Reigning IndyCar champion Scott Dixon took advantage of two Team Penske tyre failures to win IndyCar's first oval race of the season at Phoenix.
The Chip Gannasi racer made steady progress through the order during the opening stages of the race, before assuming the lead when St Petersburg winner Juan Pablo Montoya suffered a front-right puncture.
Montoya’s team-mate and poleman Helio Castroneves had been leading when he suffered an identical puncture just a handful of laps earlier, dropping him down the order.
With his two main rivals out of contention, Dixon managed the race through a series of cautions to claim his 39th career IndyCar win.
Dixon was followed home by Penske team-mates Simon Pagenaud and Will Power – the Australian showing no signs of any lingering issues after missing the opening race of the season with an inner-ear infection.
Ganassi's Tony Kanaan – a former winner around Phoenix – spent the majority of the race at the sharp-end of the order and put Power under severe pressure in the battle for third during the final laps, but ultimately had to settle for fourth.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan's Graham Rahal and Ed Carpenter Racing star Josef Newgarden came home fifth and sixth respectively, with ex-Formula 1 racer Max Chilton the best of the rookies in seventh on his IndyCar oval debut.
The former Marussia driver ran as high as fourth at one stage, showing no fear as he battled side-by-side with oval veterans Ryan Hunter-Reay and Rahal throughout the race.
Sebastien Bourdais was eighth for KSVH Racing, despite minor contact with the wall early in the race which forced him to limp back to the pits for repairs.
Montoya could only manage ninth after his early puncture, while Hunter-Reay rounded out the top-10.
The Andretti racer had an unlucky race, with several cautions coming just after he had pitted and therefore losing him valuable track position in the process.
The 2012 IndyCar champion was running as high as fourth during the latter stages, but was forced to pit under green flag conditions before running wide and kissing the wall in the closing laps – ending the race under caution.
Former F1 racer and IndyCar rookie Alexander Rossi ended the race with contact on the penultimate lap.
2016 Phoenix Grand Prix results (via INDYCAR)
1. (6) Scott Dixon, Chevrolet, 250, Running
2. (10) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 250, Running
3. (9) Will Power, Chevrolet, 250, Running
4. (2) Tony Kanaan, Chevrolet, 250, Running
5. (19) Graham Rahal, Honda, 250, Running
6. (7) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 250, Running
7. (8) Max Chilton, Chevrolet, 250, Running
8. (15) Sebastien Bourdais, Chevrolet, 250, Running
9. (3) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 250, Running
10. (12) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 250, Running
11. (1) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 250, Running
12. (4) Charlie Kimball, Chevrolet, 250, Running
13. (11) Marco Andretti, Honda, 250, Running
14. (14) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 250, Running
15. (20) Takuma Sato, Honda, 249, Running
16. (18) Conor Daly, Honda, 249, Running
17. (13) Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, 248, Running
18. (22) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 248, Running
19. (17) Jack Hawksworth, Honda, 246, Running
20. (16) Luca Filippi, Honda, 243, Running
21. (5) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 195, Contact
22. (21) Carlos Munoz, Honda, 116, Contact
Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 139.822
Time of Race: 1:49:38.3855
Margin of victory: Under caution
Cautions: 6 for 55 laps
Lead changes: 2 among 3 drivers
Lap Leaders
Castroneves 1 – 39
Montoya 40 – 95
Dixon 96 – 250
Verizon IndyCar Series point standings: Pagenaud 83, Dixon 79, Montoya 74, Hunter-Reay 56, Kanaan 54, Castroneves 53, Rahal 44, Aleshin 43, Sato 43, Chilton 39.
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