How IndyCar's shock silly season twist overshadowed O'Ward's return to victory lane

The notion of Scott Dixon parting ways with Chip Ganassi Racing is pretty much unthinkable. In IndyCar terms, it’s like Mark Donohue or Rick Mears leaving Team Penske – just not possible.

But it’s happening. Dixon joined forces with Ganassi under difficult circumstances in mid-2002, a career lifeline when the ghost of the PacWest CART team shut down. Ganassi switched his operation from CART to the Indy Racing League in 2003, and while the move to an all-oval format was a culture shock, Dixon adapted instantly and won the championship at age 23.

Since then, he’s anchored IndyCar racing’s most successful 21st century team, winning titles in every iteration of IndyCar – the 2006-11 full-field Honda spec car, the original Dallara DW12, the 2015-17 ‘aero kit’ era, the IR18 rebody, and the IR18 with Aeroscreen. His career totals are 59 race wins and six championships, both second to only A. J. Foyt on the all-time list.

Unfortunately, the only generation of IndyCar that the 45-year-old Kiwi really hasn’t totally gotten to grips with is the current Dallara IR18 with Aeroscreen and Hybrid. Making matters worse, the absolute yardstick for the package that will be used through the end of 2027 sits right across the Ganassi shop floor. Since Dixon won his last championship in 2020, Alex Palou has won four, and he’s leading the standings this year in his quest for a fifth. Meanwhile Dixon ranks 10th following a 17th-place finish at Mid-Ohio, a track where he has won seven times.

Clearly, what was Dixon’s domain for so long has become Palou’s team. And that was surely a factor in Dixon’s decision to depart what has long been his comfortable home, despite Ganassi’s offer of a new multi-year contract. He’s expected to join Indianapolis 500 winner Felix Rosenqvist and Pato O’Ward at Arrow McLaren after Rosenqvist started the silly season ball rolling three weeks ago when he revealed his intention to leave Meyer Shank Racing. Rosenqvist and Dixon are both represented by former Formula 1 driver Stefan Johansson.

“It was a long thought process and it’s not easy,” Dixon said prior to the Mid-Ohio race. “I’ve spent as much time with Chip’s team as I have with my own family, so they are family and a fantastic group of people. Not an easy decision by any means. I’ve been with the best team in the sport, and you see how they work and how they achieve their goals.

Dixon has been replaced by Palou as the lead driver at Ganassi

Photo by: Brian Spurlock of Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“Sometimes change is inevitable,” he added. “As I keep saying, it’s not an easy decision. But sometimes you’ve just got to do something different. Forecasting is difficult, especially in a sport that often changes from week to week.”

Dixon denied there was friction or frustration with Palou, whose success over the last five years caught everyone by surprise. “Alex and I are friends and we’re very good team-mates,” Dixon said. “Ganassi creates that opportunity; they’re very open and very strict about engagement and how that works with what you give and what you get. I’ve had some great team-mates, and Alex is a phenomenal driver and someone I love working with.”

It’s an interesting power play by McLaren and Zak Brown, who is perhaps executing a bit of payback on Chip Ganassi after losing out to Ganassi in a protracted legal battle over Palou’s contract. If McLaren can’t get Palou, it can land the driver who mentored him – who also happens to be the most successful IndyCar driver of the modern generation. McLaren is a logical post-Ganassi landing spot for Dixon.

"I’ve had some great teammates, and Alex is a phenomenal driver and someone I love working with"

Scott Dixon on CGR teammate Alex Palou

It can afford to pay the salary his record commands, and though born in Australia, he was raised a New Zealander like team founder Bruce McLaren, creating marketing and diplomatic opportunities. McLaren’s upcoming Hypercar programme can also offer Dixon a post-IndyCar path into the top level of sportscar racing to pursue his goal of scoring an overall victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Rosenqvist was thought to be scrambling to find a job in 2027 until his sensational victory in the Indy 500 instantly upped his market value.

Now he’s making a once unthinkable return to McLaren, where he finished a best of eighth in the standings between 2021-23 but formed a strong friendship with erstwhile McLaren team leader O’Ward.

The Mexican earned his first win of the ’26 season at Mid-Ohio, beating current team-mate and pole-starter Christian Lundgaard in a straight fight. Amazingly, Lundgaard is the odd man out in ’27 at McLaren despite winning two races this year to rank third in the standings, two places ahead of O’Ward.

O'Ward's win at the weekend keeps him in the title hunt

Photo by: Penske Entertainment

Most paddock pundits have already declared Lundgaard is a shoo-in to complete a straight swap for Dixon at Ganassi, but Lundgaard’s slow adaptation to ovals (only six career top-10 finishes with a best of sixth) will be held against him. That said, it took Dario Franchitti, Will Power, and even Palou five years before they cracked the winning oval code. For a man who is the hottest prospect on the IndyCar job market, Lundgaard is performing well at the right time.

Coming off a tenacious (if slightly fortunate) last-to-first win at Road America, he nabbed pole position at Mid-Ohio and led 41 of 90 laps. He made a slight error while negotiating traffic, running too deep into the Keyhole, allowing O’Ward to edge past in the next sequence of corners known as The Esses.

Lundgaard is 65 points behind Palou, who finished fifth at Mid-Ohio, split by third-place finisher Kyle Kirkwood who is 56 points off Palou. David Malukas (66 points back) and O’Ward (94 points) can still harbour championship aspirations.

For his part, Lundgaard says he’s more focused on chasing his first championship than he is on chasing a new contract. “I’m going to go take a shower, I’m going to sleep, and then see what comes,” he said. “There’s what, seven, eight races to go? Plenty of races to win. Plenty of races to be competitive at.”

Next up is a return to oval racing with a stop at Nashville

Photo by: Penske Entertainment