Dixon pushes limits in preparation for Indy
Brush with the wall proves former winner is not holding back after qualifying second
Scott Dixon crashed into a wall hours after clinching second spot in qualifying for next Monday’s Indy 500. Dixon was back out on the track in practice and made light contact with the outside and inside walls of the track.
Damage to his car appeared superficial and Dixon was been cleared by medical staff.
Earlier, he said he was pleased with his qualifying efforts which left him just behind Marco Andretti, who was 2 months old the last time his venerable racing family led the field to green at the 500. In this strange pandemic-plagued season, he ended a 33-year Andretti drought by winning the pole.
That darned “Andretti Curse” has haunted three generations of racers at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1969, when Mario Andretti won his only Indy 500. Now his grandson, with a lightning-fast and fearful four laps around the speedway, has cleared the first hurdle toward an elusive victory.
Mario Andretti was 1 for 29 in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” with just three career poles, his last in 1987. His son, Michael, never won a pole and his best finish in 16 tries was second in 1991. Jeff Andretti went 0 for 3. John Andretti was 0 for 12 and Marco currently is 0 for 14.
In his 15th attempt, he will attempt to end that stupid family curse once and for all.
The last of nine drivers to make a qualifying run, Marco Andretti logged a four-lap average of 231.068mph (371km/h) to bump five-time IndyCar champion
Dixon from the pole. Andretti worried about the wind all morning and relied on advice his grandfather has long given the racers of the family to find the courage to hold it wide open for four laps around one of the most famous tracks in motorsports.
“The wind will scare you, but it will never crash you,” Marco Andretti said, quoting his grandfather after his run.
He seemed to have tears in his eyes and his hands appeared to briefly shake as driver after driver congratulated him on pit lane.
“Obviously I was emotional. We put so much into it. This place means so much to us as a family,” Marco Andretti said. “We’ve just been through so many ups and downs at this place. Obviously my (late) cousin John is riding with me, my grandfather from home.
“We know family is pulling for us. We live and breathe this sport, this race in particular.”
“Honestly Marco was the guy I was hoping for because I think he deserved it,” said Dixon, who held pole position unless Andretti slipped through in the final run in qualifying.
“That’s a hard situation to go into, especially being last up and everything is on the line. We threw up a decent number. It wasn’t going to be easy to beat.”
● Kiwi driver Scott McLaughlin’s feeling positive despite a mixed bag of results at the latest Supercars event in Darwin.
McLaughlin, who secured pole position in both of Sunday’s races and claimed the opener, finished behind Jamie Whincup in the second race.
He said it at least made up for a disastrous 20th-place finish in Saturday’s race. McLaughlin is 101 points clear of Whincup on the overall standings.
● Lewis Hamilton continued his procession towards a seventh Formula 1 world championship with a comfortable victory in the Spanish Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver led every lap in Barcelona, taking the chequered flag a mammoth 24.1s ahead of Max Verstappen, with Valtteri Bottas in third.
Hamilton will head to the next round in Belgium with a commanding 37-point lead over Verstappen in the standings.