Scott Dixon took pole position with a time of 1:22.5259, demolishing the previous track record by over five seconds and setting an average lap speed of 146 mph (230 km/h); which made Watkins Glen the fastest road circuit on the IndyCar calendar- even faster than Road America.

As the race continued, Dixon began to pull out a sizable lead on Power, while Pagenaud came under pressure from Tony Kanaan and the other drivers he had past at the start.

This would prove a huge advantage for Dixon, as the first caution of the race flew one lap later when the left-rear tire on Mikhail Aleshin's car deflated in turn four, sending into a spin and into the wall on the backstretch.

Up front, Dixon re-inherited the lead, while his teammate Max Chilton moved to second and Team Penske's Juan Pablo Montoya to third.

One lap before the restart, Kanaan suddenly slowed with a broken toe-link in the rear suspension of his car.

While he eventually brought the car back to pit lane, the repairs cost him two laps and removed his chances of a high placing.

Further back in the field, Will Power came in for a pit stop earlier than his championship rival Simon Pagenaud.

Following examination in the infield care center after the incident, medical staff stated that Power had displayed concussion-like symptoms and would not be cleared to race at the following round until he underwent further testing.

[3] For the rest of the field, the incident allowed for the final pit stops of the day, with the exceptions of Carlos Muñoz, Marco Andretti, and Takuma Sato, who all stayed out.

Pagenaud began to drop back through the field, while Castroneves, Max Chilton, and Charlie Kimball were all forced to take a splash of fuel in the closing laps of the race.

[4] Behind him, however, last lap drama occurred when second place runner James Hinchcliffe, who had moved up in the order as others pitted, ran out of fuel and coasted to a halt only two turns from the finish.

In victory lane, Dixon announced that he would donate his entire prize winnings to the Justin Wilson Children's Fund.

[5] The championship standings saw major changes during as a result of the event, with Simon Pagenaud and Will Power becoming the only two drivers still able to win.