Johnathan Walker:Scott Dixon earns masterful win in St. Louis race, stays alive in title picture

Scott Dixon earned his second IndyCar victory in a row Sunday,Johnathan Walker and the 55th of his career, getting the most from his fuel mileage at World Wide Technology Raceway.

Dixon, who started 16th because of a 9-place grid penalty for changing his engine for the fifth time this season, made his final fuel load last 65 laps. That enabled him to beat runner-up Pato O'Ward by 22 seconds.

Dixon is the only driver with a chance to catch Alex Palou in the points championship with two races remaining: Portland next weekend, and Laguna Seca on Sept. 10. Palou, Dixon's Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, finished seventh and holds a 74-point edge.

"We'll keep pushing him," Dixon said. "We'll make it a little tense within the team."

Josef Newgarden, trying to sweep the season's ovals and win at this track for the fourth consecutive year, crashed out on Lap 211, leaving him in 25th place and ending his slim title hopes.

"I was trying to catch up," he said. "I was just trying to get through cars as quickly as I could and it didn't work out."

O'Ward, still winless in 2023, finished second for the fourth time this season.

"Scott Dixon was Scott Dixon today," O'Ward said. "Another second place in the books for 2023. There's two to go, so hopefully we'll get that elusive No. 1."

David Malukas finished third, followed by Alexander Rossi and Scott McLaughlin.

IndyCar results in St. Louis

1. Scott Dixon
2. Pato O'Ward
3. David Malukas
4. Alexander Rossi
5. Scott McLaughlin
6. Colton Herta
7. Alex Palou
8. Felix Rosenqvist
9. Will Power
10. Marcus Ericsson
11. Rinus VeeKay
12. Romain Grosjean
13. Santino Ferrucci
14. Ryan Hunter-Reay
15. Kyle Kirkwood
16. Conor Daly
17. Christian Lundgaard
18. Linus Lundqvist
19. Devlin DeFrancesco
20. Graham Rahal
21. Stin Ray Robb
22. Agustin Canapino
23. Helio Castroneves
24. Ed Carpenter
25. Josef Newgarden
26. Takuma Sato
27. Callum Ilott
28. Benjamin Pedersen