With milestone victory, Dixon’s “blah year” could now yield his seventh title

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Scott Dixon’s victory in the 2022 Indy Toronto tied him with Mario Andretti for second on the all-time wins list. It also put him back into serious contention for his seventh IndyCar Series title with just seven races left in the season.

“It was a very special day in so many ways,” Dixon said after recording his 52nd career IndyCar victory. “It’s definitely been a bit of a dry spell for us. Sometimes that puts on a lot of pressure, not just me, but everybody on the team.”

“Today was just one of those days where I think the car was super fast all weekend.”

Dixon effectively took the lead after the first round of pit stops by undercutting pole sitter Colton Herta by a lap. The six-time IndyCar champion led a total of 40 laps to take his first win since his triumph at Texas Motor Speedway early last season, over 12 months ago.

He now sits fifth in the championship table, trailing his points-leading Ganassi team mate Marcus Ericsson by 44 points.

“It’s been a bit of a blah year,” Dixon said frankly of his season prior to Toronto. “We’ve had loads of top fives, but they’re not going to win you a championship. We’re in the business of winning, right? I think that’s where it gets frustrating.”

Prior to the weekend, Dixon’s season had been defined by another agonising near-miss at the Indianapolis 500. The 2008 Indy 500 winner took the pole and led 95 laps, but a pit lane speeding penalty cost him what appeared to be a sure victory – opening the door for Ericsson to win the race and assume the lead in the IndyCar championship table.

“You see the close misses. Indy is a good example. Indy is a good example for several years! It’s a team effort. I made a big mistake this year. Definitely frustrating.”

“Detroit could have been a lot different. Road America, as well, and Mid-Ohio.”

“I think you start to hit a bit of a bottom-out. It’s weird, this sport – when you’re on a roll, you just think it happens, it’s easy, stuff like that. You maybe don’t really respect it as much. But there are low points. I’ve had these periods in my career just where you have to be really respectful of the sport. When it comes, you got to be extremely happy about it.”

Dixon now looks forward to what could be a major points-paying weekend at Iowa Speedway, which hosts two races on 23 and 24 July. “We had some good results, a second and fifth, last time we were there,” Dixon said of the 2020 races on the short oval. “We had a decent test there [in June]. I felt like we made some good gains.

“It’s going to be a big points weekend. I think the stretch that we’re in five races in four weeks is going to put a pretty good pressing note on how the championship is going to flow. I don’t want to predict anything in this sport. It’s too tough to do that. All I know is we will be trying as hard as we possibly can.”

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RJ O'Connell
Motorsport has been a lifelong interest for RJ, both virtual and ‘in the carbon’, since childhood. RJ picked up motorsports writing as a hobby...

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5 comments on “With milestone victory, Dixon’s “blah year” could now yield his seventh title”

  1. He should be leading the championship comfortably. He was dominating and driving brilliantly the Indy 500 until he made the mistake on the pit entry. He is by far the most consistent driver n the grid. Look at record. In the last 19 years, 6 championship titles, 2 runner ups, 5 3rd place, 3 4th place. He finished top 4 in 16 seasons. Nobody has a better record or consistency than him.

    1. Indeed, with the double points awarded at Indy, the championship standings would look quite differently.
      Dixon is a beast and deserves much more recognition in the racing world. The IndyCar field is the strongest driver line-up in all of top-tyre racing series.

    2. Bruno Verrari
      19th July 2022, 22:09

      Ericsson has picked more points the past year than Dixon – and will be the one to beat him to the title!

  2. The late caution call from race control at Mid-Ohio still baffles me. Dixon would have been fighting Palou for the win. Instead it gets handed to the other Scott from New Zealand.

  3. There’s no doubt that winning seven Indy car titles is an achievement head and shoulders above doing the same in F1.

    Shame he won’t get the recognition he deserves.

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