Granted, Scott Dixon’s win at The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio likely wouldn’t have happened without Alex Palou’s rare mistake at Turn 9 while comfortably leading. However, full credit goes to the 44-year-old for being there to capitalize when his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate ran off course with just six laps to go.

Qualifying didn’t go well for Dixon, who had to settle for ninth on the grid, but he had a clear plan in mind from the start and knew exactly what to do when the green flag dropped on the 90-lap race.

The first key moment came on lap one, when Josef Newgarden locked his rear brakes and spun, clipping Graham Rahal in an incident that also involved other drivers.

“As soon as I saw the caution at the start, which we had talked about, I thought, ‘Man, the two-stop strategy is on.’ We worked hard this morning in warm-up on fuel mileage and on getting the car balance where we needed it,” Dixon said afterward.

That first caution was crucial for Dixon’s strategy — even more so was the second, on lap 31, when Christian Rasmussen ran out of fuel at Turn 9.

“That yellow was really good for us because it lasted a long time. If it had only been one or two laps, our strategy probably wouldn’t have worked, so it was great,” said Mike Hull, Dixon’s strategist and CGR managing director.

The second stint

Kyle Kirkwood, Andretti Global, Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images

That’s when Dixon pitted to switch from primary to alternate tires, but his second stint wasn’t smooth.

“The first stint was pretty easy. The second stint, we got into trouble on the softs with the left front. I don’t know if it was that tire specifically, but 10 laps in I could see it starting to come apart. I knew we were committed to the two-stop, so that was going to be tough. We leaned on the black tires in the final stint.”

“At the final stop, they didn’t take out any front wing, so the car was super loose. It was turning itself into the corners — physically demanding, and hard to push without locking the rears, especially in Turns 2, 4 and also into 9 where ultimately that got Alex.”

Palou makes a rare mistake

Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

Palou made his final stop on lap 72 and rejoined two seconds ahead of Dixon, who figured the win was slipping away.

“We hoped to clear him, but they were really fast on the three-stopper. Maybe I should’ve pushed harder earlier in the stint, but I was worried about that left front on the reds.”

Palou built a four-second gap and looked set for victory until he ran wide at Turn 9, allowing Dixon to take the lead.

“On the approach to Turn 9, I saw the dust and thought, ‘Maybe that’s a lapped car.’ Sometimes dust hangs in the air and you can’t even see the car ahead. I didn’t know if it was him, but then I saw a black car — he’s had a lot of liveries this year — and I realized he was rejoining. Hate to say it, but I was pleasantly surprised.”

Palou’s mistake was Dixon’s gain, helping salvage what had been a frustrating season for the six-time IndyCar champion, whose only podium until Sunday was second in the St. Pete opener.

“This year has been super frustrating for all of us on the 9 car. Anytime something could go our way, it hasn’t. We’ve had a ton of mechanical issues. The Indy 500 was one of the best cars I’ve had, and it was over before it started. This is huge for morale. We know we can win — now hopefully we can build some momentum.”