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Scott Dixon’s pit crew wins Pit Stop Challenge

Dixon Pit Crew Challenge IMS 2018

Scott Dixon’s pit crew celebrate winning the Pit Stop Challenge. Photo: IndyCar

Chris Jones

Action on Carb Day concluded in the afternoon with the annual Pit Stop Challenge, and it was Scott Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Honda team for Chip Ganassi Racing that took home top honors.

The No. 9 team defeated James Hinchcliffe’s No. 5 Arrow Electronics Honda team for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in the final round to claim the $50,000 prize, doing so in a best-of-three championship round that saw them win the first and third legs.

Blair Julian, the chief mechanic on Dixon’s car, revealed that the team wasn’t exactly feeling any extra pressure in the final round.

“I think every pit stop is about the same amount of pressure,” said Julian. “Obviously the last one is sort of ramped up a little bit. I think we’ve all been doing it enough time we can do it. Try to make it clean and get out.”

Dixon also highlighted the importance of the competition and how it spotlights the rest of the team, and gives them a well-deserved moment in the sun.

“It’s a big deal to show just how much of a team sport this is,” Dixon asserted. “It’s never just one single person. It’s many trying to achieve the same objective. Some days I’m able to make a couple passes on track, but most of the time these guys are able to make it a lot easier for me and the team by gaining places in these pit stops.”

Dixon will now luck to become the first driver since Helio Castroneves in 2009 to win the Indianapolis 500 after his team won the Pit Stop Challenge.

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