For Scott Dixon this has been a stellar year: he got married, won at Indy and now has won the IRL IndyCar championship, earning both the prestige plus the million-dollar purse. Dixon became the fourth driver ina a row to win both the Indianapolis 500 and the IRL IndyCar Championship in the same season.
Dixon won six races this season, missing out on a record-breaking seventh win by only inches. He set the record for most laps led in a season, and made up for last season’s disappointment, when he lost the championship on the last turn of the last lap of the last race.
More Castroneves Controversy
IndyCar came back to an oval for the season finale: the 1.5-mile Chicagoland course is a modified oval with steep banking (18 degrees) through the turns. Drivers were lapping the track at 215 mph in qualifying.Series points leader Scott Dixon qualified second, while top contender Helio Castroneves had his qualifying run rejected by track officials, who claimed he crossed the painted line indicating the bottom of the racing area. Thus Helio had to start in last place.
To win the points race Dixon had to finish eighth of better, while Helio had to win, with Dixon finishing no better than eleventh. Starting from 28th place made Helio’s task all the more daunting.
Always the gentleman, Helio Castroneves had nothing bad to say about IndyCar competition president Brian Barnhart. “We’re all good,’ he told reporters with a smile. “It going to make for an exciting race.” When asked to comment on the two decisions which made his chase for the points win so difficult, Helio instead took the time to thank his fans for so many encouraging letters and emails.
Regarding starting at the back of the pack, Helio admitted that it presented some problems. “It’s 27 drivers to pass. Some of them might not be too experienced on ovals. We want to take it easy; we don’t want to get caught up in others’ problems.”
Last year, Scott Dixon was battling Dario Franchitti for the points lead in the final race and ran out of fuel on the last turn of the last lap, losing the championship. This year, Dixon seemed to have the lead locked up; with three races left to go he was 78 points ahead. But Helio Castroneves and racing luck combined to take the points chase right down to the wire.
Helio Drives Hard, Dixon Drives Smart
Dixon drove a smart, patient race, though over the pit radio his frustration was clear.
Castroneves traded the lead with Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon, but for most of the middle of the race the running order was Andretti Green teammates Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe in first and second, with Briscoe running a bit to the right of his teammate to create a rolling roadblock.
Throughout the race Helio’s pit crew had outperformed Dixon’s, delivering their driver back onto the track two seconds faster then the series leader. However, when Mario Moraes crashed on lap 182, bringing out a full-course yellow, Dixon’s crew made up for their earlier stops.
Both teams decided to add just enough fuel to finish running flat out; no tires, no adjustments, just get the cars back on the track in a hurry. Dixon’s crew made a perfect stop, and got Scott Dixon out onto the track three feet ahead of Helio Castroneves. This put Dixon in first place when the race went green, with only eleven laps to go.
Before the field could complete a single lap, Graham Rahal hit the wall, bringing out another full-course yellow, further dampening Helio’s chances.
Dixon and Castroneves Race to the End
Even though Dixon knew he had captured the championship, he didn’t give way—he is a racer, and he wanted to win the race.
The pair ran the last two laps side by side, each nosing ahead a few feet and then falling back. At the finish line it was Castroneves who won by thirty-three ten-thousands of a second—the nose of his car was less than a foot ahead as the pair crossed the finish line.
For Dixon, losing the race was a disappointment, but winning the series to cap a year of successes should more than make up for that, after the emotions of the conflict cool. After the race he seemed calm and satisfied, thanking his team and his sponsors, but perhaps just bit crestfallen; clearly he wanted to win the series by winning the race.
Scott Dixon turned in a masterful drive in this race, and a dominating performance this season, leaving no doubt that the Target Chip Ganassi team deserved the series win. With first-rate preparation, wise strategy, excellent pit work, and a six wins on the season, Scott Dixon and his team unquestionably earned the IndyCar Championship victory. Winning the prestigious Indy 500 and also the points race puts him in rare company, and clearly he beat the best to get there.
But at the end of it all, Scott Dixon is a race driver, and oh, how he wanted to win that race.
