The six-time IndyCar Series champion made his first Firestone Fast Six of the 2026 season and converted that into a third-place finish in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday. Not only is the result his first podium of the year, but extends the all-time series record he holds with 156 across his IndyCar career.
It ended up being a banner day for Chip Ganassi Racing, with Dixon’s teammate, four-time and defending series champion Alex Palou, also taking the win.
“Yeah, huge weekend for the Ganassi cars,” said Dixon, 45. “I think probably one of the best for qualifying between all us, which was really good. It was nice just to have a clean weekend, no major issues, no damage, no mess-ups or anything like that. That was a lot of fun.
“The race itself for us was just a bit blah, to be honest. We kind of sat in the same position, tried to go long. Fuel mileage was really good, which Honda does a great job at. I think everybody is caught up a lot on figuring out what they need.”
The New Zealander started the 90-lap race on the harder primary compound and held steady in sixth. However, it was a caution on Lap 57 for debris that set up the last round of pit stops two laps later, which allowed his #9 pit crew to set a quick stop - and switch him to the softer alternate tires - to vault up to third. Although he pressured pole-sitter Felix Rosenqvist for the runner-up spot, he was unable to mount a proper challenge.
“Unfortunately for me the balance had a lot of understeer, so it was very difficult to roll the corner and roll off throttle to get that mileage,” Dixon said. “Yeah, interesting day.
“The last stop luckily for us we had an easy out. Looked like a lot of the people we were fighting had cars in front of them or behind them, which kind of paid off for us.
“Great weekend. Hopefully something we can build on and keep rolling.”
O'Ward: F1 has become an "artificial" show, while IndyCar is where the real racing is
Felix Rosenqvist feeling mixed emotions after Long Beach win slips away
Exclusive Q&A: Mick Schumacher believes 'great things on the horizon' in IndyCar career
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.