Scott Dixon saw his chances to earn the IZOD IndyCar Championship improve drastically Sunday after completing a sweep of the Honda Indy Toronto.

It was a weekend to remember for the Target Chip Ganassi driver Dixon, who not only won both races, but received $100,000 in bonus money from IndyCar sponsor Sonax for sweeping the doubleheader. The two victories in Toronto made it three-in-a-row after winning at the Pocono IndyCar 400 last weekend catapulting him back in the driver’s championship race, only 29 points behind Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves.

By mid-race, Dixon led by 15 seconds over eventual second-place finisher Castroneves. However, a hectic final few laps saw two full-course cautions in the span of three laps drastically reduce that lead. 

The race eventually ended under caution, erasing any chance Castroneves had. But the way Dixon was driving – it didn’t seem like anyone was going to catch him throughout the race as he earned pole position for the second race and never gave the lead up.

Dragon Racing’s Sébastien Bourdais earned third spot on Sunday to go along with his second place finish in the first race of the doubleheader. It was an incredible weekend for Bourdais who has struggled this season with a previous best finish of 11th. Bourdais, a former winner in Toronto back in 2004 and a former four-time driver’s champions in CART showed that experience pays off.  

There was a lot of hope for a Canadian driver to capture the checkered flag going into this weekend, but it wasn’t meant to be. Oakville, ON native and Andretti Autosports’ James Hinchcliffe had a fairly good showing in Race 1 finishing in eighth place, but he fell victim to a faulty throttle at the start of Race 2 and ran four laps back for the majority of the race, eventually finishing 21st.

As for Lachenaie, QC native and Barracuda Racings’ Alex Tagliani, the Honda Indy Toronto weekend saw a continuation of a disappointing year with a 17th place finish in Race 1 and a 10th place finish in Race 2, tying his best finish for the year.

Just eight days ago, Dixon found himself in seventh place in the driver’s championship and 92 points behind Castroneves. He’s now the one that Castroneves has to watch for, as Dixon finds himself in second place leapfrogging defending champion and Andretti Autosport driver Ryan Hunter-Reay. 

Dixon, who after Saturday’s race was sharing the seventh spot on the all-time win list with Bourdais, Paul Tracy and Dixon’s teammate Dario Franchitti, now has the spot all to himself. It also gives him the most wins among active drivers.

The all-time list includes a host of greats like A.J. Foyt, two Andrettis and three members of the Unser family, all of whom are members of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in Indianapolis, IN.

“It feels amazing to be on that list and to be one of those names,” Dixon said after the race. “Years ago, I didn’t think I’d ever be in this position—I was just a happy kid from New Zealand, racing cars.”

With the victory also came a sense of relief for Dixon, who knows how important it is to be on your game on a two-race weekend.

“It is tough when you’ve missed a performance on a double-header weekend,” he said. “Instead of having one bad weekend, you’re really having two—we’ve seen that this weekend, the points for some of the guys have taken a big hit.”

One driver hit especially hard over the weekend was Hunter-Reay, who finished 18th in the first race and followed that up with a 19th place finish on Sunday.

A collision with Team Penske’s Will Power on the second-to-last lap punctuated a disastrous weekend that started with Hunter-Reay in second place and only 23 points behind Castroneves. Hunter-Reay now sees his championship dreams fading away sitting 69 points behind the leader and 40 behind Dixon with six races to go.

Castroneves is still the man to beat, however, and he’s ready for the challenge.

“I want [the championship] more than anybody,” he said after the race. 

The next race in the IZOD IndyCar Championship goes at Mid-Ohio for the Honda Indy 200 on August 4th.