Scott Ronald Dixon (born 22 July 1980) is a professional racing driver from
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, who competes in the
NTT IndyCar Series
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
for
Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, NTT IndyCar Series, International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech ...
. Dixon has won the IndyCar championship six times: in
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
,
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
,
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
and
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
. He also won the 92nd
Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
from pole position. In the
2022 Indianapolis 500
The 2022 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) was a 500-mile (804.7 km, 200 lap) race in the 2022 IndyCar Series, held on Sunday, May 29, 2022, at the India ...
, he passed
Al Unser
Alfred Unser (May 29, 1939 – December 9, 2021) was an American automobile racing driver, the younger brother of fellow racing drivers Jerry and Bobby Unser, and father of Al Unser Jr. He was the second of four men ( A. J. Foyt, himself, Rick ...
(644) for most laps led all-time in the race. Dixon's 53 wins are the
second-most in
American open-wheel car racing
American open-wheel car racing, also known as Indy car racing, is a category of professional automobile racing in the United States. As of 2022, the top-level American open-wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar.
Competitive events ...
history, after only
A.J. Foyt
Anthony Joseph Foyt Jr. (born January 16, 1935) is an American retired auto racing driver who has raced in numerous genres of motorsports. His open wheel racing includes United States Automobile Club Champ cars, sprint cars, and midget cars. H ...
, who won 67 races. All but one of Dixon's wins occurred under IndyCar Series sanctioning, making him the winningest driver in the series' history. He is also a three-time overall winner and one-time class winner at the 24 Hours of Daytona. Alongside his six series' titles, Dixon won at least one race for eighteen consecutive seasons between
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
and
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
, and now has the record of winning a race in 20 seasons, breaking A.J Foyt's record of 18. He is the only driver to win the IndyCar championship in his inaugural year in the series.
In 2011, Dixon was selected in a worldwide poll among fans as one of the 33 greatest drivers in Indianapolis 500 history. Among other notable awards won by Dixon are the Jim Clark Trophy (1999, 2001, 2004 and 2019) and the Bruce McLaren Trophy (2003, 2008). In the
2009 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...
, he was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
for services to motorsport, and in the
2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was promoted to Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. He was New Zealand's
Sportsman of the Year
Since its inception in 1954, ''Sports Illustrated'' has annually presented the Sportsman of the Year award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Amer ...
in 2008 and 2013.
Early years
Dixon was born in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, Australia, to New Zealand parents Ron and Glenys Dixon who were both dirt-track race car drivers. The family returned to
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
in New Zealand when Dixon was very young. He grew up in
Manurewa
Manurewa is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of Manukau City before the creation of the Auckland super city in 2010. It is located south of the Manukau, Manukau City Centre, and southeast of Auckland CBD. The subur ...
, a suburb in
South Auckland
South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...
, and was a student at
James Cook High School
James Cook High School is a state co-ed secondary school in the South Auckland suburb of Manurewa, New Zealand.
School structure
The school's colours are royal blue and gold.
History
James Cook High School was opened in February 1968. Like ...
. Scott began racing
karts
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
as a seven-year-old, and caught the attention of the New Zealand public when granted a special dispensation to obtain a competition licence to race a saloon car as a 13-year-old. At the time of this dispensation, New Zealanders could not obtain a road licence until turning 15 years old. Dixon was competing at
Pukekohe Park Raceway
Pukekohe Park is a horse racing, motor racing, and community events facility located in Pukekohe, New Zealand, approximately south of the Auckland CBD, in the Auckland Region of the North Island. The venue, owned by Counties Racing Club Inc. ...
in a one-make series featuring the
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
Sentra when he rolled the car onto its roof. He caught national attention when TV showed him struggling from the upturned car with a cushion strapped to his back to enable him to reach the pedals and wiping a tear from his eye.
Junior racing
In 1994, he won the New Zealand
Formula Vee
Formula Vee (Formula Fau Vee in Brazil and Germany) or Formula Volkswagen is a popular open wheel, single-seater junior motor racing formula, with relatively low costs in comparison to Formula Ford.
On the international stage, Niki Lauda, Eme ...
championship, before taking the
Formula Ford
Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...
Class 2 series in 1995 with 13 wins from 14 races. Dixon then won the
New Zealand Formula Ford Championship
The MTA New Zealand Formula Ford Championship has been held annually in New Zealand racing circuits.
History
Formula Ford emerged as a racing class in New Zealand. In 1972, the inaugural New Zealand Formula Ford championship won by David Oxto ...
in 1996/97.
