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Six-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon recently opened up about how he mentally approaches each race during the season, including the Indianapolis 500, with a mindset of ‘it’s just another race,’ even though he knows it isn’t. In an interview hosted by James Hinchcliffe on the official NTT IndyCar Series YouTube channel, Dixon shared how he manages nerves and pressure in high-pressure situations.
With the 109th running of the Indy 500 fast approaching, Dixon talked openly about the emotional ups and downs that drivers experience during the year. He said that while every race carries weight, there are more stressful moments, especially when family, friends, and sponsors are watching. Still, he tries to stay level-headed.
“I think they’re all pretty similar, but factors for sure,” Dixon said about the pressure of race day. “Indy 500, you always go into this mindset, it's just another race. Well, we all know it's not just another race... All your mates are flowing in, all the family is here, you know, sponsors, whatever it is." (7:30 onwards)
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“So yeah, you know it's like most of the season, right? The emotional roller coaster is very up and down, but there are more stressful moments. But as the saying goes, that's a privilege, you know, we're lucky to be in that moment to be able to try and achieve something really cool and do it together," Scott Dixon added.
Dixon, who drives the No. 9 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing, is the winningest active driver in IndyCar with 58 career wins. Only A.J. Foyt has more, with 67. The 44-year-old from New Zealand has been with Ganassi since 2003 and won the championship in his first season with the team. Since then, he’s added five more titles and one Indianapolis 500 win in 2008.
Scott Dixon wants to compete in the Daytona 500 next year
Scott Dixon has shared that he is thinking about racing in the Daytona 500 next year. While visiting this year’s NASCAR season opener to support his friend and former IndyCar rival Jimmie Johnson, Dixon told Fox Sports that he’s been talking with people in the paddock about how to make it happen.
"We were just talking about that, trying to work out how I can do my entry next year," Scott Dixon said (via Road & Track) when asked about a potential entry in the race in the future. "I haven’t been to the 500 for probably 10 years. It’s nice to be back.”
Dixon was in Daytona before the Great American Race took place for the Rolex 24 Hours endurance race, which he competed in as part of his off-season schedule. During his visit to the Daytona 500, he said he was happy to see the new partnership between IndyCar and Fox Sports, who now cover both series.
Scott Dixon’s interest in NASCAR’s biggest race comes at a time when it has become easier for drivers in other racing series to get a spot on the grid. This year, four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves tried the Daytona 500 for the first time. NASCAR also introduced the “Open Exemption Provisional” rule, which gives well-known drivers from other series a better chance to qualify.
If Dixon does make the attempt, it would be his first time competing in a NASCAR Cup Series race.
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