Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach 2019: 3 IndyCar takeaways

IndyCar drivers are a class act

Almost overshadowing Rossi’s accomplishment on Sunday was what happened between Scott Dixon and Graham Rahal.

IndyCar officials penalized Rahal on the final lap for what they perceived as blocking Dixon’s attempt to pass him, which bumped Rahal off the podium and promoted Dixon into third place.

Whether or not you agree with the penalty itself is a matter of opinion, but the larger takeaway from the situation is the quality of drivers that IndyCar has.

Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon both handled themselves admirably in what was understandably a difficult situation, particularly for the former, who for the second week in a row had to deal with something out of his control.

Dixon didn’t get out of his car and go over to confront Rahal. Rahal didn’t spend his post-race interview sniping at race control. Neither one started griping on social media afterward.

Rahal calmly, professionally stated that he disagreed with the penalty and that he was looking ahead to the next race. He had every reason to be upset and he probably was, but he handled it like a true professional.

“It’s fine; we just need to go further and understand a little better,” he said, according to IndyCar’s post-event press release. “At the end of the day, [we finished] P4. Do we deserve P3? Probably, but you know what, it was a good day and good points for us. We haven’t had a lot of luck this season, so I’ll just take it as it is and move on.”

That shows something that isn’t talked about enough: IndyCar has excellent people representing the league. This could have easily turned ugly, snarky or overdramatic, but these two drivers had their separate opinions, stated them calmly and without drama, and let it go.

They’re not just the best drivers in the world—they’re top-notch off track, too.