In 1997 Dixon decided to race in the
Formula Holden
Formula Holden was an Australian open wheel racing category introduced in 1989.
History
Known during its development as Formula Australia, it was initially for chassis constructed from aluminium only, running a 3.8-litre Buick V6 engine as ...
category in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. With no money to carry on racing,
Rotorua
Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...
businessman Christopher Wingate provided Dixon and his mentor, Kiwi racing hero
Kenny Smith
Kenneth Smith (born March 8, 1965), nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacrame ...
, with both money and airfares between New Zealand and Australia to ensure Dixon's career moved ahead. Dixon won Rookie of the Year and third overall in the
1997 Australian Drivers' Championship
The 1997 Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing competition open to drivers of racing cars complying with CAMS Formula Holden regulations.Specific Conditions, 1997 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, page 7-10 The championship winner was a ...
driving the Ralt Australia prepared Reynard. This resulted in him being offered a drive with top team SH Racing. As the budgets were going to exceed $250,000, Wingate suggested a company be formed to fund Dixon's career. That company was called Scott Dixon Motorsport (SDMS), funded by shareholders who over the next two years invested more than $1m in Dixon. This allowed him to pursue his career without worrying about money. In 1998 Dixon won the
Australian Drivers' Championship
The Australian Drivers' Championship was a motor racing championship contested annually from 1957 to 2014 by drivers of cars complying with Australia's premier open-wheeler racing category as determined by the Confederation of Australian Motor ...
outright. That win brought offers to race in the Australian
V8 Supercar
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
series but that was not where he wanted to make his mark, so arrangements were made for him to go to the US to test in the Indy Lights series.
Moving to the United States
With the backing of Scott Dixon Motorsport investors, Dixon moved to the United States in 1999. After a test in
Sebring where Dixon broke the track record on his eighth lap, he was signed to Johansson Motorsports
Indy Lights
Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a program ...
team, beginning a long management association with the team's owner, former
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
taking pole position for the Chicago oval race which he won. He was consistently fast throughout
the year but had five
DNFs, which limited him to fifth place in the series.
In 2000 Dixon remained in Indy Lights, moving to the
PacWest PacWest can refer to:
*Pacific West Conference, an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division II
*Pacific Western Athletic Association, an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with the CCAA
*PacWest ...
team. He resoundingly took the championship, scoring six wins and seven podium finishes.
CART
2001
PacWest Racing
PacWest Racing was a Champ Car racing team owned by Bruce McCaw founded in 1993.
The team's first full-time season was the next year, 1994, with drivers Dominic Dobson and future Indy Racing League co-champion Scott Sharp. In 1995, the team swi ...
graduated Dixon to its full
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
team in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
. Dixon immediately outpaced his teammate, the former Formula One driver
Maurício Gugelmin
Maurício Gugelmin (born 20 April 1963) is a Brazilian former racing driver. He took part in both Formula One and Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). He participated in 80 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting in for the March team. Gugelmin achi ...
. Dixon led his first race in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
for 14 laps. Just two races later he won at
Nazareth Speedway
Nazareth Speedway was an auto racing facility near Nazareth in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania which operated from 1910 to 2004 in two distinct course configurations. In its early years, it was a dirt twin oval layout. In 1987 it was reo ...
– his first oval race in the senior CART series. At the age of 20 years, 9 months and 14 days became the youngest winner of a
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
race. Dixon scored championship points in 11 of 20 starts and led the FedEx Champ Car Series in laps completed with 2,521 out of a possible 2,610. He won the
Jim Trueman
James R. Trueman (May 25, 1935 – June 11, 1986) was an American businessman and automobile racing team owner. His most successful business ventures were Red Roof Inn motels and the Truesports racing team. Bobby Rahal won the 1986 Indianapolis 5 ...
Trophy for
rookie of the year and was eighth in the championship.
2002
![Scott Dixon - 2002 Sure For Men Rockingham 500 (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Scott_Dixon_-_2002_Sure_For_Men_Rockingham_500_%281%29.jpg)
Dixon remained with PacWest, owned by
Bruce McCaw
The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...
, for
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
but it soon became clear the team was woefully short of cash due to the
dot com crash
The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet.
Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compo ...
. When it eventually collapsed,
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
arranged an introduction to
Target Chip Ganassi Racing
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, FIA World Endurance Championship ...
which added a third car to its squad to accommodate Dixon. It was his first experience of a true top-level team, which had the then top engine supplier, Toyota. Dixon posted 12 top-ten finishes, including a second-place at Denver.
