IndyCar: Scott Dixon on pace to end 15-year drought

By Asher Fair | Aug 29, 2020

Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing, IndyCar, Indy 500 (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Scott Dixon’s dominant start to the 2020 IndyCar season has him on pace to become the first driver to secure a championship before the season finale since 2005.

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon shot from ninth to third place on the all-time Indy 500 laps led list in this past Sunday’s 104th running of the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after leading 111 laps throughout the 200-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) Brickyard oval in Speedway, Indiana, but he fell shy of what would have been his second victory at the famed track.

Dixon, who won the race back in 2008, finished in the runner-up position for the third time in his career, this time behind Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato. Sato became the 20th driver to win the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” twice, having also won it back in 2017 driving for Andretti Autosport.

But while a second likeness on the Borg-Warner Trophy escaped the 40-year-old New Zealander again this year, Dixon made a huge gain on becoming just the second driver to win six IndyCar championships and first since seven-time champion A.J. Foyt won his sixth title back in 1975.

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Dixon entered the double points-paying Indy 500 a total of 49 points ahead of Team Penske’s Simon Pagenaud in second place in the championship standings (244 to 195). He exited the race 84 points ahead of Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden (335 to 251) in second. Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward sits another 33 points back (218) in third.

There are seven races remaining on the 2020 schedule, although two don’t yet have confirmed dates, and Dixon’s advantage over second place is already almost insurmountable over the course of two races, putting him in position to become the first driver since the late Dan Wheldon in 2005 to clinch a championship before the season finale.

Does anybody below 1st have a chance? pic.twitter.com/levzsH8HKW
— Beyond the Flag (@Beyond_The_Flag) August 24, 2020

Wheldon effectively clinched the title with two races remaining in 2005, under the assumption that he did not sit out either of the final two races.

For Dixon, this is especially true now since the 2020 season is scheduled to be tied for the shortest season since 2001 and IndyCar canceled the double points-paying feature for this year’s season finale, which was relocated from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to the initially planned venue for the March season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Indy 500 was the lone double points-paying race of the year.

But even with this alteration, there would be no asterisk in terms of Dixon matching Wheldon, and for several reasons.

First of all, double points for the season finale were only introduced ahead of the 2014 season, and every championship from 2006 to 2013, of which Dixon won two, came down to the wire with a regular points-paying season finale as well.

Plus, every championship from 2014 to 2019, of which Dixon also won two, would have done so even without a double points-paying season finale.

Additionally, Dixon could very well end up with a big enough gap over second place that he would be able to clinch the title before a double points-paying season finale anyway.

A maximum of 54 points are on the table for each driver in each race (one for taking the pole position, one for leading at least one lap, two for leading the most laps and 50 for winning), and drivers who finish in 25th place or lower score five points.

So assuming both drivers participate, a driver can only make up a maximum of 49 points over another driver in any given race, or less if fewer than 25 drivers compete.

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The next two races on the 2020 IndyCar schedule are scheduled to take place at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway as a part of a doubleheader weekend today and tomorrow. These races, the Bommarito Automotive Group Race to MEGA Savings 250s, are set to be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET on both days.