IndyCar: Scott Dixon is in a class of his own

By clinching his fifth career IndyCar championship this past Sunday at Sonoma Raceway, Scott Dixon proved that he is in a class of his own.

Scott Dixon became just the second driver in IndyCar history to secure five championships after finishing in second place in this past Sunday’s 2018 season finale, the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma, at Sonoma Raceway.

Following the 85-lap race around the 12-turn, 2.385-mile (3.838-kilometer) Sonoma Raceway road course in Sonoma, California, only the legendary seven-time IndyCar champion A.J. Foyt can say that he earned more IndyCar championships than Dixon has.

But Dixon didn’t just win five championships. He won five championships in the most competitive era that IndyCar has seen. To put this in perspective, no other active IndyCar driver has won more than one championship. He proved that he is in a class of his own.

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The five active full-time IndyCar drivers who have won one championship are 2004 champion Tony Kanaan, 2012 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2014 champion Will Power, 2016 champion Simon Pagenaud and 2017 champion Josef Newgarden. Sebastien Bourdais is a four-time champion, but he is a four-time Champ Car champion.

Dixon’s dominance can be compared to that of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who earned his seven career championships in arguably the most competitive era that NASCAR’s top series has ever experienced.

Like the case is with Dixon in IndyCar, aside of Johnson, no active Cup Series drivers have won more than one championship. The five active full-time Cup Series drivers who have won one championship are 2004 champion Kurt Busch, 2012 champion Brad Keselowski, 2014 champion Kevin Harvick, 2015 champion Kyle Busch and 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr.

The only recently retired driver who won nearly as many championships as Dixon has is four-time champion Dario Franchitti, who retired following the 2013 season, much like the only recently retired Cup Series driver who won nearly as many championships as Johnson has is four-time champion Jeff Gordon, who retired following the 2015 season (officially after the 2016 season).

Yet Dixon just keeps winning, and it does not appear that the 38-year-old Kiwi has any plans of slowing down anytime soon, especially given the fact that he just signed a multi-year contract extension to continue driving the #9 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. In the most competitive era in IndyCar history, Dixon is the perennial championship favorite.

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How many more IndyCar championships will Scott Dixon win before he retires? Will he match or perhaps pass the championship total of the great A.J. Foyt when he eventually does decide to walk away from the sport at which he has been so dominant over the course of the better part the last two decades? Whether or not he stays at five championships before he retires will not change the fact that he is in a class of his own.