IndyCar: 5 way-too-early bold predictions for the 2025 season
By Asher Fair
Scott Dixon retires
Scott Dixon's 2024 season was tied for his worst since 2005, and though a sixth place finish in points is nothing to sneeze at, Dixon just really didn't feel like Dixon for much of the year.
Sure, he won two races on fuel mileage (would it even be an IndyCar season if he didn't?) on the streets of Long Beach and Detroit, but he really wasn't much of a factor the rest of the year. He finished behind drivers from four different teams in the championship standings.
Coming off of a season during which he finished runner-up behind teammate Alex Palou in the standings with his lone finish outside of the top seven being a DNF, he finished outside of the top seven on seven occasions in 2024. Even if you don't include the hybrid issue at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course or him being taken out on the opening lap at Portland International Raceway, that's still five relatively un-Dixon-like results.
For what it's worth (which, to be frank, isn't much), there is no driver currently listed for the No. 9 Honda for the 2025 season on its Wikipedia page. Though there has been nothing to suggest that Dixon won't be back in 2025, the 2026 season could be another story.
Dixon said in 2022 that he felt he had another five years in him, and the 2025 season would be year number four of that stretch. He is set to turn 45 years old in July.
Chip Ganassi Racing's driver contracts aren't generally publicized (unless they end up being brought up in lawsuits or something...), but if Dixon feels it's time to hang up his helmet, it's hard to imagine he won't be able to do so.
A second Indy 500 win is certainly still in play after he was on pace to win the 2024 race (on superior fuel mileage, of course) before a late caution and placed third after several other contenders, including eventual winner Josef Newgarden, were brought back into the mix.
But if he doesn't win the 2025 championship, it would mark the first time he has gone five years in a row without securing a title. Could an Indy 500-only deal be in store for him in the near future?