Dixon faces tough title showdown
Kiwi IndyCar star Scott Dixon will shoot for a fifth championship on Monday morning (NZ time) in the season finale double points race at Sonoma Raceway in California.
The 37-year-old goes into the final race three points behind Josef Newgarden but with a track record of succeeding in this situation. He won at Sonoma in 2015 to secure his fourth career championship.
“The way you have got to approach it is that it is just another race and try not to think about what you are ultimately fighting for,” Dixon told Radio Sport.
“It is definitely exciting — it is no different to just about every year. I expect the series to come down to the last race and it sure has this year with four contenders — myself and three Penske drivers.
“They [Penske] are very dominant there — I think they locked out the first two rows there last year.
“We just have to try to minimise any mistakes and I think if we have a competitive car we should have a great shot at going for the No 5 championship.”
A potential seven different drivers are a mathematical chance of winning the title but it will almost certainly come down to Dixon or the four-car Penske juggernaut. Newgarden, third-placed Helio Castroneves, fourth-placed Simon Pagenaud and fifth-placed Will Power all drive for the Penske team.
The task could be tough for Dixon if the Penske drivers work together to try to get a result for one of their cars but each driver will have their own dreams of claiming the title.
Newgarden seems most likely but he cracked under the pressure a fortnight ago at Watkins Glen to allow Dixon to come roaring back into contention. Pagenaud is the reigning series champ.