New Zealander Scott Dixon posted back-to-back wins through the streets of Toronto to become a sudden IndyCar championship contender on a disastrous weekend for Australian drivers Will Power and Ryan Briscoe.
The series champion in 2003 and 2008, Dixon overcame two late restarts to follow Saturday’s race win with a second on Sunday in the double-header meeting.
It was the Kiwi’s third win in eight days, lifting him from seventh in the standings to second, 29 points behind series leader Helio Castroneves with six races remaining.
Castroneves finished second on Sunday with Sebastien Bourdais in third.
The win was the 32nd of Dixon’s career, the back-to-back Toronto victories also earning him $US100,000.
“What a turnaround in a couple weeks,” said Dixon, who was winless for 2013 a week ago but broke through at Pocono last week for his first victory of the year.
“$100 grand is good, but I’d rather have the points,” Dixon said. “Points are why we’re here.”
It was a different story for Power and Briscoe who both endured a crash-marred weekend.
Briscoe broke his right wrist in a crash late in the first race on Saturday, with Panther calling on Carlos Munoz to step in on Sunday for what was just the second IndyCar race of his career. The 21-year-old Colombian finished 17th.
Power was involved in an accident with defending series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay on the final restart on Sunday, taking both drivers out of contention for third place.
He had also been in a collision on Saturday with Dario Franchitti, with the Scotsman initially penalised and stripped of his third-place finish in the race for blocking the Australian on the final lap. The the decision was later overturned.
Power, who finished 15th on Saturday, posted an 18th-place finish on Sunday.
Franchitti was fourth on Sunday ahead of Andretti Autoport driver E.J. Viso in fifth.