Scott Dixon on contact with Pato O'Ward: 'I guess it's all gloves off at this point'

LONG BEACH, Calif. – IndyCar’s propensity for early-season fireworks and controversial calls from race control continued Sunday on the streets of Long Beach.

In a fierce battle for 6^th-place fewer than 20 laps into Sunday’s 85-lap contest, Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward took a chance and dove inside Scott Dixon on the entrance to Turn 8. By the time the pair hit the corner’s apex, O’Ward had pulled even with the six-time champ – perhaps even with the nose of his No. 5 Chevy a few inches ahead – before their cars banged wheels.

The contact sent Dixon into the tire barrier, and though he was able to continue rolling, he fell from 6^th to 25^th. Within 17 laps, Dixon had worked his way up to 21^st but then he slowed on-track, drove into a runoff area and continued on into the paddock to end his day. The NBC broadcast reported Dixon’s No. 9 Honda had lost oil pressure. All the team offered in its post-race press release was that Dixon’s car was retired “due to complications from preceding contact with the No. 5 car.”

After reviewing the contact, IndyCar’s race control opted not to take action against O’Ward.

When asked for his view on the contact with O’Ward by NBC after he’d stepped out of the car, Dixon wasn’t shy about his frustrations with the young Mexican driver.

“(O’Ward’s move) seemed extremely late. I can understand tire (degradation) and that kind of stuff going on, but I wouldn’t have chosen do that,” Dixon said on the broadcast. “But if that’s how the series wants us to race, then I guess it’s all gloves off at this point.

“And the start was a complete joke as well. I don’t know what they’re doing up there (in race control), but it seemed like Rows 5 and 6 (accelerated) before (polesitter Kyle Kirkwood) did.”

Dixon’s wife, Emma, voiced her support on Instagram from the IndyCarOnNBC account, writing: “Such a shame that an amazing series like IndyCar still gets race control so wrong. Makes the series look bad. No consistency, just look at last year’s Long Beach race too. Such a shame. We love this series, but race control sucks.

“Trust me, we’ve lost at least three championships over the years to race control.”

O’Ward, who entered Sunday the series points leader, later spun in the same corner after attempting to execute a similar move on Kirkwood, the eventual race-winner. This time, though, O’Ward only managed to get his front tires even with the Andretti driver’s rears. O’Ward then attempted to back out, but locked his rear tires in the process and spun around, trying not to take Kirkwood with him.

How it happened: Kyle Kirkwood captures first IndyCar win from pole in Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

After reviewing that incident, race control again declined to penalize O’Ward.

“The (second) issue I had in Turn 8 was completely my fault. I feel bad. I let my team down and let down the amazing crowd that came out today,” O’Ward said on the post-race broadcast. “By the time I remembered to stop the car, it was already too late.”

He would go on to finish 17^th after he’d begun the year with a pair of runner-up finishes, dropping him to 2^nd-place in points at the moment (15 behind Marcus Ericsson). But after what he called a race to forget, O’Ward was adamant he’d make the same move against Dixon again after having run directly behind him for nearly all of the first 20 laps of the race.

“I’ve been racing Scott for a few years. If he feels that was my fault, well, sorry you feel that way, but I don’t agree,” O’Ward said. “I was on the inside, and he decided to stay on the outside.

“I’m not going to apologize for that. We’re racing, and a lot of times when I’ve been in that situation, I just let the guy go. If you’re on the outside, you’re more vulnerable for those things happening.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyCar: Scott Dixon angry with Pato O'Ward after Long Beach crash