Dixon further cements place in IndyCar history books
New Zealand’s Scott Dixon has set plenty of records since his time in IndyCar/CART began in 2001, and at Milwaukee he furthered his place in the record books, capturing a record 142nd podium in his 401st race.
The first of the Milwaukee Mile double headers saw the Chip Ganassi Veteran start his 400th outing in IndyCar, before setting the all-time podium record with a runners up spot to fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin in the second race.
After tying with American legend Mario Andretti in Toronto in Round 13, his methodical “Ice-man like” rise up to the podium spots in the finale was stereotypical of what has made him one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport.
Dixon has taken two more wins in 2024 to bring his victory tally to 57. Image LAT
The 44-year old has never stopped performing since his first CART win at Pennsylvania’s Nazareth Speedway in 2001, driving a Reynard 01I Toyota powered machine for PacWest Racing in his first season.
And remarkably, since 2005, Dixon has won at least one race in every single season since, where he has collected 6 champions titles (2003, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2020) and a coveted Indy 500 in 2008, having amassed 57 wins (second of all-time behind A. J. Foyt) and 32 poles.
He also set the record for the four lap speed average for pole in the 2022 Indy 500 with a 376 kph pass before McLaughlin broke it this year, and has the second most poles at the Indy 500 with five (Rick Mears holds the record with 6).
Dixon started his North American career in CART in 2001 racing for the PacWest Racing team. Image LAT
On capturing the record, Dixon remained typically humble about his achievement.
“Yeah, it’s cool, obviously I’m a massive fan of Mario. He’s a huge part of our series,” he said.
“Again, I keep saying it, but it’s so cool that he and A.J. and many others, whether it’s Rick (Mears), come to a lot of our races. Obviously, Mario raced in a lot of different categories, as well, and achieved many great things.
“Just to be mentioned with any of those guys is very special.”
The 2024 IndyCar finale heads to Nashville SuperSpeedway on September 15, with Alex Palou leading Aussie Will Power by 33 points, whilst Dixon is 82 points behind in fifth after another consistent two-win season.
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