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HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) - Chip Ganassi is still miffed about a pit-road incident last weekend that resulted in a crucial penalty against his IndyCar driver, Scott Dixon.
Dixon was on his way to victory at Sonoma when he received a drive-through penalty with 15 laps to go for clipping a tire in the left hand of a member of Will Power's crew, leaving him sprawled on the asphalt. The incident occurred when Dixon's Honda left his pit directly behind Power's Chevrolet.
Count Ganassi among those who felt the crew member exaggerated the seriousness of the incident to draw a penalty on Dixon, who wound up finishing 15th.
"I thought that guy in the pits deserves an Oscar for that performance," Ganassi said Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he announced Kyle Larson as the new driver of the No. 42 Sprint Cup team. "That was an Oscar performance."
The penalty left Dixon 39 points behind IndyCar leader Helio Castroneves with four races remaining. Ganassi said he's not concerned about Dixon making up a deficit that could have been much smaller.
"I'm perfectly fine where we are in the points with how many races we have to go," the car owner said.
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