Motorsport: 'I need to start fast,' says Dixon

Defending champion Scott Dixon is claiming underdog status for Monday morning's (NZT) Indy 500 race and says he will need to burst out of the blocks if he is to become the first driver since 2002 to notch successive wins.

Unlike last year, when he started from pole position, the New Zealander is in the second row, having qualified fifth this year.

Helio Castroneves of Brazil has pole position with Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe, of Australia, alongside.

Dixon's Target Ganassi teammate Dario Franchitti, of Scotland, the 2007 winner of the Indy 500, completes the first tier.

Dixon will start from the middle of the second row with American Graham Rahal and Brazil's Tony Kanaan beside him.

Kanaan is the current leader of the IndyCar series.

Castroneves, brimming with pent up energy after a brush with the taxman sidelined him for the opening round of the IndyCars season, is the last driver to score back-to-back Indy 500 wins in 2001 and 2002.

Briton Dan Wheldon, the 2005 Indy 500 and Indycar series champion, will start the race from 18th on the grid.

The Penske team, owned by Roger Penske, is seeking an unprecedented 15th win at the Brickyard.

Dixon, the 2008 IndyCar series champion, had a poor start to the season, finishing 16th and 15th in the opening two rounds before marking a return to form with victory at the latest round in Kansas last month.

It was the Aucklander's 11th win on an oval track since his debut in 2003, an enormous boost ahead of the defence of his Indy 500 crown at Indianapolis on May 25.

"This is a big boost for my confidence, the team's confidence and a lot of momentum going into the month of May, which is our biggest race," Dixon said.

"We needed something because, so far, all we had was a sniff of the tail-end of the field."

The two-time IndyCar series champion - he won his first title in 2003 - is under no illusions of the task ahead of him on Monday given the form of Castroneves, Briscoe, Franchitti and Kanaan.

Briscoe is second in the IndyCar standings after three rounds with a win in the opening race at St Petersburg and Franchitti won the second round at Long Beach.

"(Penske drivers) Castroneves and Briscoe are extremely motivated while Dario has not missed a beat since returning from NASCAR racing.

"I'd like to think at the moment that I am a bit of a sleeper, running from the second row here."

When the green flag fell, he reckoned he would need to wring all 650 horsepower out of his No 9 car to make up ground.

"I definitely want to gain a good two or three spots in the first couple of laps. I'm going to go out fairly aggressive," he said.

"That's going to count at the end of the race so I want to be aggressive to make up some of the spots I missed in qualifying."

Setting up for qualifying had been difficult due to changes in the car. Repositioning of the exhausts had altered the airflow over the rear wing and with the wheelbase longer by 9cm, he had been unable to find the right suspension setting.

After last year's win at Indy, Dixon said he was somewhat more relaxed knowing he had already got one under the belt.

"In general, though, the approach is the same - we've got to try and be quick.

"We didn't qualify as well as we hoped but that doesn't take anything away from the race and there have been drivers who have won from much farther back at the start.

"We'll be trying to prepare as much as possible make the car as consistent as possible over the long distance."

The key to winning would be equal mix of speed, strategy and a bit of luck at the end.

"Everything needs to fall into place and we will be trying to get all of that."

Another drive down Victory Lane and holding up the Borg Warner trophy before 400,000 spectators would mean a lot to him.

"The first one is something you strive for and push as hard as possible for.

"It's hard to repeat anything but it would mean a huge amount of gratification to do a double.

"And you can't beat the cheque you get at the end of it too," quipped Dixon, whose winner's share of last year's prize pool amounted to US$2,988,065 ($5,079,151).

- NZPA