By: Spencer Neff
August 12, 2023

2023 Gallagher Grand Prix Results

In Saturday’s Gallagher Grand Prix a on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon began the day by passing former teammate and longtime friend Tony Kanaan for most consecutive INDYCAR starts (319).

After starting 15th, the six-time champion spun on the opening lap and fell to 25th. From there, the New Zealander turned in a performance that has become the norm for he and the No. 9 team. Dixon also leapfrogs Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden (25th) for second in the points.

Despite a late charge from pole sitter Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, Dixon held on by .4779 of a second, the narrowest margin of victory since the NTT INDYCAR SERIES made their debut on the permanent road course in 2014.

Chip Ganassi Racing also duplicates Andretti Autosport’s 2022 sweep of the IMS Road Course events. They are the only teams to accomplish this since the series began holding multiple races here in 2020.

In scoring his second victory at the IMS Road Course, Dixon takes his 54th career victory and extends another INDYCAR record by winning for a 19th consecutive season and 21st in his career.

Rahal, who earned his first pole in more than six years, scores his first podium finish since a runner-up effort to Dixon on the IMS Road Course in 2020. Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward follows up his second-place finish here in May with a third-place effort as best among the Chevrolets following the Honda duo.

Christian Lundgaard equals his effort from May in fourth after qualifying not he front row with his RLLR teammate. 2022 race winner Alexander Rossi finishes fifth, two spots behind his teammate.

Despite being involved in a Lap 1 collision, May winner and points leader Alex Palou rebounded to finish seventh. With three races left in 2023, the lead over Dixon is 101 points.

Making his second appearance in place of a recovering Simon Pagenaud, Linus Lundqvist started and finished 12th, best among the five rookies in the field. Just the opening lap caution would slow the race, which featured eight lead changes among four drivers.

Race Recap

After starting a career-best fifth, Andretti Autosport’s Devlin DeFrancesco made a daring move on the inside of Rahal entering Turn 1 for the lead.

Further back, Armstrong was clipped by CGR teammate Palou in Turn 7. In a chain reaction, their teammate Dixon also spun but was able to keep going. Josef Newgarden received the brunt of the damage from the melee, losing his front wing in the process.

On Lap 7, the race was restarted and within two laps, Rahal found his way back around DeFrancesco to lead.

The pole sitter would continue to maintain his advantage over Rossi as the field began its first round of green-flag pit stops.

Lundgaard would take over the race there laps after his teammate. Despite heavy pressure from Lundgaard and Rossi during the second stint, Rahal would maintain his lead.

On Lap 48, Rahal would put from the lead. During his Lap 51 stop, the No. 45 had fueling issues, allowing O’Ward to usurp second from him.

With 22 laps to go, Dixon found himself up front when Rahal made his last stop. During the final stint, Rahal closed to within three tenths of a second on Dixon. On the final lap, the No. 9 had enough fuel to pull away and fend off Rahal’s challenge to score his first win of the year

Up Next

Following a week off, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES will begin a three-race stretch to close out the 2023 campaign. The first race of those is the final oval of 2023.

Practice 1 for the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 will be at 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday August 26 with qualifying at 2:00 p.m. and final practice (including a 30-minute “high-line” special practice) scheduled from 5:00-6:45 p.m..

The 260-lap race will have live coverage on NBC at 3:00 p.m. ET on August 27. Keep up with all the latest on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at IndyCar1909.com and our social media platforms.

Header Image By Joe Skibinski/INDYCAR