Scott Dixon

Scott Ronald Dixon (born July 22, 1980) is a New Zealand racing car driver.

He has always stated his determination to become Formula 1 world champion, and showed his exceptional ability when he won the Indy Racing League (IRL) championship in 2003.

Dixon started racing karts as a very young child and by the time he was 12 he had achieved more than 30 major wins in New Zealand and Australia.

Nicknamed The Phantom because he was (and still is) very reticent, at 13 he was granted a special racing licence to compete in formula racing cars and was instantly competitive with much older and more experienced drivers.

1994 --Won New Zealand Formula Vee championship series.

1995 -- Won the New Zealand Formula Ford Class 2 championship series with 13 victories in 14 races.

1996 -- Won the New Zealand Formula Ford championship Series.

1997 -- Rookie of the Year and third overall in the Australian Formula Holden (Formula 3000) championship series.

1998 -- Won the Australian Formula Holden (Formula 3000) championship series with five victories from 12 races.

1999 -- Went to the US for the Indy Lights championship series. Driving for Johansson Motorsports he immediately impressed motor racing aficionados there especially as he had never before raced on ovals. He set a lap record when taking pole position for the Chicago (oval) race which he won. He was consistently fast throughout the year but experiencing five DNFs meant he placed fifth in the series.

2000 -- Joining the PacWest team, Dixon became the second-youngest champion in Indy Lights history. He had six wins -- Long Beach, Milwaukee (pole position), Chicago, Vancouver, Laguna Seca and California -- out of the 12 events. His versatility was clearly demonstrated when he became the only Indy Lights driver ever to win at least one race in a season on each of the four types of CART circuits -- oval, super-speedway, temporary/street course and permanent road course.

2001 -- Dixon moved with PacWest Racing up to the CART FedEx Championship Series where he quickly demonstrated he was competitive with the international drivers in the US series. On May 6 he won the Lehigh Valley GP at Nazareth to become the youngest ever winner (20 years, 9 months and 14 days) in any open wheeler racing anywhere in the world. He won the Jim Trueman Trophy for Rookie of the Year and was a creditable eighth in the championship despite not finishing some events.

2002 -- A topsy turvy year which started and ended on uncertainty for Dixon. As ongoing involvement of PacWest looked doubtful, after three events Dixon moved to a new team, Target Chip Ganassi Racing, just before the Milwaukee Mile. His performances improved immediately, but mechanical problems meant he finished only 13th in the series. Later in the season he was unsure about his future when Chip Ganassi announced he was moving in 2003 to the rival IRL series which races only on ovals, but Dixon remained with the team.

2003 -- Champion, Indy Racing League Indycar series, driving the Ganassi No 9 G Force Toyota and winning $1,481,265 plus a $1,000,000 bonus. The first half of the season started well with wins at Miami, Pikes Peak and Richmond, but from there on Dixon did not experience another win. However, despite various problems he won the championship through consistent high placings as revealed by the statistics that show he finished nine times in the top five but only 11 times in the top 10. Took pole positions at Motegi, Richmond, Kansas, Nashville and Nazareth which won him the MBNA $20,000 pole award. Also won the Marlboro $20,000 prize for leading most laps, 748, which is a record for any season in the IRL. He recorded the most dominating performance in IRL history when he won at Richmond. It was the first time a driver led every lap of the race. His win at Miami earned him the $10,000 EMCO Gears Hard Charger Award, which although of small monetary reward, is coveted by the drivers. He had problems in qualifying and started 12th on the grid. That grid position was the lowest of any driver to win a race in 2003. A low point of the year happened during the Indianapolis 500. Dixon was well placed to win the event when he made an uncharacteristic error while putting heat into his tyres under a yellow flag. He spun and never really recovered. The American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AARWBA) selected Dixon to the 2003 Auto Racing All-America team, and before season's end, he was announced as a 2004 IROC (International Race Of Champions) contestant. Dixon was devastated on October 22 when his friend Tony Renna (26) was killed at Indianapolis while testing tyres. Dixon and Renna had been rivals in Indy Lights and developed a close friendship. Renna was joining Dixon at Chip Ganassi for 2004, and was testing his Ganassi car when the accident happened.

External link

• http://www.scottdixon.co.nz/