Thanks to a time-consuming rain delay, the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix got off to a slippery start Sunday.

The wet track weaving through Nashville presented numerous challenges to the IndyCar drivers, but ultimately it was Scott “The Iceman” Dixon coming out on top.

Dixon came from 14th place to snag his 53rd career victory in a race that included eight total cautions. The victory moved him passed Mario Andretti for second place on IndyCar's all-time wins list, trailing only A.J. Foyt's 67 wins.

It was the second year that Nashville hosted the IndyCar race after its 2021 debut.

“Kudos to the team,” Dixon said. “We had a big crash there that took half the floor off the car. We had to take four turns with a front wing out. So, we had no grip and then I think we did about 45 or 50 laps on that last set of tires. The last stop, we didn’t even take tires.”

The finish proved to be exciting, with Dixon drag-racing fellow New Zealander Scott McLaughlin on the final straightaway to the finish line. Dixon held off a late charge from McLaughlin, edging him by just 0.1067 seconds.

“I think if there were a lap or two more, it would have been really tough [to hold him off],” Dixon said. 

“One lap,” McLaughlin joked of how much longer he needed to pass Dixon. “We were 16th I think on that last pit exchange and had an awesome restart, and man our car was fast. …Just fell short at the end. Congrats to Scotty. I always dreamed of racing him to the finish.”

Hendersonville native Josef Newgarden came in looking for his 25th career win and first on his home turf. He was in good position to do so, leading 12 laps down the final stretch before having to pit for tires with just 15 laps to go. That move dropped him all the way back to the middle of the pack before fighting his way to a sixth-place finish.

Disappointed with the the results, Newgarden had some choice words for some of the younger drivers.

“Welcome to IndyCar; it gets tight,” Newgarden told CNBC after the race. “I about got taken out six times myself. Probably need to have some discussion with some of the younger guys. But they’re aggressive, they’re very aggressive, and if you’re not aggressive back then you get runover. … I don’t like it but that’s the game that we’re in.”

With the win, Dixon (444) moves into second place in the IndyCar points standings, trailing Will Power (450) by just six points.

Up next for the drivers is the Bommoraito Automotive Group 500, a race that Newgarden won in 2021. His quest for win No. 25 will continue then on Aug. 20 while Dixon will look to keep building his legacy.