Scott Dixon's bid for a record seventh IndyCar series championship is effectively over after a crash in Portland.
Dixon was bumped into the wall and out of the race by Pietro Fittipaldi on the first lap of the Grand Prix of Portland on Sunday (Monday NZ Time), resulting in him dropping to fifth in the driver standings.
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The 43-year-old now trails Chip Ganassi teammate Alex Palou by 101 points with three races remaining, and GP of Portland winner Will Power, Colton Herta and fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin between them.
It was just the second time Dixon had crashed out on the first lap in 399 races, dating back to a 2005 race in Japan.
Dixon was pushed wide by Kyle Kirkwood at the first corner. As the Kiwi got back up to racing speed, Fittipaldi was squeezed to the curb and bounced back onto the racing line to hit Dixon, sending him off course and into the wall.
"Alright, well, that was quick," Dixon deadpanned over the team radio, seconds after hitting the barrier.
Fittipaldi received an avoidable contact penalty for the incident but Dixon felt it was Kirkwood who was the perpetrator.
"(Kirkwood), I think, caused all that, to be honest," said Dixon, who finished 28th. "Just did a lunge and gave me zero room, shoved me off, and then you're trying to recover. Fittipaldi getting a penalty there? No fault on him. Penalty should have been on (Kirkwood)."
Dixon's Kiwi teammate Marcus Armstrong, who led one lap in the 61st, finished fifth in Portland, with McLaughlin in seventh, enough to overtake Dixon for fourth in the standings, still 88 points behind Palou.
The IndyCar series shifts to Wisconsin for the dual Milwaukee Mile 250 races on August 31-September 1.
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