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Scott Dixon takes Toronto IndyCar race to increase his championship lead


TORONTO — Amid chaos, he was the constant. Despite multiple cautions, crazy restarts and some all-out bedlam Sunday on the streets of Toronto, the "Ice Man" Scott Dixon emerged unscathed and the winner of his third race of the season. 

Dixon, who started second, seized the lead after pole-sitter Josef Newgarden brushed the wall on a mid-race restart and never relented. The battles for positions waged behind him, but no one challenged the four-time series champion who's now well on his way to a fifth.  

"I'm a little worn out. That was definitely a physical race," Dixon said in victory lane. "The car was superb. We just needed some clear air and we were able to check out. It was definitely a tough race, definitely tough on the restarts.

"Huge congrats to the team. I'm stoked man. This is awesome.

He did brush the wall with under 20 laps to go, but it didn't do enough damage to his car to make a difference as he cruised to victory.

See you in the winner's circle: Dixon's win gives him a series-best sixth podium and third victory of the season, which ties him with Newgarden for the series lead.  The victory also was third of his career on the streets of Toronto and his 44th overall. He now trails Mario Andretti by eight wins for second all-time and A.J. Foyt by 23 for the top spot. 

PHOTOS: Top winners all time in IndyCar racing

For Pagenaud, the podium was another big hit in his bounce-back second half of the season. After failing to score a podium in the first eight races, his runner-up finish was his second in the past four races. Better yet for the Frenchman, he picked up his first street/road course podium of the season after struggling mightily on those tracks this year. 

"It was really, really tough out there. The track was changing all the time," Pagenuad said. "It was a blast to drive. Really difficult, but when you have a result like this it feels really rewarding and a lot of fun. I think we showed that we're back, so I'm excited."

While Wickens is not the type who likes to settle for anything but first, you'd have to bet the Canadian will be happy with a podium finish in his first career IndyCar race in Toronto. It was his third podium of the season and first since the Indianapolis Grand Prix. 

“I don’t think anyone had anything for Scott Dixon today, but it was nice going blow for blow with those guys at the end," Wickens said.

You must remember this: Sunday's action-packed race was filled with incidents and passes you should remember. In fact, the Honda Indy Toronto should be looked as one of the most entertaining of the season. The restarts were insane, both for the chaos they called and for the passes they generated.

Here's a look at some of the bigger incidents:

Wickens probably delivered the best move of the day, as he took the inside around at least three cars to shoot up to second behind Dixon. 

Drive another day: Takuma Sato. He was on such a roll heading into Sunday's race. Not only had he just posted his first podium of the season, but he had rattled off four top-seven finishes in his past five races. 

He looked to be strong entering the race, consistently finishing near the top of the field during practice sessions and qualifying on Row 4. He put on a dandy of a show, battling for position with Marco Andretti and looked to be on track for another top-five finish. But trouble found him, as he found a wall late in the race and trickled into the run-off area. He was unable to resume racing and had to settle for 22nd on a very tough day for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Graham Rahal also suffered damage to his car in mid-race wreck and finished 21st. 

Championship update: Dixon didn't just win. He won big. As in, none of his fellow championship contenders finished in the top seven, and his championship lead, which was 33 entering the weekend, grew to 62 points over Newgarden. 

Alexander Rossi settled for eighth, Newgarden ninth, Ryan Hunter-Reay 16th and Will Power 18th. 

Now the series heads to Mid-Ohio, where Dixon has won five times. With just five races to go, the other title contenders are going to have hope he starts making mistakes. Good luck with that. 

I'm getting closer: I picked Wickens to win, and I almost nailed it. The Guelph, Ontario, native almost gave the crowd a thrill of a lifetime by winning his debut IndyCar race in Toronto. While he's not the type to settle for third, I'm feeling pretty good about my prediction landing on the podium. 

I also suggested Wickens' Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate, James Hinchcliffe, could find a podium and he nearly delivered, finishing fifth. All in all, this was among by better weekends of forecasting. 

HONDA INDY TORONTO RESULTS

Sunday from the 1.786-mile street course at Exhibition Place in Toronto (starting position in parentheses):

1. (2) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 85 laps, Running

2. (3) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Chevrolet, 85 laps, Running

3. (10) Robert Wickens, Dallara-Honda, 85 laps, Running

4. (9) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Honda, 85 laps, Running

5. (20) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Chevrolet, 85 laps, Running

6. (15) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevrolet, 85 laps, Running

7. (22) Zach Veach, Dallara-Honda, 85 laps, Running

8. (5) Alexander Rossi, Dallara-Honda, 85 laps, Running

9. (1) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Chevrolet, 85 laps, Running

10. (14) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 85 laps, Running

11. (8) Jordan King, Dallara-Chevrolet, 85 laps, Running

12. (21) Ed Jones, Dallara-Honda, 85 laps, Running

13. (11) Conor Daly, Dallara-Chevrolet, 85 laps, Running

14. (23) Zachary Claman De Melo, Dallara-Honda, 85 laps, Running

15. (12) Matheus Leist, Dallara-Chevrolet, 85 laps, Running

16. (6) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 84 laps, Running

17. (19) Rene Binder, Dallara-Chevrolet, 83 laps, Running

18. (4) Will Power, Dallara-Chevrolet, 83 laps, Running

19. (17) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Honda, 83 laps, Running

20. (16) Spencer Pigot, Dallara-Chevrolet, 76 laps, Contact

21. (13) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 68 laps, Running

22. (7) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 66 laps, Contact

23. (18) Max Chilton, Dallara-Chevrolet, 34 laps, Contact

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Race Statistics

Average Speed of Race Winner: 93.898 mph.

Time of Race: 1 hour, 37 minutes.

Margin of Victory: 5.2701 seconds.

Cautions: 3 for 12 laps.

Lead Changes: 9 among 8 drivers.

Lap Leaders: Newgarden 1-22, Power 23, King 24-29, Newgarden 30-32, Dixon 33-54, Pagenaud 55, Kanaan 56, Kimball 57, Pigot 58, Dixon 59-85.

Points (this race): Dixon 53, Pagenaud 41, Wickens 35, Hinchcliffe 32, Kimball 31, Kanaan 29, Veach 26, Newgarden 24, King 20, Jones 18, Daly 17, Claman De Melo 16, Leist 15, Hunter-Reay 14, Power 13, Pigot 11, Rahal 9, Sato 8, Chilton 7.