After the pit road commotion at IndyCars Sonoma, Scott Dixon still sent a congratulatory text to winner Will Power.
Yes, Dixon’s penalty wiped out his shot at a victory, but he was at least going to be a good sport.
“I respect Will. He’s a fantastic driver,” Dixon said. “We’re going to be competing, hopefully, together for a lot of years.”
That competition, for now, means they can’t seem to get away from each other on the track.
Power spun Dixon in Saturday’s practice for the Grand Prix of Baltimore but Dixon got the final payback when he swiped the pole from Power on the last lap of qualifying.
Dixon’s second pole of the season won’t erase Sonoma but it puts him in prime position to win his fourth race of the season and slice into Helio Castroneves’ points lead.
Power starts on the front row for the sixth time this season.
“I’m still pretty happy to be on the front row,” the Australian said. “I’m the only Chevy guy here, so I’m waving the flag for them. Hopefully, we can wave it real high tomorrow.”
Dixon was angry after finishing 15th at Sonoma, claiming the pit crew member intentionally got in his way. IndyCar responded by instituting new rules Friday that defined where pit crews should stand during the race.
Dixon backed the changes.
“Some teams are pushing the mark,” he said.
“We saw that play out. Defined pit boxes makes it easier for race control to make more methodical calls.”