Dixon steadily piles up victories, season titles

LEXINGTON, Ohio — Not much has changed in IndyCar racing in one major facet the past 17 years. At some point during almost every race and during each season championship chase, aspirants have to deal with Scott Dixon.

So it is again Sunday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Headed into the Honda Indy 200, Dixon is the points leader — 423, ahead of the Team Penske quartet of Helio Castroneves (420), Simon Pagenaud (404), Josef Newgarden (400) and Will Power

(359), plus Graham Rahal (359) — with five races to go.

“What is he, 37? I think he’s extremely underappreciated,” fellow competitor Ryan Hunter-Reay said of the four-time series champion. “I think he’s a legend for what he has accomplished. … And through the eras of IndyCar racing, this is the tightest it has ever been.”

Though Dixon is starting sixth behind pole winner Power, Newgarden, Takuma Sato, Rahal and Castroneves, he has a knack for this track. His five wins here are a sizable chunk of 41 career victories.

“It does add pressure, too, just for the sheer fact you’re expected to have a very good weekend here, but it’s not always the case,” Dixon said.

The key to maintaining a run for another championship, he said, is “You’ve just got to put your head down and get on with it.”

He has done that — especially this season, like after a scary crash in the Indianapolis 500. He came close to serious injury, and did suffer a fractured ankle, but he rebounded to drive hard in the two races at Detroit the next weekend almost like nothing had ever happened.

“I always live life like you can’t change when you may pass, you’ve got to do what you love,” Dixon said. “I love racing … I enjoy it more than anything.”

He went on to gain his first victory this season at Road America two races ago on a weekend when the Chevy-powered Penske drivers — Power, Newgarden, Castroneves and Pagenaud — seemed to have the field covered. The Honda group, which includes Dixon, were at a disadvantage due to the aerodynamic package on their cars, but the hard-driving Dixon and his Chip Ganassi Racing team found a way.

“It’s few and far between, and it means a lot to have a weekend like that,” Dixon said. “I think out of all the race victories I’ve had, there are maybe five of those in total where you get it completely right.”

Power would like to have that feeling Sunday. Despite his great success in qualifying at Mid-Ohio