see the championship go down to the wire once again."
"The Firestone tires were fantastic. Considering Firestone brought a different tire than last year, they were very consistent."