IndyCar Series
2003
Chip Ganassi joined CART teams
Penske
Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the president.
Holding ...
and
Andretti-Green Racing in 2003 to switch to the all-oval
Indy Racing League
The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...
. Dixon won the season opener at
Homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
*Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...
in Florida. A tangle with
Tony Kanaan
Antoine Rizkallah "Tony" Kanaan Filho (born 31 December 1974), nicknamed TK, is a Brazilian racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 6 Toyota Corolla E210 for Full Time Bassani a ...
in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
left Dixon with a shattered hand, but he recovered to take two more victories and win the championship on his first try. Along the way, he also set a record with 343 consecutive laps led, the first time a driver had led consecutive laps in three successive races. At
Pikes Peak
Pikes Peak is the List of mountain ranges of Colorado#Mountain ranges, highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The Ultra-prominent peak, ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest ...
he led the last 84 laps to win, then led every lap of the next event at
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
, and at the next event, at
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, led the first 53 laps.
[Stephan Johansson Driver Management](_blank)
/ref> Although it was his first year in the IRL, and he won the championship, Dixon was not eligible for rookie of the year due to his ChampCar experience.
At the end of the year, Ganassi had recruited Tony Renna
Anthony James Renna (November 23, 1976 – October 22, 2003) was an American racing driver who competed in Indy Lights and the Indy Racing League (IRL) from 1998 to 2003. Renna began competitive racing at the age of six, winning 252 races and t ...
as Dixon's teammate. Renna and Dixon became friends, but at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...
, during Renna's first practice session for the team, Renna crashed at high speed and was killed instantly.
2004 and 2005 seasons
By 2004, the Toyota engine had lost its edge and Dixon did not successfully defend his title. In the 32 races held during these two years, Dixon made the podium only twice, with a second and a solitary win. He tested for the Williams Formula One
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams (Formula One), Frank Williams and aut ...
team and finished 10th when representing the IRL in the 2004 International Race of Champions
International Race of Champions (IROC) was a North American auto racing competition, created by Les Richter, Roger Penske and Mike Phelps, promoted as an equivalent of an American motorsports All-Star Game. Despite its name, the IROC was primar ...
. In 2005 Dixon and his Ganassi teammates, Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
and Darren Manning
Darren Manning (born 30 April 1975) is a British motor racing driver who has raced in the IRL IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
Career history
Early career
Manning was born in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, ...
, were struggling, and they wrote off or seriously damaged 28 cars in a long series of crashes. Manning was fired, and Australian Briscoe narrowly avoided serious injury when his car became airborne and disintegrated after touching another car and slammed into the outside retaining wall of Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...
's third turn. Amid rumours that Dixon could also be sacked, he bounced back to score his and the team's first win since 2003, the Indy Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
. Soon after, Dixon re-signed for a further two seasons with Ganassi.
2006–2009
Ganassi moved to Honda engines for the 2006 season, when Dixon was partnered with Englishman Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive Wheldon (22 June 1978 – 16 October 2011) was a British motor racing driver who won the 2005 IndyCar Series season, 2005 IndyCar Series Drivers' Championship for Andretti Autosport, Andretti Green Racing (AGR). He won the Indiana ...
, the 2005 Indianapolis 500
The 89th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 29, 2005. It was the premier event of the 2005 IndyCar Series season and the tenth Indy 500 sanctioned by the Indy Racing League. Dan Wheldon ...
winner and IRL series champion. Before the IRL season even started, they successfully combined as a one-car team (with Casey Mears
Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road and stock car racing driver. He has raced in IndyCar, NASCAR's three national series including 15 seasons in the Cup Series, SCORE International, and the Stadium Super T ...
) to win the 24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
. Dixon repeated his 2005 Indy Grand Prix win at Watkins Glen and became the first driver to win an IRL
IRL may refer to:
Places
* Republic of Ireland (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code)
* Irlam railway station (National Rail station code IRL), England
Organizations
* International Rugby League, the governing body for the sport of rugby league
* I ...
race run in wet conditions. At Nashville Superspeedway, he won the Gibson Guitar Trophy by a couple of car lengths over his teammate Wheldon. He finished fourth in the standings, completing a series-high 2,504 of a possible 2,510 laps and being the only driver to finish every race, and finishing just 15 points behind Sam Hornish Jr.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
He began his top-tier raci ...
and Wheldon.
