Scott Dixon scored his 57^th career victory on Shoreline Drive following a masterful fuel-saving strategy, ahead of Colton Herta and Alex Palou, who both finished within two seconds of Dixon. 

Josef Newgarden finished 4^th after contact on lap 77 with Colton Herta saw his gearbox briefly stall, denying him any opportunity to pass Dixon. Marcus Ericsson finished in a solid 5^th place, having run the opening stint in 2^nd after an excellent start.

Will Power swept into the lead at the opening corner, but could not maximise his strategy like Scott Dixon, and had to settle for 6^th. Last year’s winner Kyle Kirkwood was 7^th, Romain Grosjean scored a strong 8^th place for Juncos Hollinger and polesitter Felix Rosenqvist slipped down to 9^th. 

Alexander Rossi rounded out the top 10, a solid recovery drive after pitting on lap 4 following contact with Pato O’Ward. Rossi finished 1.3 seconds ahead of teammate Theo Pourchaire, who was making his debut for the team, filling in for the recovering David Malukas. 

Scott Dixon wins out again in fuel-saving Long Beach showdown

Back to back victories in August 2023 were quintessentially Scott Dixon victories. At the Gallagher Grand Prix, he was turned around on lap 1, went off strategy, and pulled off a remarkable win having been backwards and last. At the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in St. Louis, Dixon saved so much fuel he did one less stop than everyone else in the race. 

At Long Beach in 2024, the 43 year old proved that he is still the master. He did it again. 

Dixon pitted during the caution period on lap 19 after Christian Rasmussen hit the wall at turn 4, collecting an innocent Jack Harvey in the process. Dixon pitted alongside then race leader Will Power, as the two would be tasked with a long fuel save in order to finish in victory lane. 

During his second stint, Dixon bided his time and saving as much fuel as possible, before pitting for the final time on lap 52. He would need to do a 34 lap stint to the chequered flag, and hold on the charging Newgarden and Herta if he was to win. 

Newgarden made his final stop on lap 59, and with fresher tyres and more fuel to burn, the Team Penske driver ate into Dixon’s six second lead at pace, catching him with 16 laps to go. 

Dixon fought off the challenge well, applying push to pass only out of the final corner to protect himself along Shoreline drive, in the knowledge that Newgarden would struggle to pass him anywhere else. 

On lap 77, Newgarden was joined by Colton Herta within touching distance of Dixon, but Herta tapped the back of Newgarden at the hairpin, dramatically stalling Newgarden’s car and slowing Herta’s progress. 

Dixon broke clear by 1.8 seconds, and although Herta closed in, the gap was too great for the Californian. Dixon won by 0.9 seconds, and remarkably had enough fuel for the cool down lap as well.

“That was tough that was real tough, they kept just giving me a number and it just wasn’t getting. I was close, but not enough.”

“Chip said just go for it, and man, I was gonna try”

“This win is way up there, man, and the stress levels were high. Those guys were coming fast and strong. I saw Josef coming and thought, ‘man this is going to be tough’.”

“I enjoy the craft, I enjoy learning. For right now, it’s nothing in the short term that’s going to take me away from that. You look for positive things and there’s no point dwelling on the negatives”

Newgarden furious as Long Beach after Herta contact denies him shot at victory 

Josef Newgarden did nothing wrong this weekend. He qualified a strong third, took the lead when Power pitted on lap 19, and it looked for a long time as if the Team Penske driver would start the season with back to back victories in points paying races. 

Despite being stuck behind Dixon for a long period of time, it felt like Newgarden had the victory in his hands. And yet on lap 77, he was tagged by Colton Herta. The car slipped into anti-stall, and he lost 2^nd to Herta and 3^rd to Palou. 

Immediately on the radio Newgarden said “that’s 100% a penalty, not even a question”. Herta was not penalised for the incident. The contact was minimal, and a penalty would have been given solely for the outcome rather than the infringement.

In his post-race interview, Newgarden was asked if he had done anything differently on lap 77 to the previous laps, but he responded saying “no, similar to when I was following Dixon, the last multiple laps.”

Herta responded saying “I misjudged it a little bit but I think he set up pretty wide, cutting back in so he’s a little bit slower at apex but ultimately it’s up to me to carry the right speed into the corner.” 

Herta could not pass Dixon for the victory after moving ahead of Newgarden in the incident, but a trip to his first podium since Toronto in July last year was a welcome return for the Californian in his home race. 

Palou would also pass Newgarden, as the Tennessee native would finish 4^th. He managed to hold off Marcus Ericsson in the closing laps, as Ericsson scored a good 5^th place after an engine failure in St. Pete robbed him of such rewards. 

Strategy key as Long Beach proves tough to tame 

Arrow McLaren came into Long Beach with plenty of hope, and after Pato O’Ward was fastest in the opening practice session, hopes were high for one of Indycar’s strongest teams. 

They left with Rossi recovering well to finish in 10^th, just ahead of Theo Pourchaire in 11^th, who impressed while making his Indycar debut this weekend. Pato O’Ward finished 16^th after serving a drive through penalty for hitting teammate Rossi on the opening lap. 

It was a tough race for polesitter Felix Rosenqvist, who battled hard but ultimately could not match his qualifying pace in the race, and had to settle for 10^th. Scott McLaughlin was underwhelming this weekend, eventually retiring from the race on lap 71. 

RLL had a disappointing finish to the weekend, with no car finishing better than 17^th, and Jack Harvey was helpless for DCR in avoiding Christian Rasmussen on lap 15. The Ed Carpenter Racing driver brushed the wall at the hairpin on the previous lap before the suspension caved in at turn 4. 

The NTT Indycar series returns next weekend at Barber Motorsports Park for the Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix.