Scott Dixon - IndyCar: Kiwi ace chases success in St Petersburg

Scott Dixon: 'I’m excited for the new season to kick off.' Photo / Photosport

The 2025 IndyCar and Indy NXT championships get under way this weekend at St Petersburg, Florida. There are now five New Zealanders competing at the elite level of American single-seater racing: Scott Dixon, Scott Mclaughlin and Marcus Armstrong in IndyCar, along with Liam Sceats and Callum Hedge in Indy NXT.

IndyCar stalwart Dixon is in his 23rd consecutive season in the series. The St Petersburg race has been run every year since 2003 (except for 2004). No driver has competed in every St Petersburg race, but Dixon has started 20 races on the spin.

It’s one of five tracks on the race calendar where Dixon is winless, however he has not been without success. He has four runner-up finishes at the circuit and has an average finish of 7.6 in his 20 previous starts. He has finished in the top 10 in his past nine starts, including seventh in 2024.

Dixon’s career numbers are incredible. He will make his 403rd race start, which is second on the all-time list. He has made 339 consecutive starts heading into the weekend, the longest streak in the series.

“I’m excited for the new season to kick off,” Dixon said on Newstalk ZB. “It’s been a long off-season, but I was able to do some ISA [sportscar] racing because there was no real IndyCar testing.

“There’s been a lot of drivers sitting around not doing much, so it’s good to be getting back to racing.

“There’s been quite a few changes, especially on the team’s front. We went down from five cars to three, but we have an engineering alliance with Myer Shank Racing so Marcus [Armstrong] is still a teammate as he’s leased out to Myer Shank.

“On the car side of things, there’s not too much difference — maybe just a little bit of energy difference on the hybrid side of things. There’s also a bigger difference in the tyre compounds.

“We’re looking to improve on the first race last year when we didn’t even make it out of the pits. We’re getting to know the hybrid better now so hopefully it won’t happen again.

“It’s getting harder now to win a championship. There are no small teams now. When I won my first championship [2003], I think I DNF’d five or six races and there’s no way you can do that now. There’s capability from most of the grid now and everyone has a shot of winning a race.”

Six-time IndyCar champion Dixon is at the top his game and is the man to beat. On the other hand, Sceats is about to start his last push to get into the main game. The former New Zealand Grand Prix winner has worked his way up through the junior categories and gets to showcase his speed this weekend in Indy NXT.

“It’s a big one, my Indy NXT debut, racing as the curtain-raiser to IndyCar in front of the teams and people I aspire to be among,” Sceats said. “I’m super pumped to be here, and I’ve dreamed of this moment for a few months now.

“I’m quietly confident and testing as a rookie has been strong. My goal for the weekend is to learn, grow and prove I belong at the front of the pack while setting myself up for 2025.

“The series is very competitive, there are expectations are that I am at the front end of the pack. I want to be fighting at the front of the field.

“The team sees me as a strong team member and are looking for results. They have seen how fast I am in the car, so I’m after getting a good result.”