Qualifying: Dixon heads title rivals
Scott Dixon continued his dominance of the short ovals on the IRL IndyCar Series schedule by winning the pole position for Sunday's Firestone Indy 225 at Nazareth Speedway. His lap of 19.6633s around the one-mile circuit just edged Penske star Helio Castroneves. Tony Kanaan and Dixon's team-mate, Tomas Scheckter, will fill the second row for the race
The Ganassi Racing driver has been the dominant force on the smaller tracks that the IRL visits. He won the season opener at Homestead-Miami, and then won successive short-track events at Pikes Peak and Richmond. His pole for Sunday's race was his fifth in 13 events this season.
"I definitely do like the smaller tracks," said Dixon. "We don't get to go to a lot of them through the season. They're a lot more fun, and this one stands out. It's got elevation changes and three very different corners. Through the season we really don't get to see things like this. I just really enjoy these places."
Dixon also enjoys a good points race. Currently he's third in the IRL standings, 12 points behind the leader, Tony Kanaan. Castroneves is second, eight points behind Kanaan, while Gil de Ferran is fourth, 13 points off Kanaan's pace.
De Ferran will start sixth, while Sam Hornish Jr., back in the championship hunt after last week's runaway win at Kentucky Speedway, will start seventh. Hornish is 77 points behind Kanaan with four races remaining.
In spite of the close conditions - both on the track and in the standings - Dixon says he and his Ganassi Racing crew aren't altering their approach.
"I think you can start changing too many things and start focusing on the championship," Dixon said. "You can probably find yourself in more trouble than you would if you just got on the job. We're going to do what we've been doing all year, and that's try to win races."
Previous article
Friday practice: Scheckter sets pace
Next article
Castroneves would welcome Hornish
Indy500: Starting grid
IndyCar: Colton Herta takes victory at St. Pete
Barber IndyCar: Lap 1 Crash
Barber IndyCar: Palou wins at Birmingham
The lasting legacy of a fallen Indycar rookie
Jeff Krosnoff was plucked out of obscurity to become a respected and highly popular professional in Japan, and then got his big break in Indycar for 1996. But a tragic accident at Toronto 25 years ago cut short a promising career and curtailed his regular team-mate Mauro Martini's passion for racing
The two key areas where Dixon needs to re-assert his authority
OPINION: Having been Chip Ganassi Racing's IndyCar focal point for the best part of a decade, Scott Dixon has been so far outgunned by new team-mate Alex Palou in 2021. After finishing behind the Spaniard at his traditional happy hunting ground at Mid-Ohio, Dixon has work to do to assume his traditional position in the team and the standings
The winners and losers of IndyCar 2021 so far
At the halfway point in the 2021 IndyCar Series season, we've had seven winners in eight races, spread between five teams – none of them Team Penske. In this unusual season, even by IndyCar standards, who’s excelling and who’s dragging their heels?
Castroneves: How I kept it under control to make Indy 500 history
Helio Castroneves’ overwhelming vivaciousness outside the cockpit belies a hardcore racer who knows how to plot his moves – and then recall it all. A day after his fourth Indy 500 win, he explained his tactics
How 'chess master' Castroneves cemented his Indy legend status
Helio Castroneves joined AJ Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears with the most Indianapolis 500 wins after edging past Alex Palou on the penultimate lap of a thrilling race that validated Michael Shank's faith in the veteran Brazilian - who is discovering that there is life after Penske after all
Indy 500 preview: Will experience or youth be victorious at the Brickyard?
A quarter of the drivers racing in the 105th edition of the Indianapolis 500 are former winners - but are they the favourites? The veteran drivers largely impressed in qualifying - but there's also a plethora of young guns looking to secure victory at IndyCar's flagship race...
What will it take to get American drivers in Formula 1?
The FIA says it wants American drivers in Formula 1, but would it take an IndyCar driver to transfer or does an American need to join the European junior ladder system to get there?
Why IndyCar is satisfying Grosjean’s appetite for his second life
After spending the majority of his 179-race Formula 1 career in middling to tail-end machinery, Romain Grosjean finds himself once again with an underdog team in IndyCar. While not without its challenges, he's relishing the more level playing field that means his Dale Coyne Racing crew can expect to claim a few scalps...
