Championship leader Marcus Ericsson suffered an engine issue before setting even one qualifying lap on Friday, obliging him to start from the very back, while a couple of miscues in qualifying meant Dixon got stuck in traffic and without his optimized wing settings. That left him in 20th on the grid.
Yet Chip Ganassi Racing’s six-time champion Dixon clawed his way up to eighth at the checkered flag, while Ericsson took 11th.
Dixon told NBC: "With how close the competition is and how many times we've run on this track, we shouldn't have had the fumble we did in qualifying because starting 20th makes it almost impossible.
“But a good day for the team, it's definitely a difficult track for us in general. But we're still only 38 points back and a good string of tracks coming up for us."
Teammate Ericsson lost the points lead to podium finisher Will Power, but fell only nine points behind with four rounds still to go.
"I think it was a good day for us,” said Indy 500 winner Ericsson who was wearing a Borg-Warner themed helmet on his return to IMS. “Obviously it was damage limitation after what happened to us yesterday.
“A top 10 was our goal, we almost got there and I think we would without that yellow. It was so badly timed for us after the long first stint on the blacks. We were in a really good spot for the rest of the race, and we had all the new reds so we could run shorter for the rest of the race.
“That yellow just neutralized the whole race. I think we could've been seventh or eighth without that. But P11 is still good from where we started."
Asked if falling to second in points would see him alter his approach in the final four races, Ericsson responded: “It doesn't really change to be honest. I would've liked to keep the lead, but we're still close to Will and we go to Nashville where we won last year.
“We're still in the mix, we still have a good shot to win this thing in Laguna."
