Honda Wins Third Straight IndyCar Championship
With Scott Dixon’s podium finish at the St. Petersburg season finale, Honda claimed its ninth IndyCar manufacturers’ championship and third consecutive title, the first time it managed the three-peat since joining the sport in 1994.
Scott Dixon, who started 11th and finished third, also secured the manufacturer’s 15th podium finish of the season as well as his own sixth drivers’ title. That makes him the most successful active driver in IndyCar and second behind only A. J. Foyt in total career championships.
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“It’s all the team. I can’t thank everybody on this team enough,” Dixon said. “I’m proud to be powered by Honda and what they’ve been able to pull out this year. They nailed it.”
The 100-lap season finale was marked by hot and humid weather that culminated in a brief rain shower. Alexander Rossi, driving for Andretti Autosport, seemed poised to win the race, leading for 61 laps before crashing into the wall on lap 74.
With four wins in the 2020 season, Dixon had only needed a top 10 finish to secure the title and did so with ease. His championship is the 17th for a Honda-powered IndyCar driver and the 11th if you count only years with multi-manufacturer competition.
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Dixon has now also tied Dario Franchitti as the most successful Honda driver in IndyCar, having won with the manufacturer four times — in 2008, 2013, 2018, and 2020.
“Thank you ‘Team HPD’. Every one of you played an important role in this historic achievement, throughout the off-season and all through this year,” said Ted Klaus, president of Honda Performance Development. “You executed against adversity, and never lifted off the throttle. We dominated the Indianapolis 500 and brought home the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships, and that is an enormous accomplishment.”
Barring more COVID-19 complications, IndyCar plans to get back to racing for the 2021 season on March 7, at the Bayfront Park temporary street circuit for the next Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Kurt Verlin was born in France and lives in the United States. Throughout his life he was always told French was the language of romance, but it was English he fell in love with. He likes cats, music, cars, 30 Rock, Formula 1, and pretending to be a race car driver in simulators; but most of all, he just likes to write about it all. See more articles by Kurt.