Dixon was runner-up in the 2007 IndyCar Series season
The 2007 IRL IndyCar Series began with a night race on Saturday March 24 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The season's premiere event, the 91st Indianapolis 500 was held May 27. The season finale was held at Chicagoland Speedway on September 9. Da ...
, 13 points behind Dario Franchitti
George Dario Marino Franchitti, MBE (born 19 May 1973) is a British former racing driver and current motorsport commentator from Scotland. He is a four time IndyCar Series champion ( 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011), a three-time winner of the Indiana ...
. During the last event at Chicagoland, battling Franchitti for the win and the championship, Dixon was leading Franchitti on the final corner of the last lap when he ran out of fuel and coasted to the finish, giving Franchitti the race win and the championship.
Earlier he had achieved his fourth win of the year, at Infineon Raceway
Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway from 1967 to 1980 and 1982 to 2002, Golden State International Raceway in 1981 and Infineon Raceway from 2002 to 2012) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern S ...
, and his third consecutive Camping World Watkins Glen Grand Prix
The Grand Prix at The Glen was an IndyCar Series race held at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. American open wheel racing at the circuit dates back to 1979.
Following a five-year hiatus, Watkins Glen was added back to the sch ...
. He had four second-place finishes, including in the rain-shortened Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, and finished in the top-five in 10 races that season. He dominated the rain-delayed Firestone Indy 200
The Firestone Indy 200 was an Indy Racing League IndyCar Series race held at Nashville Superspeedway in Lebanon, Tennessee.
In 2001, it marked the first American open wheel event in the Nashville area. In later years it was held as a Saturday nig ...
at Nashville Superspeedway, his second consecutive win in the event, and second consecutive win of the season. He won the next race, the Honda 200
The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio is an IndyCar Series race held at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. Professional open wheel races at the facility date back to 1970. The U.S. Formula 5000 series ran from 1970 to 1976, and the revived ...
on 22 July, to become the third driver in history to win three IRL races in a row, joining Wheldon and Kenny Bräck
Kenny Bräck (born 21 March 1966) is a Swedish former race car driver. Until his retirement from racing, he competed in the CART, Indy Racing League and the IROC series. He won the 1998 Indy Racing League championship and the 1999 Indianapoli ...
.
On 5 August, Dixon was attempting to win a fourth straight race, at the Firestone Indy 400
The Firestone Indy 400 was an IndyCar Series race held at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan. The event was most recently held in 2007. From 1981 to 2001, the event was better-known as the Michigan 500, and was held in high pres ...
, when he was involved in a six-car accident. Dixon's crew repaired his car sufficiently to run two more laps, earning him series points but this ended his streak of 28 consecutive races – since retiring at the Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...
event in September 2005 – in which Dixon did not retire.
This was a highly successful season for Dixon who won the series championship for the second time and won his first Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
, from the pole
Pole may refer to:
Astronomy
*Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets
*Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...
, to give car owner Chip Ganassi his second win in the race. He also won at Homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
*Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...
, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, Nashville, Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
and Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
, a record-equalling six wins for a season in the series. In the final points-scoring race of the series, at Chicagoland Speedway
Chicagoland Speedway is a tri-oval speedway in Joliet, Illinois, southwest of Chicago. The speedway opened in 2001 and actively hosted NASCAR racing including the NASCAR Cup Series until 2019. Until 2010, the speedway has also hosted the IndyC ...
, Dixon needed to finish no worse than eighth if Castroneves won the race. He placed second to Castroneves in a tight photo finish. Speaking to the media later he said it had been an amazing, unforgettable year. "Getting married, winning the 500, winning a championship in one year – not too many people can probably say they've done that." Motorsport.com took it further, saying that Dixon "can now say he's the 'best of the best' in American open-wheel racing, especially after this year's unification with Champ Car
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ( ...
".
At Kentucky he took his career laps-led tally to 2,149, becoming the fifth driver in the series to lead for more than 2,000 laps. Also at Kentucky, Dixon replaced Alex Zanardi
Alessandro "Alex" Zanardi (; born 23 October 1966) is an Italian professional racing driver and paracyclist. He won the CART championship in 1997 and 1998, and took 15 wins in the series. He also raced in Formula One from 1991 to 1994 and aga ...
as the winningest IndyCar driver for Chip Ganassi (16th victory), and his pole position achieved on 30 August for the Detroit Indy Grand Prix
The Detroit Grand Prix (currently branded as the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear Corporation for sponsorship reasons) is an IndyCar Series race weekend held on a temporary circuit in Detroit, Michigan. The race has been held from ...
gave him seven for the year, and took him to second all-time leading pole-sitter with 15. Also, he led 869 laps during the year, an all-time record for a single season. Just before the Chicagoland event, it was announced that teammate Wheldon would be moving to Panther Racing
Panther Racing was an American open wheel auto racing team. It was one of the oldest continually operating teams in the IndyCar Series.
