Scott Dixon ready for favorite course

LEXINGTON, OHIO » A year ago, Scott Dixon came to one of his favorite courses and had one of the most trying weekends of his racing career.

A five-time winner at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Dixon faced reporters two days before the race and, along with his team owner, discussed having Target pull its sponsorship of Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of the season after 27 years.

That media event was followed by Dixon’s last-place finish 48 hours later in the Honda Indy 200 because of mechanical issues.

He’s in a much better spot entering the race Sunday at Mid-Ohio.

The 37-year-old New Zealander leads the IndyCar standings with 423 points, three more than Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves.

He won at Road America in Wisconsin on June 25 and has 11 top-10 finishes in 12 races, including five podium appearances.

Dixon won on Mid-Ohio’s 13-turn, 2.258-mile course in 2007, ’09, ’11, ’12 and ’14 and has nine top-10 finishes in 12 starts at the track.

“It’s similar to a lot of the tracks I grew up driving in New Zealand,” he said Friday. “It’s quite an aggressive track. You can get a lot out of it by building on each lap. The track likes sort of loose or neutral cars, so if you like an under-steering car you struggle here a lot more. It’s the balance of a having a car I prefer that is better suited here, but it’s also the team is very good here.”

It hasn’t hurt that Chip Ganassi Racing has 10 victories at Mid-Ohio, although Dixon’s three years ago was the last.

“He’s extremely underappreciated,” driver Ryan Hunter-Reay said. “I think he’s a legend, what he’s accomplished. I don’t want to say too much because I’m racing against him every weekend but it’s amazing what he’s been able to accomplish through the years.”