Goldberg and Dixon Secure Victory at Mid-Ohio
Brad Goldberg celebrated his inaugural win as Scott Dixon’s race engineer during the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday. This victory marks a significant milestone for both Goldberg and Dixon, who are seasoned figures at Chip Ganassi Racing.
Having previously guided Marcus Ericsson to four victories, including the prestigious 2022 Indianapolis 500, Goldberg’s career in IndyCar has seen substantial success. His first win with Ganassi came in 2013 at the same venue, where he engineered Charlie Kimball to his only career victory. Returning to Mid-Ohio this year provided an ideal backdrop for Goldberg and Dixon to establish their partnership.
“Obviously, all the cards kind of happened that way, but it was a very Scott Dixon-esque run, wasn’t it?” Goldberg remarked, underlining the strategic nature of their efforts.
Starting from ninth position, Dixon’s race strategy, devised in collaboration with Goldberg and strategist Mike Hull, transformed a three-stop approach into a two-stop strategy after an early caution. This allowed them to conserve fuel and provided the necessary pace to compete with Dixon’s polesitting teammate, Alex Palou.
Dixon climbed to second place in the closing laps. When Palou lost control of his car, Dixon seized the lead and withstood pressure to secure his first victory of the season.
“To be honest with you, it was all Scott who was able to get the mileage and get the lap time,” Goldberg said. “It was obviously nice to get that thing off our backs, to get a victory with the 9 car this year.”
Goldberg has a long history with Ganassi, working in various roles across the team’s sports car programs. His transition to IndyCar with Dixon has been marked by a learning curve as they adapt to each other’s styles.
"My claim to fame is I started two weeks before he did, so I am an older statesman compared to him at the race team," Goldberg joked. “It’s figuring out what he needs to be fast. The one thing we both have is the fighting drive to win races and championships.”
With the victory, Dixon advanced to fourth in the championship standings, trailing leader Palou. The focus remains on closing the gap, especially with upcoming tracks where Dixon has historically excelled.
“Our goal is to win races and we have all the tools to do that,” Goldberg added. “We’re going to a ratio of tracks that Scott’s been very good at. That’s our motivation – to get more wins and let the rest handle itself.”
