Scott Dixon Wins Dramatic Indy 500 After Daring Fuel-Save Gamble — Highlights, Stats & Fan Reactions

Scott Dixon rolls onto the Brickyard this afternoon aiming to convert a season of quiet consistency into a second sip of milk at the 109th Indianapolis 500. The 44-year-old New Zealander qualified fourth at 232.052 mph, securing a second-row starting slot that keeps the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda within striking distance of the inside line. It’s familiar territory for a driver who has owned the pole five times but hasn’t won “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” since 2008. Momentum, though, appears to be swinging his way. During Fast Friday’s boosted-turbo rehearsal, Dixon clocked a solo 232.561 mph run—the quickest qualifying simulation of the day—describing the car as “really smooth” while noting there’s “still some good speed left” for race trim. The lap reinforced the workhorse reputation that already delivered two victories last season and five top-10 finishes in the opening five rounds of 2025. Statistically, Dixon’s résumé dwarfs every active IndyCar driver: six series championships, 58 career wins and 677 Indy 500 laps led—yet only one baby-Borg trophy. Sunday’s 500 marks his 23rd start, a span that has produced heartbreak (the 2020 pit-speed penalty), brute misfortune (the 2021 fuel-pressure gremlin) and raw pace that often left rivals drafting in his wake. This year’s fourth-place grid spot is the same slot that delivered Alex Rossi to victory in 2016 and Josef Newgarden last May, a quirky omen the Ganassi camp happily embraces. Chip Ganassi Racing enters race day with three bullets: reigning series champion Alex Palou, 20-year-old rookie Kyffin Simpson and the evergreen Dixon. While Palou soaks up headlines after winning four of the season’s first five events, insiders whisper that Dixon’s long-run balance on Carb Day simulations looked strongest in the garage. Cooler race-day temperatures forecast for central Indiana should further favor Honda’s mileage strategy—an area where Dixon, nicknamed “The Iceman,” historically excels. To finish first, however, he must outfox pole-sitter and fellow Honda driver Robert Shwartzman, last-year’s winner Josef Newgarden, and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, each starting ahead. Add Kyle Larson’s NASCAR-Indy “double” storyline and Takuma Sato’s late-charge reputation, and the stage is set for a chess match at 230 mph. Search interest in “Scott Dixon” surged overnight as fantasy-league players and oddsmakers reassessed their boards, moving his betting line from +900 to +750. If the Kiwi converts that buzz into bricks, he’ll tie Emerson Fittipaldi and Dan Wheldon with two Indy 500 crowns, cementing a legacy that somehow still feels unfinished for Indy’s most prolific modern winner.