Four years in a row (2008–2011), the team finished second at the Indianapolis 500.
Formation
The team was f ...
in 2009 and Dixon's new partner would be Franchitti who would return from NASCAR.
For recording the IndyCar Series championship/Indy500 double, Dixon was selected 2008 New Zealand Sportsman of the Year at the Halberg Awards
The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award ...
held in February 2009.
Dixon was one of five New Zealand motorsports personalities honoured in a special issue of New Zealand Post stamps. Others featured were: Denny Hulme
Denis Clive Hulme (18 June 1936 – 4 October 1992), commonly known as Denny Hulme, was a New Zealand racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship for the Brabham team. Between his debut at Monaco in 1965 and his ...
, 1967 Formula One World Champion ; Bruce McLaren
Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing car designer, driver, engineer, and inventor.
His name lives on in the McLaren team which has been one of the most successful in Formula One championship history, ...
, race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor whose name lives on in Team McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
; Ivan Mauger
Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six Speedway World Championship, World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Champi ...
, six-time winner of the Speedway World Championship
The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official championsh ...
and voted greatest speedway rider of the 20th century; and Hugh Anderson, four-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing world champion.
At the start of the season, Dixon finished sixteenth and fifteenth in the first two races, at St. Pete
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
and Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
. From then on he got to eight podiums, winning at Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
, Mid-Ohio
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...
and Motegi, as well as a second at Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
, and thirds at Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, Watkins Glen, and Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
. He led the most laps (73) in the Indy 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...
but finished sixth. His dominant win at Mid-Ohio, by 29.7 seconds, was his 20th win in the IRL (21st of his career), making him the league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
's most successful driver.
Daughter 1 was born in 2009
There was considerable rivalry between him and his friend and new partner in the team, Franchitti, who had returned to the IRL from NASCAR. Franchitti scored four wins, two seconds and two-thirds, and leading into the last race of the season at Homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
*Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...
he was only five points behind Dixon. Complicating the issue was that Penske's Ryan Briscoe
Ryan Briscoe (born 24 September 1981) is an Australian-American professional racing driver from Sydney who has predominantly raced open-wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.
In IndyCar he collected 8 wins and 28 podiums, finishing third ...
was only a further three points back, so whichever of the three drivers could win at Homestead would be series champion. Dixon started outside Franchitti on the front row and ran first and second with Briscoe for most of the race. However, the two front-runners were forced to pit for fuel with only several laps remaining, and the race win, along with the championship, went to Franchitti on a fuel-saving strategy. Dixon claimed third in the race and second in the championship by one point over Briscoe.
2010–2012
In the 2010–2012 seasons, Dixon won seven races and finished third in the championship three times (twice behind teammate Franchitti).
2013–2015
He won at Pocono in July 2013, Indycar's first race there in 24 years, and Ganassi's first win of the year. He achieved back-to-back wins in the two-event Honda Indy Toronto
The Grand Prix of Toronto (known for sponsorship reasons as the Honda Indy Toronto) is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 t ...
. In the 2013 GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
The 2013 GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma was an IndyCar Series race held on August 25, 2013 at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. The race was the fifteenth of the 2013 IndyCar Series season, and was won by Will Power of Team Penske.
Report
Ba ...
, Dixon ran into one of Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
's pit crew members and was penalized. Dixon argued that the worker walked in front of his car, though IndyCar race director Beaux Barfield stated Dixon had driven into Power's work area. The next week at Baltimore, Dixon was involved in another incident with Power with 22 laps left, and officials ignored team requests to tow Dixon's car to pit lane for repairs. Dixon called for Barfield to be fired, and on 6 September, was fined $30,000 and placed on probation. Dixon won the double-header Houston Grand Prix and by finishing fifth at the season finale in Fontana he secured his third championship title.
The year 2014 started well for Dixon when he was voted New Zealand Sportsman of the Year at the Halberg Awards
The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Sir Murray Halberg. The initial award ...
, and he won two races and finished third in the championship. In the off-season, Dixon was third at both the Dan Weldon Karting Challenge and the 2014 Petit Le Mans
The Petit Le Mans ( French for ''little Le Mans'') is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia, USA. It uses the rules established for the 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which a ...
endurance sports car race.
