Scott Dixon has gone from 126 points to 74 behind Alex Palou in the space of two IndyCar races, and the funniest thing is that his peers don’t know how he has done it.
Of course, the flashy things in motorsport like poles and stunning pace in races get fans excited. But in the last two events, Dixon has done something that should be interpreted as equally impressive, even if not as glamorous, in winning races through bafflingly good fuel mileage and tyre care.
At both the Indianapolis road course – where he was involved in a crash on the first lap – and Gateway, multiple drivers had the opportunity to copy Dixon for his tyre- and fuel-management strategy, coupled with achieving a minimum speed needed to stay ahead, but none could match it.
For two races in a row, a bewildered podium of drivers have marvelled at and failed to explain how Dixon is doing this. The best we’ve had so far is multiple variations of “Scott Dixon decided to do Scott Dixon things”.
It’s incredible, given that the car – or chassis at least – is 12 years old, and a good split of Chevrolet and Honda drivers have access to the same equipment as Dixon.
His team-mate Palou, who leads the championship, started ahead of him in both races, but it was Dixon who prevailed. How have the people with access to his data not worked out how he regularly does things like this?
It only adds to my opinion that Dixon is going to be another one of those drivers people don’t appreciate properly until he’s retired.
It must have been Palou’s worst nightmare to see Dixon winning at Gateway, for the second race in a row, because as he’s proven in those last two races, he doesn’t need to be on pole or at the front to win a race. He can just as easily do it from starting positions of 15th and 16th, as he’s done in the last two races.
Asked by The Race if that gave him more belief, and about his mindset regarding the gap to Palou, Dixon replied: “I would much rather be in Alex’s position. That’s a pretty healthy lead.
“He’s maintained and done an exceptional job all year.
“It would take a pretty big hit, I think. It would take maybe a mechanical or a crash to make it interesting for Laguna. But anything is possible, right?
“I’ve personally been involved in situations like that before. There are no double points, none of that stuff going on.
“Yeah, he’s got a healthy lead. Until we’re mathematically out of it, we’ll keep pushing as hard as possible as we always do. The goal for us in the last two races is to try to win them.”
The only thing Dixon hasn’t been able to do this year is win as much as Palou, which is a point of contention because he believes he and his #9 team have given away chances at that this season repeatedly.
It perhaps says more about Palou’s season and just how good it’s been that if you give Dixon the sixth place he was running in at Long Beach before he was taken out, his worst finish would be seventh – Palou’s is eighth – but Palou would still be 51 points clear with two races to go.
That Long Beach race, in which Dixon was put into the tyres by Pato O’Ward, feels like something Dixon could hold onto but he’s been a part of so many championship fights now that you get the feeling he finds a way to not let that get to him.
And Dixon is always the kind of driver who cares far more about missed opportunities of his and the team’s own doing over things out of his control.
“You can dissect so many,” added Dixon, when asked by The Race about the importance of that Long Beach race.
“I think even Nashville, had we got past Josef [Newgarden], it would have been a different race for us. Had we got past [Colton] Herta at Mid-Ohio, it would have been a different race for us.
“My mistake at Elkhart Lake [he crashed in practice then qualified only 23rd], we came from the back, got to a fourth[-place] finish. With the performance of the car, it should have been a quite easy podium.
“It’s easy to look back throughout the season and see maybe errors or just races that maybe didn’t roll our way. That’s how championships go. It’s what keeps you hungry and wanting for more.”
That hunger is evident in that, despite his age of 43, Dixon appears to be learning and getting better each year rather than going backwards towards the end of his career. Last year Dixon qualified 11.1 on average and he’s upped that to 8.8 this season, despite a slight dip recently.
But these last two races have been the pillars that Dixon has built his success upon in fuel saving and tyre management.
Even during his stint on the soft tyre at Gateway, he managed to do 20 laps or so more than any of his major rivals, having had next to no practice on the first-ever oval event IndyCar has run with two tyre compounds.
Dixon vs rivals on the soft tyre
Dixon – 60 laps Palou – 45 laps Rossi – 41 laps O’Ward – 40 laps
Newgarden – 40 laps
Even if Dixon fails to overturn the 74-point advantage to Palou, this year has been an impressive one, especially underpinned by the recent double wins.
In many seasons it would have been enough for a title, but Palou’s winning and consistency have just proven a step ahead this year.
“I think the 10 car has had an almost perfect season,” added Dixon.
“Kudos to everybody on the team. They’ve done everything great.
“The days that they maybe struggled for pace, they were able to sort that out with strategy in the race. They’ve really just had no bad days.
“When people have those years, it can be a bit hard to watch for other competitors in the field. I’ve been in that place, too, where anything you kind of touch just kind of turns to gold or goes in the direction you want it to.
“I think what is very special, going into the last two races to only have a Ganassi driver able to win the championship is very cool and very good for this team.
“What is special about this team is the people. They’re the ones that are very deserving of the run that this team has had this year.”
What Dixon needs to do
It’s a bit too soon to get too deep into the title permutations, especially as there’s no result Dixon can score that will guarantee him still being in the fight in Laguna if Palou scores a better result or finishes close enough behind.
A third place, or a fourth multiple bonus points, would guarantee the title for Palou after Portland. Scoring 34 would ensure a tie at worst if Dixon took maximum points in the last two races – and Palou would win on a tie break of best finishes.
That means Dixon effectively needs to reduce Palou’s gap down to 48 after Portland to have any shot at the title in the last race. That’s because Palou will score five points merely for starting in Laguna Seca.
Therefore, Dixon needs to outscore Palou by 21 points at the next race to postpone the Spaniard’s coronation – but to actually keep the intrigue going into the finale, he needs to do it by 26 points. It’s a tall order, albeit one he did manage at Gateway.
Keyword: Dixon’s proved why he’s the last person Palou wants chasing him