Scott Dixon might have entertained a thought that he’d gain some traction in the IndyCar Series championship race with the commanding victory Aug. 9 in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance.
But that doesn’t follow the season’s script. Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe was right behind (figuratively if not by a close distance) and Dixon’s Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, Dario Franchitti, finished third in the 85-lap race on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn circuit.
So, for the 12th time in the 13 races the points lead has changed hands - not allowing any of the three to build momentum or a sizable gap heading into the final four events. Eight lead exchanges had been the most through the 16-race season in 2003.
Dixon, who’s won four times (most recently his IndyCar Series-record 20th), heads to the Aug. 22-23 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway with a three-point advantage over Briscoe, whose two victories have been augmented by a half-dozen runner-up finishes. Franchitti, the 2007 series champion, is 20 points arrears.
It’s the third time since 2001 that the top three are separated by 20 or fewer points with four races left (12 points in 2002 and ‘03 being the closest) and the closest 1-2 during that same time span. With four races remaining last year, Dixon led Helio Castroneves by 65 points only to see the title decided in the season finale for the third consecutive year. So he isn’t taking anything for granted.
“It’s the IndyCar Series so, obviously, it will come down to the wire and it’s going to be tough,” said Dixon, who’s lost and won the championship in the final event the past two years. “It’s been a strange season in the fact that it doesn’t seem like anybody really wants to lead the championship. There’s been some flopping back and forth between myself and Dario and Ryan and TK (Tony Kanaan) so it’s been quite interesting.”
“I think it’s quite obvious that it’s going to come down to Homestead (Oct. 10). We’ve got a great mix of circuits yet to come with a road course and a few ovals so it’s going to be a tough championship.”
Following Infineon, there are 1.5-mile oval events at Chicagoland Speedway, Twin Ring Motegi in Japan and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Dixon and Briscoe (sharing a car with Castroneves) will be among the competitors testing Aug. 12-13 at the 2.2-mile Infineon Raceway.
“I’m really excited to be in the championship,” Briscoe said. “It’s been a fantastic year. It’s definitely intense and can get frustrating at times. You look back on races, and for me it’s ones like Richmond where I only got 12 points. If I could have gotten top 5 or something, what the difference could be. But that’s where you just need to keep looking ahead, keep your head down and you’ve got to finish these races and finish at the front and just stay focused.”
“I like the next four tracks we’re going to. It’s going to be exciting and it’s probably going to be (close) to the end.”
Each of the three has started from the pole at Infineon (Briscoe in 2005, Dixon in ‘06 and Franchitti in ‘07), and Dixon won in 2007 from the fifth starting spot. Franchitti has finished second and third in his past two races on the natural-terrain course, while Briscoe started and finished second last year.
“I don’t really care for leading the championship at this point,” Dixon said matter-of-factly. “The only time you want to lead it is at the end.”
Season Races Number of Different Number of races Race in the season with
Points Leaders with a points lead change the last points lead change
1996 3 2 1 3
1996-97 10 4 4 8
1998 11 3 3 9
1999 10 4 5 8
2000 9 3 6 7
2001 12 1 1 1
2002 15 3 6 14
2003 16 4 8 15
2004 16 3 4 5
2005 17 2 3 3
2006 14 3 7 14
2007 17 3 6 16
2008 17 3 3 5
2009 13 to date 4 12 13
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