He opened his 2015 season by winning the 24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
for Chip Ganassi. Dixon's 2015 season started slowly with a 15th at St. Petersburg and an 11th at Louisiana. Dixon went on to win his first IndyCar race of the season at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. He won his second Indianapolis 500 pole and led the most laps at 87, but finished fourth to eventual race winner Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver.
He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech S ...
. Dixon has an awful weekend to his standards at the Duel in Detroit where he got wrecked in the second duel by his teammate Charlie Kimball
Charles Newton Kimball (born February 20, 1985) is an American race car driver currently competing in the IndyCar Series with A. J. Foyt Enterprises He has scored a win, six podiums, and 13 top 5s. His best season result was ninth in 2013 and 201 ...
. Dixon rebounded and dominated the Firestone 600 at Texas which was his second win of the season. Dixon had average results in the Top 10 with a worst finish of 18th at Iowa, though this helped him since championship rival Juan Pablo Montoya went out very early. Dixon finished a 4th at Mid Ohio, his bread and butter track, and a 9th at Pocono. Dixon went to Sonoma needing to win the race and have Juan Pablo Montoya finish 5th or worse for a 4th Championship and accomplished it. He and Juan Pablo Montoya ended the season with equal points but with three wins to Montoya's two, he won the 2015 IndyCar Series season
The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series was the 20th season of the IndyCar Series and the 104th season of American open wheel racing. Its premier event was the 99th Indianapolis 500, which was held on May 24. Will Power returned as the reigning cham ...
championship, his fourth. In the 2015 offseason, Dixon won the Dan Wheldon Karting Challenge Honoring Justin Wilson.
2016–2019
Dixon struggled through the 2016 season. He had victories at Phoenix and Watkins Glen but was sixth in the championship, the first time since 2006 he did not finish in the top three. His sponsor, Target
Target may refer to:
Physical items
* Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports
** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports
** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...
, withdrew at the end of the year, ending a 27-year relationship with Ganassi and a 13-year relationship with Dixon.
Dixon opened the 2017 season with third at St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, his best finish there since 2014. He followed this with four consecutive top-five finishes leading up to the Indianapolis 500
The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
. He won the pole position for the race, the third in his career, setting the fastest pole time since Arie Luyendyk
Arie Luijendijk (anglicised as Arie Luyendyk; born 21 September 1953), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman," is a Dutch former auto racing driver, and winner of the 1990 and 1997 Indianapolis 500 races. He was inducted into the Indianapolis Motor Spe ...
21 years earlier.
He was taken out of the race on lap 53 after Jay Howard
Jay Howard (born 16 February 1981) is a British professional race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Howard was the 2005 US Formula Ford Zetec champion (now known as the Coop ...
cannoned off the Turn 2 wall. Dixon's car launched into an airborne flip, landing sidepod-first on top of the inside wall, crumbling the catch-fence and ripping the rear assembly from his car. Dixon walked away uninjured, but the incident caused a 20-minute red flag.
He was second the following weekend at Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
behind Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
, but at Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...
a week later he was taken out for the second time in three races. He, Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
and Takuma Sato
, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
were closely racing with six laps remaining when Sato lost control and touched Dixon's car, spinning both of them off the track.
At Road America
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...
, Dixon scored his first win of the season, beating Josef Newgarden
Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion.
Career
Karting
Newga ...
by 0.5779s. Dixon finished third in the championship to first-time champion Josef Newgarden
Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion.
Career
Karting
Newga ...
and 2016 Champion Simon Pagenaud
Simon Pagenaud (born 18 May 1984) is a French professional racing driver. He is contracted to drive the No. 60 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing in the IndyCar Series. After a successful career in sports car racing that saw him taking the top class ...
.
