Newstalk ZB’s D’Arcy Waldegrave talks to Kiwi Motorsport driver Scott Dixon as he prepares for next Monday's Indy500. Video / Newstalk ZB
Kiwi IndyCar racer Scott Dixon has often said winning an IndyCar title is hard, and winning the Indianapolis 500 is almost impossible.
It's one race, once a year and if you haven't got lady luck riding shotgun, all the planets aligned and Jupiter rising in whoever's quarter, it isn't goingto happen.
Dixon, the 2008 winner, has as good a chance as anyone of having his name on the Borg Warner Trophy for a second time at the Brickyard on Monday morning. And starting from P2 on the grid is no bad thing but it's one heck of a long, arduous, difficult, testing and complicated race.
The Indy 500 is the race every driver wants to win. The race places a lot of expectation on drivers and teams and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a place that can, and will, make grown men cry.
"It's really strange to be racing Indy at this time of year," Dixon told the Weekend Herald.
"It's always been the month of May and now we're halfway through August. Going racing is great, but not having all the fans here makes the race a bit flat. It's the fans who make this race what it is."
Dixon has been fast since the truncated 2020 IndyCar season started back in June, winning the opening three races. He followed that with a 12th, second and fifth to lead the championship by 49 points from Simon Pagenaud, with Josef Newgarden a further four points back.
Dixon set the early benchmark in qualifying for the Indy 500 but was pipped at the post when Marco Andretti went 0.011 seconds faster.
"It has been a good run-up to the race and we've had a fast car all season," said Dixon.
"There's so many things through the run that you could do to maybe go that little bit faster. It can sometimes just take a gust of wind to make a difference. I'm sure they [Andretti] had similar issues on their side.
"It's much better to start up the pointy end of the field, as you can stay out of trouble. It also really helps on pit lane, as it's not only very long, but also quite narrow. Getting a good release can be tricky sometimes.
"Being up at the front will make things easier and will be much better than last year when we were mid lane."
Auckland Indycar star Scott Dixon has had a good "confidence-building" season in Covid-hit 2020. Photo / Getty Images
With double race points on offer, Dixon is also keen to extend his lead in the championship. But if there was a race you can't plan for, this is it.
Having a fast car is nowhere good enough.
It's the car, the driver, the pit crew, the weather, the strategy and all this before you even consider the other teams in the field who all want exactly what you do — to win the iconic feature race.
"The race these days is not like it was years ago.
"In the past, you would only have seven cars on the lead lap and it was a sprint to the end. Or the leader would be a number of laps up on the rest of the field towards the end of the race," explained Dixon.
"Now you can easily have 15-20 cars on the same lap at the end. We want to stay up front to avoid any mid-pack dramas during the bulk of the race and then be up front again to challenge over the last few laps.
"The race can come alive around 160/170/180 [of 200] lap marker at a pit stop, or if a caution comes out. That's when you might have to change your strategy depending on what happens.
"Last year, I had managed the race so that we would be one pit stop less than the rest of the field but that went out the window with the crash [red flag lap 178]."
In a recent interview in the Weekend Herald, Dixon's strategist Mike Hull said the Kiwi's gift, and what makes him so successful, is that he drives in the moment, deals with what is in right in front of him and doesn't dwell on things.
He's also an optimist.
"I'm feeling good about the race, but then again, I always feel good going into the 500. This year the season so far has been good and confidence-building," said Dixon.
"I have a good feeling and we'll just have to see how we go. I'm positive and hopefully we can get another win."
