Scott Dixon. Photo / AP
He has been among the frontrunners for two decades but Scott Dixon is talking up the achievement of simply taking part heading into his 21st Indianapolis 500 on Monday.
The 42-year-old Kiwi has featured prominently in the iconic race for most of this century, with 12 top-10 and five podium finishes.
The six-time IndyCar champion has won the Indy 500 just once — in 2008 — and has endured some agonising near misses in his bid for the chequered flag.
Twice, he appeared to have the race won, only for a late caution seeing the race finish under yellow or leaving him with too few laps to execute a winning strategy.
But Dixon insists he’s content regardless of where he places as long as he’s given everything, and points out he’s among a handful of drivers who even get to start one of world motorsport’s most famous races each year.
“If I can get out of the car at the end of the race knowing I’ve done the best I can and given 100 per cent, I’m happy, win or lose,” Dixon said from Indianapolis.
“If you look at the big picture, I’ve been very lucky to be doing what I’m doing. If you look at the top categories in the world, like F1, IndyCar, Nascar, there are probably less than 100 who get to do it.
“Some years, you come here with a lot of pressure. This year, I’m just going with the flow, as there are so many things out of your control.”
Dixon’s enthusiasm for the event dubbed the greatest spectacle in racing is undimmed.
“Man, I just love this place. It’s a fun race but also a tough race — so mentally tough and exhausting. It’s also the biggest race in the world, and you want to give it everything and win it.”
Dixon was gunning for his third straight Indy 500 pole and a record six starts from the No 1 slot. However, he had to settle for a second-row start in sixth and is not overly unhappy, as Chip Ganassi teammate Alex Palou broke the qualifying speed record to cement top spot.
“Of course you want to be the fastest in qualifying. We gave all we could but we were lacking a bit of speed this year.
“In the last run, we went over the top a bit and things were a bit loose. We had nothing to lose, as we’d already made the top six, so that’s where we ended.
“It’s a hell of a process to go through and to get a Ganassi car on pole for three years in a row is cool; a little unexpected but we do have four strong cars for the race.”
Chip Ganassi also have 2017 and 2020 Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato starting from eighth and defending champion Marcus Ericsson starting 10th.
Five races into a 17-race season, Dixon is seventh overall on 127 points, 47 behind leader Palou. Unusually, though, Dixon and his crew seem a little off-song and the racing seems hard work.
The increasing popularity of the American open wheel series means fields are growing. That’s great for fans — there have been four different race winners this season — but collecting points on an average or bad day is harder.
“Our qualifying this year has been pretty strong but we’ve often come down on the wrong side of the strategy,” Dixon said. “We’ve done nothing wrong other than been in the wrong place or situation when a caution has come out.
“If we hadn’t had the accident at Long Beach [where Dixon finished 27th], I think we would be second or third.
“It’s a killer with the big fields now. With a 28-car field, I think you only get four points at finish. Gone are the days where you’d still get 12 or 15 points if you crashed out.”
The other Kiwi in the field, Scott McLaughlin, starts from row five in 14th position and will be looking to improve on his previous two starts where he finished 20th and 29th.