Reality for Dixon family
INDY race ace Scott Dixon is on track to star in another sort of promotional vehicle.
The Kiwi superstar, who will tomorrow look to repeat his 2008 feat of winning the Indianapolis 500, is a subject of a proposed reality TV show.
Dixon has revealed he and his wife Emma, a former British and Welsh 800m champion, had recently been tailed by film crews working on a pilot for the series.
‘‘My wife Emma and I were pretty busy last weekend off the track,’’ Dixon wrote in a blog on his website.
‘‘We were micd up for a good portion of the weekend allowing behind the scenes access to cameras and interviewers for a reality show Indycar is working on.
‘‘Nothing is set in stone yet but we’re hoping the show gets picked up as it would be really cool to have a show that follows drivers and their families around at the track throughout the season.’’
Dixon and Emma (nee Davies) are one of sport’s glamour couples. He is the most successful all-time driver in the Indy Racing League. She reached the semifinals of the 1998 Kuala Lumpur and 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games.
They wed in February 2008, almost two years after meeting on a blind date, and have daughters Poppy (2) and Tilly, eight months.
Dixon regularly provides fans with insights into his personal life, via his blogs.
Last month he wrote: ‘‘It’s really great to see Poppy start enjoying and understand what racing is. She is getting to the age where she understands a little more about what Daddy does and the cars we drive, so that is special.’’
In March he wrote about juggling the risks of being a racing driver with his commitment to being around for Emma and their girls.
Dixon’s close friend, British racer Dan Wheldon, died in October following a horror crash in the 2011 IZOD Indycar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
‘‘For me and with Dan, we were doing the thing we loved the most,’’ Dixon wrote. Emma.
‘‘When I get in the car I love my wife and kids more than anything but I’m not thinking about that side of things. I’m thinking about the car, I’m thinking about the race and I’m thinking about how to make the car go faster.
‘‘It’s different once you get out of the car and you go back to the motor home and your wife and kids are there. It changes your personal life, but on the track it hasn’t changed me.’’
Dixon’s website also features several family photo galleries, including one dedicated to their 2008 wedding. They were engaged the previous December.
Arriving at Auckland International Airport, Emma walked through Customs to be greeted by a banner written in both English and Welsh saying: ‘‘Emma Davies I love you. Will you marry me?’’.
Emma has been referred to in the US as a WAG (glamorous wives and girlfriends of sportsmen) but said: ‘‘I don’t think I am a WAG. Me and Scott aren’t really flashy . . . a great night out for us is a movie, cuddled up with our dogs and our best friends.’’
‘‘I’ve said that to