Scott Dixon, driver of the #9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, stands on the grid prior to the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Photo / Getty Images.
Scott Dixon, driver of the #9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, stands on the grid prior to the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Photo / Getty Images.
For the 15th year in succession the IndyCar series has come down to the last race of the season to find its champion - and New Zealand driver Scott Dixon is no stranger to a title being decided on the last race of the year.
Four of his five championshiptitles have come down to the wire at the last event of the year, so he has a history of putting his best foot forward at the most crucial of times.
If he does win early Monday morning, Dixon will have led the series from whoa to go.
At one stage he held a 117-point advantage over the rest of the field and all bar one of the drivers had conceded the championship to the Kiwi — except for defending champion Josef Newgarden. The American clawed his way back into contention while Dixon and his team floundered uncharacteristically during the second stanza of the series.
"We put ourselves in a bit of a hole we didn't need to in the last few races," Dixon told the Weekend Herald.
"It's never one thing. I think we probably didn't focus on the obvious things. We probably had too much down time and didn't figure out too many constructive ways to better ourselves.
"We forgot to do the obvious things to correct ourselves. You only had one practice then one qualifying then a race. You don't get too much time to turn anything around.
"Mid-Ohio was my fault and definitely shouldn't have had that spin and we had tyre degradation as well. Without the loss of those 25 points we could have sown up the championship.
Scott Dixon, driver of the #9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, leads a pack of cars during the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500. Photo / Getty Images.
"We just have to keep our head down, rebound and keep trucking."
The St Petersburg track midway down the Florida panhandle has been a bit of a bogey track for Dixon and he has yet to notch a win there. He has though finished second four times, so might be in a position to stand in victory lane for the first time.
He'll have his work cut out though, as going on recent form Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Colton Herta and Newgarden have all hit their stride.
Dixon's 32-point lead will give him the advantage going into the race, especially so this year when there will be no double points for the win. If Newgarden wins and gets maximum points for pole and leading the race Dixon will have to finish ninth or better to claim his sixth title. Even if they both finished tied on points, Dixon will still win the championship on countback as he has more second-place finishes than Newgarden.
"I love St Petes. As far as a street course goes it's provided fantastic racing and is one of my favourites. I just haven't managed to win there yet. Obviously, that's the goal this weekend," said Dixon.
"We need to focus on doing everything right. We still have a pretty good points lead and have to finish in the top nine.
"He [Newgarden] has to be inside the top three to do anything. It's a good situation to be in, but it's IndyCar racing so anything can happen, especially on a road course where the field can get flipped pretty quickly.
"Anything is possible so you have to be on top of your game and stay on your toes to come away with a solid result, which will be good enough to get it done."
Dixon is favourite to win the race as pressure has no place in his race make-up. His long-term race strategist Mike Hull in an earlier Weekend Herald interview said Dixon's gift as a racer was that he's "all about getting the most of what's right in front of him. He doesn't get dissuaded by adversity. If there's a problem with the car, in the pits, traffic or whatever, we don't miss a beat and focus on getting the most out of the day.
"With some drivers when things aren't going their way they will just back up. He doesn't do that".
Dixon will never get interested in what doesn't affect him so his focus once he's in the car will be on the race and getting the most out the himself and the car on the day at that specific time. With a singular focus on the race he can concentrate on what he's good at and let the rest of cards fall where they may.
"The good thing for us this year is that there are no double points," said Dixon.
"You just have to treat as another race. Sure, there's a little bit more pressure going for the title, but you can't complicate it too much. You can't let it get out of whack.
"You just have to keep your head down man, and go after it."
For the first time since 2012 there will be two New Zealanders in the field. Dixon will be joined on the grid by three-time Supercars champion Scott McLaughlin, who will make his long-awaited IndyCar debut.
Listen to D'Arcy Waldegrave's in-depth interview with Scott Dixon tonight after 7pm on Sportstalk on NewstalkZB.
