Dixon completes IndyCar Drive for 5
SONOMA, Calif. – Now that it’s done, maybe in a couple days Scott Dixon will allow himself to reflect on what it means to be a five-time champion.
Maybe he’ll begin to consider what it means to know that his name isn’t merely listed alongside so many other greats but above them in many respects. Maybe he’ll sit back and appreciate the fact that with his second-place run Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, he became the only man not named A.J. Foyt to have won five Indy car championships.
Maybe he’ll do all of that. But probably not. Because then he wouldn’t be Scott Dixon.
When asked a couple weeks ago what it meant to wear the crown for a fifth time, the 38-year-old Chip Ganassi Racing star smiled before saying, “It’d mean we had an OK season.”
He’s not joking. That never-letyourself-get-too-high demeanor is not a facade. That’s who he is.
Scott Dixon is a cold-blooded assassin on the race track. He may not come across that way in his usually jolly post-race news conferences, but he’s a ruthless tactician who will do whatever it takes to get the job done.
Then, when the job is done, he moves on to the next job. So, in reality, Dixon will maybe allow himself a few moments of happiness before resetting, getting back to work and turning his ice cold gaze to 2019.
Because that’s who he is. That’s the Dixon who will use every tool at his disposal to improve. He’ll pick the brain of every teammate and gobble up every last piece of data because that could make him a millisecond quicker out of a corner. That’s the only way he’ll be able to keep racking up wins and championships.
Other drivers can’t do that, his CGR companion and former competitor Dario Franchitti said. Dixon, however, is special
“It is hard,” the four-time retired IndyCar champion said. “It’s hard to do it consecutively. It’s hard to do it, especially when you’ve done it a couple times. For most people it seems to go away, but Scott just keeps on trucking. I think it’s his biggest asset.”
On Sunday, Dixon surpassed legends in what can only be described as the most Scott Dixon way possible: cool, calm and collected. Starting second, the racer known as “Ice Man” drove flawlessly, taking few chances and making no mistakes en route to a runner-up finish.