Considering how badly his season started, it’s a wonder Scott Dixon is still in one piece, let alone leading the IndyCar Series point standings.
In the opener at St. Petersburg, Fla., he made contact with Hideki Mutoh and slammed into a wall with 20 laps to go, finishing 16th.
Next time out, he was involved in two incidents at Long Beach that caused him to limp home in 15th. He ran into E.J. Viso coming out of a turn early in the race, then spun out after Ryan Briscoe ran into the back of his car. Briscoe was given a 30-second penalty for aggressive driving.
Since then, Dixon has been the most consistent driver in the circuit. Going into Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, he nevertheless holds only a three-point leader over Briscoe. Dario Franchitti, who like Dixon races for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, is 20 points behind in third place.
Dixon retook the lead from Briscoe with a win at Mid-Ohio on Aug. 9. It was the 12th time in the 13 races that the points lead has changed hands.
“It’s been a strange season in the fact that it doesn’t seem like anybody really wants to lead the championship,” Dixon said. San Francisco Chronicle
“I’m ready to drink some wine in the winner’s circle,” Dixon said ahead of Sunday’s Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.
He isn’t quite ready to pop the cork on a third IndyCar Series championship, not with four races left and only a three-point lead in the standings over Ryan Briscoe. Dixon’s Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate is just 20 points behind.
The Kiwi knows all too well how tentative the lead can be. He was on the verge of winning the series championship in 2007 when he ran out of gas on thelast corner of the last lap of the last race as Dario Franchitti slipped past him to win the race and the title.
“Last year in Sonoma we were focused on points and that was awful. We finished 12th and nearly lost the points,” Dixon said.
This season hasn’t been much easier for Dixon. Coming off the hangover from last season’s championship, his Target Chip Ganassi Racing team was slow to get out of the garage. Since then, he’s celebrated four victories, including his 20th career win, which made him the leader in career victories.
Dixon has another reason to celebrate this season with the arrival of daughter Poppy Davies Dixon. His wife Emma gave birth to the couple’s first child just hours after Dixon finished sixth at the Indianapolis 500 on May 24. Vallejo Times-Herald
Dixon, who drives for Target Chip Ganassi, narrowly lost the 2007 championship to Franchitti — then of Andretti Green Racing — on the final lap of the final race of the season. Last year, Dixon won the title by 17 points, although he finished second to Helio Castroneves in the season finale at Chicagoland.
Both times, Dixon had the help of then-teammate Dan Wheldon. But Franchitti, with Ganassi this season, likely will still be in contention at this season’s final race at Homestead-Miami.
“It’s definitely a different situation with Dario being just 20 points behind,” Dixon said. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens at the end. But the competition will be good for us, and if anything, maybe we can gang up on Briscoe.”
Passing Grade? Passing has always been at a premium during open-wheel races at Infineon. But there’s some optimism that the new push-to-pass button in each IndyCar can provide a little more side-by-side racing on the 12-turn road course. Contra Costa Times
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