Dixon began 2018 with a new full-time sponsor in PNC Bank
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (stylized as PNC) is an American bank holding company and financial services corporation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its banking subsidiary, PNC Bank, operates in 27 states and the District of ...
adorning engine number 9. Dixon started the year locking wheels and jumping over Takuma Sato
, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
at St. Petersburgh but rebounded to finish 6th. Dixon eventually recorded his first win of the year at the Duel in Detroit: Round 1. Dixon then went onto the next weekend to Texas and dominated again, redemption for last year after being taken out late. Dixon led 119 of 248 laps. After capitalizing on other drivers' mistakes, Dixon went on to win at Toronto when he passed Josef Newgarden on the restart when he hit the wall. Dixon held off Simon Pagenaud and Robert Wickens
Robert Tyler Wickens (born March 13, 1989) is a Canadian racing driver from Guelph, Ontario, driving in the Michelin Pilot Challenge for Bryan Herta Autosport. In 2009 he finished in second place in the FIA Formula Two Championship, and in 2010 he ...
to win. Dixon went on to finish 5th, 3rd, 3rd, and 5th at Mid-Ohio, Pocono, Gateway, and Portland. At Portland, Dixon was involved in a lap 1 crash with James Hinchcliffe
James Douglas Meredith Hinchcliffe (born December 5, 1986) is a Canadian race car driver and commentator best known for competing in the IndyCar Series. Hinchcliffe won six races for Andretti Autosport and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. In 2015, ...
, Ed Jones, Sébastien Bourdais
Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships ...
, Graham Rahal
Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner ...
, and Marco Andretti
Marco Michael Andretti (born March 13, 1987) is an American auto racing driver who drives the No. 98 car for Bryan Herta Autosport, Andretti Herta Autosport part-time in the IndyCar Series. He is the third generation of the famous Andretti racin ...
who flipped over Dixon, Dixon sustained minimal damage when dirt was flying and the visibility was zero. Dixon rebounded and after a lucky break when his championship rival Alexander Rossi
Alexander Michael Rossi (born September 25, 1991) is an American professional racing driver and podcast host. He currently competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. Rossi is best known for winning ...
got an unlucky break. Rossi finished near the back while Dixon finished 5th in what could lead to his 5th Championship. In 2018 Born Racer: The Scott Dixon Story a documentary about Scott Dixon's early career and directed by Bryn Evans was released.
Dixon finished 4th in the 2019 IndyCar Series
The 2019 NTT IndyCar Series was the 24th season of the IndyCar Series and the 108th official championship season of American open wheel racing. The premier event was the 2019 Indianapolis 500, with Will Power entering as the defending winner. Ho ...
with a win in Detroit and Mid Ohio.
2020–present
Dixon won the opening three races of the 2020 season, at Texas, Indianapolis Road Course, and Road America. He led the championship for the whole season, a rare feat last recorded by Sam Hornish
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
He began his top-tier raci ...
in 2001, and edged out Josef Newgarden
Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion.
Career
Karting
Newga ...
at the season finale at St. Petersburg by finishing third. This was after Newgarden had gained a lot of ground in the final part of the season. Dixon qualified second for the 2020 Indianapolis 500, barely missing pole to Marco Andretti. He was second in the race for the third time in his career - the race, won by Takuma Sato, ran the last 5 laps under caution, denying Scott any chance of racing for the win.
In 2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
Dixon faced several challengers for the series title. Along with regular rival Josef Newgarden, he would face new competition from teammates Alex Palou
Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis.
People
Multiple
*Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people
* Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people
*Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple peo ...
and Marcus Ericsson
Marcus Thorbjörn Ericsson (; born 2 September 1990) is a Swedish professional racing driver. He competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 8 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing and is the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner. Ericsson previously ...
along with second-year McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
driver Pato O'Ward
Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren SP. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion.
Early life and care ...
. This would be the first time in over ten years Dixon faced competition from within his team, as he had become the lead driver at Chip Ganassi Racing following Dario Franchitti's retirement. Chip Ganassi and lead strategist Mike Hull let Dixon and his teammates know that there would be no favoritism amongst the Ganassi drivers and that they would be free to race each other so long as they avoided on-track contact. Dixon took an early points lead by securing top-five finishes in the first four races of the season, including a win at Texas to guarantee him a win for nineteen straight seasons in IndyCar racing. Dixon qualified first for the 2021 Indianapolis 500
The 2021 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) was a 500-mile (800 km, 200 lap) race in the 2021 IndyCar Series, held on May 30, 2021, at the Indianapolis ...
, his first pole position in four years, and was considered the prohibitive favorite going into the race. However during the race his car stalled and refused to restart after several attempts while pitting for fuel under a full-course caution, causing him to finish in seventeenth place. His bad luck at Indy plus Palou's second-place finish cost Dixon the points lead to which he never regained. For the rest of the season, Dixon would only secure three podium finishes; a second-place finish in Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, a third-place finish at Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, and a third-place finish to finish the season at Long Beach while his rivals would all secure multiple wins and podiums following the 500. During the season Dixon expressed frustration with Chip Ganassi Racing over their setups and strategies in qualifying leaving him with mid-pack starts compared to his teammates and rivals from other teams. Dixon was mathematically eliminated from the championship at Laguna Seca Laguna Seca may refer to:
* Laguna Seca Formation, a geologic formation in California
* Laguna Seca (Mexico), see Convention of London
* Laguna Seca (Santa Clara County), a seasonal lake in California
* Laguna Seca, Texas, United States
* Rancho La ...
