Indy 500: Scott Dixon charts plan to overcome a century of losing from 21st on the grid

Scott Dixon will start from 21st in the Indy 500. Photo / Getty Images

Scott Dixon will start his 21st Indy 500 on Monday morning from 21st on the grid, a lowly position from which nobody has won in “around 100 years”.

Others higher up the grid are better placed to take out the Greatest Spectacle in Racing – including pole-sitting fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin – but Dixon has a plan.

The 43-year-old and his crew aim to be in contention towards the end of the race. He will draw on experience earned while featuring prominently in the Indy 500 for most of this century.

Dixon has started from pole five times, including his solitary win in 2008, and has led the race 15 times, a record shared with Tony Kanaan. He has led a total of 665 laps – another record, and nearly twice as many as four-time winner Helio Castroneves.

“Gone are the days where you had drivers leading by multiple laps at the end of the race,” Dixon said. “Everything is so close now and the plan is to start to move up through the field as soon after the race starts.

“It’s definitely going to be pretty tight. The thing going for us is that in race trim, we [Chip Ganassi Racing] are decent, which is a good sign.

“We’ll keep our heads down and go about our business and Honda is working extremely hard to figure out a solution [to produce more speed].

“You’ve just got to go into the race with an open mind and give it your all. That’s all that matters.

“There is a possibility fuel mileage could be a factor but that will depend how many cautions there are,” said Dixon, considered the king of saving fuel.

The six-time IndyCar champion makes light of his place on the grid and draws inspiration from last year’s race.

“I think the last time someone won the race starting so far back in 21st was around 100 years ago. It’s the farthest back I’ve ever started the race, I think.

“If you look at last year, though, we had the tyre issue after two laps and I was 28th after the first stop. By the end of the race, we were up to fifth, so it’s all good.”

Qualifying for the 108th running of the Indy 500 started poorly for Dixon and his Ganassi team when they had to change his engine.

Qualifying then became a balance of ensuring the new engine was run in, the engine mapping was correct and enough laps were completed to set a fast time.

“We had some issues earlier in qualifying and realised something wasn’t quite right.

“They [mechanics and engineers] replaced some parts on the car for Saturday and that didn’t really do anything. So then you go into a mad scramble of replacing gearboxes and engines, and it was a bit of a mess unfortunately, but that’s the way it rolls sometimes.”

Dixon was pleased to see another Kiwi on pole, as McLaughlin set an Indy 500 record for fastest average qualifying speed over four laps of 376.94km/h.

“The Chevys are very quick this year. The Penskes have been very fast in particular [with McLaughlin, Will Power and Josef Newgarden on the front row on Monday].

“Also, kudos to McLaughlin. He’s done a decent job, and for him to put it on pole is fantastic. Of the three [Penske drivers], I was rooting for him of course.”

After four of 17 races this season, Dixon is third overall on 127 points, 13 behind Power and 25 behind leader and defending champion Alex Palou. McLaughlin is sixth on 88, with fellow Kiwi Marcus Armstrong 11th on 76.