Scott Dixon earns first IndyCar win of season

Scott Dixon raced to his first IndyCar victory of the year, outlasting Ryan Hunter-Reay by 1.8 seconds at Belle Isle.

Dixon hadn’t led a lap all season until Saturday, but this was his fourth top-five finish in seven races in 2018. It was his 42nd career victory in the series, moving him into a tie for third on the career list with Michael Andretti.

Alexander Rossi finished third, followed by pole winner Marco Andretti.

Rossi took over the season points lead. Indianapolis 500 winner Will Power dropped from first to third in the standings with a seventh-place showing at Belle Isle.

It was a dominant performance in Detroit for Honda, which had the top six finishers.

This was the first of two IndyCar races this weekend at Belle Isle. Dixon led for 39 of the 70 laps on the 2.35-mile street course. After starting on the pole, Andretti was in front for the first 22 laps before giving up the lead during a cycle of pit stops. The only other drivers to lead were Hunter-Reay and Graham Rahal.

After winning both Belle Isle races last year, Rahal crashed out of this one after 45 laps, hitting the wall coming out of a turn. Santino Ferrucci, making his first IndyCar start two days after his 20th birthday, also crashed when he spun 360 degrees before ending up in a tire barrier. Charlie Kimball was given a penalty for avoidable contact.

The restart following Ferrucci’s crash came with 10 laps to go. Dixon led after the green flag and was in control the rest of the way.

Dixon, IndyCar’s active leader in victories, now has at least one win in each of the last 14 years. This was also his 99th top-three finish, breaking a tie for fourth with Al Unser.

Dixon won at Belle Isle for the second time. He also did it in 2012.

Rahal’s streak of eight straight top-10 finishes came to an end.