Indy driver hits brakes at Taco Bell
Scott Dixon zoomed around Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday at 232.164 mph to earn the pole for this week’s race, but he couldn’t get away from two teenagers who robbed him at gunpoint while on a late-night food run at Taco Bell.
No word on what Dixon and three-time 500 winner Dario Franchitti ordered while in the drive-thru lane, or what was taken from them by two boys, 15 and 14, who were arrested a short time later.
The robbery occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Eastern, less than a mile from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Tony Kanaan, Dixon’s teammate with Chip Ganassi Racing, told reporters that Dixon was making a food run for a group of drivers, including himself. Franchitti, who retired in 2013, also works for the team.
“While they were ordering with their windows down, two guys approached at gunpoint,” Kanaan said. “They held a gun at Dixon’s head and asked him for his wallet and his phone. You don’t expect that to happen, especially here.”
Nobody in the car was hurt. By the time practice resumed at the track Monday, the incident had become a little bit of a joking matter around the 2.5-mile oval.
Team owner Ganassi wrote on Twitter: “There goes that Taco Bell sponsorship we were working on I guess.”
Kanaan said he was supposed to be with them.
“I’m from Brazil, so I’m a little bit more accustomed to this stuff,” he said.
Dixon, who is from New Zealand, is the 2008 Indy 500 winner. He is one of five drivers to win the Indy pole three times.
Taco Bell Corp. spokesman Rob Poetsch did not comment on Ganassi’s sponsorship joke, but he expressed concern in an email.
“We’re all very relieved to hear that everyone is safe and that the suspects were caught,” Poetsch said.