Motorsport: Scott Dixon holds on to hope of clinching seventh IndyCar title

Scott Dixon sits fifth in the IndyCar standings with three races remaining. Photo / Photosport

It’s Hail Mary time after his DNF in Portland on Monday but Scott Dixon hasn’t given up hope of snatching a seventh IndyCar crown.

Before being taken out on the opening lap by Pietro Fittipaldi, the Kiwi was a serious title contender but has slipped to fifth, 101 points behind Alex Palou on 484 with just three races remaining and a maximum of 162 points available.

“It was kind of crappy [on Monday] but that’s racing I suppose,” Dixon said. “It’s a fact you can’t really do anything about it. You can only do so much.

“It really wasn’t Pietro’s fault, as he was sort of put into that position [of hitting Dixon’s car] by [Kyle] Kirkwood.

“As for the championship, you’re never out until you’re out. You’d almost have to have Alex not finish two races and I would have to at least podium. It’s probably more about going for second place rather than trying to win it.”

The penultimate round is a double header at Milwaukee, with races Sunday and Monday, and the New Zealander needs two spectacular results to be in contention at the final round at the Nashville Superspeedway two weeks later.

“Milwaukee should be interesting and we had a pretty good test here recently. On recent history, Penske will be pretty strong. Anything can happen, especially on an oval, and I’m looking forward to going racing again so soon after the last race.

“It’ll be good to go straight back at it. There’s no point worrying about what’s happened in the past and we’re going to concentrate on winning the next three [races].”

There have been seven winners this season and Dixon has topped the podium twice. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has finished inside the top six eight times in 2024.

When not finishing at the pointy end of the field, Dixon has crossed the line far down the pack, hurting his ability to accumulate points.

The 44-year-old has twice won the title on the last weekend, once on a countback. This time, the hurdle is huge but he’s not shying away from the challenge.

“There’s been a bit of mayhem this year at times and we’ve missed a few opportunities with crashes and the wrong strategy.

“When you’re close in a championship fight, you can define what you have to do a bit more. For us now, it’s more about throwing up a few Hail Marys and hoping for the best.

“Having to get wins in the next three races is a fun way to finish the season and go out on a high.”

Teammate and fellow Kiwi Marcus Armstrong is finishing the season strongly. Last year, when he won Rookie of the Year, he didn’t race any ovals, so that’s been a learning curve for him.

The 24-year-old is 13th on 258 points and could end the season inside the top 10. He’s qualified well and has stayed out of trouble to finish fifth, eighth and fifth in his last three races.

“It’s been a good couple of weeks,” Armstrong said. “We’re starting to build some consistency and we’re trying to find that last little bit of magic to get us onto that top step.

“IndyCar is so competitive and you need a lot of things to go your way in order to win on the day and I’m trying to get there to get my first win. Hopefully we’ll be able to continue the good form, although I haven’t been to Milwaukee before.”

Palou leads the series, with Will Power second (430), followed by Colton Herta (417), Kiwi Scott McLaughlin (398) and Dixon (383).