Motorsport: New Zealand's IndyCar contingent enter first oval race with contrasting backgrounds

New Zealand IndyCar drivers Scott Dixon and Scott McLaughlin will be racing on their third different style of track as round three gets under way this weekend with a double-header at the Texas Motor Speedway.

The championship's opening race was on a permanent race track, last weekend drivers raced on a street course, and this weekend they are on a traditional oval circuit. While Dixon is well versed in oval racing, it'll be McLaughlin's first hit-out on a high-backed 2.5km intermediate oval.

"I'm more excited for the ovals than I [was] the road courses because it's so different to what I've done before," McLaughlin told IndyCar.com.

"It's so fast. [There's] just nothing that's quite as exhilarating as going 355km/h with people wheel to wheel.

"That's what's so cool with IndyCar racing, what's so pure about it, what makes it so different to really any sport in the world. We have a vast difference in tracks — road courses, street courses, ovals, big fast ovals, short ovals, and [all] require a different type of [driving], which is what I'm really excited about for this weekend."

It's been a baptism of fire in Indycars for former Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin as he sits in 15th place on the standings after two rounds. Photo / Getty Images

At the other end of the scale is Dixon, who's been plying his skills around ovals since his days racing Indy Lights with Johansson Motorsports in 1999. He likes the Texas oval, having got to fire the six-shooters in triumph last year, in 2018, 2015 and 2008.

While his season hasn't started with the hiss and roar of 2020, when he won the first three races, he sits second, two points behind Alex Palou in the standings after a third at Alabama and a fifth at Saint Petes.

"As usual, everybody is excited to get the season going and definitely looking forward to the Texas races," Dixon told the Star-Telegram.

"There's a lot of importance on Texas this year because it's a double-header with so many points on the line. But who doesn't love going to Texas? Who doesn't love winning at Texas?"

May will be a big month for all the IndyCar teams, with 274 points up for grabs.

It starts this weekend in Texas, with the series then racing off to Indianapolis for the Grand Prix; followed by qualifying for the Indy 500 and then the greatest spectacle in motorsport, the race itself.