, where he finished thirteenth while Palou finished in second place. He ultimately finished fourth in the championship in 2021.
Dixon started off 2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
without a podium in the first six races, the first time he failed to reach the podium in the first six races since 2003. He qualified for pole at the 106th Indianapolis 500, setting a 234.046 mph four-lap average in qualifying to secure the fastest pole position and the second-fastest qualifying speed in the history of the Indianapolis 500. He ultimately failed to capture his second Indianapolis 500 victory after incurring a drive thru penalty for speeding in the pit lane late in the race. He picked up his first podium of the season at Detroit and picked up his first win at Toronto. The win tied Dixon with Mario Andretti for total IndyCar victories and guaranteed him a win for the eighteenth straight season in the IndyCar Series. Dixon broke Andretti's record with a second win at Nashville and put him in contention for the series championship alongside points leader Will Power
William "Will" Steven Power (born 1 March 1981) is an Australian motorsports driver who currently competes in the IndyCar Series, driving for Team Penske. He is the 2014 and 2022 IndyCar Series champion and the 2018 Indianapolis 500 champion. ...
and teammate Marcus Ericsson. Ultimately Dixon did not secure his seventh championship and finished third in the standings.
Formula One
In 2004 BMW gave Dixon a test drive in a Formula One car even while he raced with Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
engines in the IRL. At the Paul Ricard Circuit
The Circuit Paul Ricard () is a French motorsport race track built in 1969 at Le Castellet, Var, near Marseille, with finance from pastis magnate Paul Ricard. Ricard wanted to experience the challenge of building a racetrack. The circuit has ho ...
in France, he drove a Williams and recorded respectable times during a one-day test, being not far off those of the regular driver Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races.
Schumacher began kart ...
. A two-day test six weeks later in Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
did not lead to a spot with the team.
In July 2013, ''Autosport'' magazine named Dixon one of the 50 greatest drivers to have never raced in Formula One.
Sports car racing
Career results
American open–wheel racing results
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap.)
Indy Lights
CART
IndyCar Series
* Season still in progress.
* ''1 Races run on same day''
* ''2 Non-points paying, exhibition race''
* ''3 Tied on points with Juan Pablo Montoya, won on tie-break''
Indianapolis 500
Sports car racing
Complete American Le Mans Series results
Rolex Sports Car Series results
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) (Results indicate class finishing position)
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) (Results indicate class finishing position)
* Season still in progress.
24 Hours of Daytona results
24 Hours of Le Mans results
12 Hours of Bathurst results
V8 Supercar Championship results
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† Not Eligible for points
International Race of Champions
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Bold – Pole position. * – Most laps led.)
Personal life
Dixon married Emma Davies, a former Welsh and British 800 m champion, in February 2008. They have two daughters, born in 2009 and 2011, and a son, born in 2019.
Dixon has been a long-term resident of Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, where the mayor declared 24 September 2018 "Scott Dixon Day" in the city following his fifth IndyCar title.
In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, Dixon was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...
for services to motorsport. He had earlier been appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
in the 2009 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...
.
Notes
References
External links
IndyCar Driver Page
Scott Dixon Biography in US
2008 Stats
An article about Graham Chronofighter Oversize Scott Dixon watch
The Greatest 33
The Greatest 33 Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Scott
1980 births
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
American Le Mans Series drivers
Champ Car drivers
Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Formula Ford drivers
Formula Holden drivers
Indianapolis 500 drivers
Indianapolis 500 polesitters
Indianapolis 500 winners
Indy Lights champions
Indy Lights drivers
IndyCar Series champions
IndyCar Series drivers
International Race of Champions drivers
Living people
New Zealand racing drivers
New Zealand expatriates in the United States
New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Australia
People educated at James Cook High School
Racing drivers from Brisbane
Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
Sportspeople from Auckland
Supercars Championship drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
American Spirit Team Johansson drivers
PacWest Racing drivers
Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
R-Motorsport drivers
Multimatic Motorsports drivers
Aston Martin Racing drivers
Wayne Taylor Racing drivers
Kelly Racing drivers