There is a massive IndyCar streak on the line at Long Beach

A historic streak is on the line in Sunday’s 2021 IndyCar season finale on the streets of Long Beach, California, one we are unlikely to see again.

For the second straight IndyCar season, Scott Dixon got himself into the win column with a victory at Texas Motor Speedway. Last year, he won the opener at the track after the season was delayed due to the various COVID-19 restriction-related postponements/cancellations.

This year, he won the first of two races of a doubleheader at the track, a twin bill which featured the 16-race season’s third and fourth events.

With his win there last year, he extended his record to 16 consecutive winning seasons, and he tied A.J. Foyt’s record of 18 total winning seasons. With his win there this year, he extended his record to 17 consecutive winning seasons, and he broke Foyt’s record with 19 total.

But with just one race remaining on the schedule, Dixon still has only this one win in 2021.

He has yet to win a road or street course race this season, and this is something that he has done in every single one of the last 16 seasons — also a record.

If he does not win today’s season finale, the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, on the streets of Long Beach, California, this would be the first season since 2004 not to feature a win by the six-time champion in a road or street course race.

The 40-year-old New Zealander is set to start this afternoon’s 85-lap race around the 11-turn, 1.968-mile (3.167-kilometer) temporary street circuit on the streets of Long Beach on the front row in second place behind the wheel of his #9 Honda. He is set to start alongside Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden, one of the three remaining championship contenders this year.

Our partners at WynnBET have Newgarden listed as the favorite at +275, while Dixon, who won at the track in 2015, is listed as a close second at +325.

Make your pick now on WynnBET.

Dixon, who is not in championship contention entering the title decider for the first time since 2016, didn’t even win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this year, a track where he is a six-time winner.

Despite the fact that he is a six-time series champion, he has never won at this particular track and gone on to win the title in the same season. So the fact that he cannot do either one this year is even more of a surprise.

In the road and street course standings, Dixon sits in fifth place, but just four points outside of the top three; he can finish as high as second. He sits in fourth in the overall championship standings, where he can also finish as high as second.

NBC Sports Network is set to broadcast the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach live from the streets of Long Beach, California beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET this afternoon. If you have not started your free trial of FuboTV, now would be a good time to do so!