PORTLAND, Ore. — Scott Dixon salvaged his championship run with an improbable comeback Sunday at Portland International Raceway that put him in control of his race to a fifth IndyCar title.
Dixon finished fifth, far behind race winner Takuma Sato, but put together the kind of drive that may define his season. He started 11th, was collected in an opening-lap crash, penalized for speeding on pit road and twice drove through the field from 20th.
Sato, meanwhile, used fuel strategy to win his third career IndyCar race and first since he won the Indianapolis 500 last
season. The victory was his first with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Ryan Hunter-Reay nearly caught Sato over the final two laps but wound up second. Sebastien Bourdais, the last winner of an open wheel race at Portland in 2007, was third.
Dixon’s Chip Ganassi Racing team was forced to change its strategy several times, and caution flags helped him cycle ahead of the other championship contenders. He goes to the Sept. 16 season finale with a 29-point lead over Alexander Rossi.