Any aspirations of profitable the Grand Prix of Portland for Scott Dixon ended with a troublesome crash simply moments after taking the inexperienced flag.
After beginning ninth, the 44-year-old New Zealander made fast strikes to push his No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda additional up the grid. As soon as via the primary sector, although, he was pressed by the No. 27 Andretti World Honda of Kyle Kirkwood, who pulled a transfer to the within of Dixon.
Left with no room and unwilling to again out of the throttle, Dixon dropped wheels off target on the 12-turn, 1.964-mile pure terrain street course. He returned after falling just a few positions and instantly made wheel-to-wheel contact with a considerably faster No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda of Pietro Fittipaldi, which then despatched Dixon again off target earlier than crashing onerous into the Flip 8 barrier.
Dixon, who got here into the weekend third within the championship standings at simply 65 factors behind teammate Alex Palou (443-378), was left climbing out of his machine as the primary retirement of the race as a result of extreme left-front harm.
Fittipaldi was handed a drive via penalty by Race Management for avoidable contact, which Dixon thought ought to have been given as an alternative to Kirkwood, who was capable of proceed on.
“Yeah, (I’m) completely high-quality,” Dixon mentioned. “The No. 27 [Kirkwood], I believe brought about all that mayhem, to be sincere. Only a lunge after which gave me zero room on the exit, which knocked me off. And you then attempt to get well and clearly, I believe with, you recognize, Fittipaldi, truthfully getting the penalty there it’s no actual fault of him; simply funnels there. However yeah, the penalty ought to have been on the No. 27.”
