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\nScott Dixon’s car after a nasty crash during practice in Florida.
\nPhoto: Twitter\/Indycar\n<\/p>\n
Kiwi motorsport ace Scott Dixon has emerged uninjured from a nasty crash during practice for the IndyCar St Petersburg Grand Prix in Florida.<\/p>\n
During the first practice session – in which compatriot Scott McLaughlin had the fastest time – Dixon’s Ganassi Racing Honda slid across turn nine and collided head-first into a concrete barrier.<\/p>\n
The car sustained heavy damage to the front, but Dixon emerged unhurt, but not before David Malukas just avoided contact with the stricken car, sneaking through a gap between the left barrier and Dixon’s left sidepod.<\/p>\n
“Kind of a frustrating one,” Dixon said. “I got loose on entry and tried to save it, and then kind of got into an overcorrection.<\/p>\n
“Luckily, it slid off a lot of the speed, before it hit the wall. Sometimes, you can tub a car and destroy them.<\/p>\n
“Hopefully this isn’t too bad.”<\/p>\n
The crash resulted in a red flag, one of three during the practice session.<\/p>\n
Despite the damage, Dixon didn’t think he would need a back-up car for the opening Indycar race for the season, which starts at 7am Monday (NZT).<\/p>\n
![\"Scott](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4K79J0E_SCOTT_DIXON_jpg.jpeg\")
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\nScott Dixon has had at least one victory in 21 consecutive IndyCar seasons.
\nPhoto: PHOTOSPORT\n<\/p>\n
“It actually looked fine,” said Dixon, who has had 21 consecutive IndyCar seasons with a victory.<\/p>\n
“The rear was not bad. I think they’ll just have to change suspension, the front nose and front wing obviously, but then even the front suspension didn’t look that bad.<\/p>\n
“It was kind of weird, so yeah, weird as in good weird.”<\/p>\n
McLaughlin, who has had two previous pole starts at St Petersburg, had the quickest lap in 1m 1.1020s in his Team Penske Chevrolet on the 14-turn, temporary street circuit.<\/p>\n
He led both the earlier portion of the 85-minute practice that contained all 25 cars and improved upon that time in the smaller session, after the field was divided into two groups.<\/p>\n
“Decent first day,” McLaughlin said. “Obviously, being P1 is a great start.<\/p>\n
“The DEX Imaging Chevy was straight away fast and felt good and comfortable. It’s good for us.<\/p>\n
“It’s the start of a long season and it was nice to have a smooth session to start. We’ll keep pressing on and see how we go.”<\/p>\n
Felix Rosenqvist was second overall and Florida native Kyle Kirkwood third.<\/p>\n
Another New Zealander, Marcus Armstrong, was seventh.<\/p>\n