Photo Credit: Shawn Gritzmacher
Scott Dixon, driver of the No. 9 Target Chevrolet has had a busy week prior to the Kohler Grand Prix of Road America at Road America race weekend. He was in Le Mans France as a part of the Chip Ganassi team in the 24 hours of Le Mans. When the race was over Dixon was a part of the race winning team along with another familiar face to the IndyCar Series Ryan Briscoe. The New Zealand driver was happy to be part of the event. His team owner Chip Ganassi is the owner in history to have won the Indy 500, Daytona 500, Brickyard 400, Rolex 24 at Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and the Le Mans 24 Hours.
“I don’t know, for me, it was definitely very special,” Dixon stated. “It’s a hell of an event. It’s kind of like the European version of the Indy 500, just the sheer size and the atmosphere. The atmosphere, it was crazy. It was a lot of fun to be a part of. For me, for the first trip there, it was eyes wide open and try to take in as much as possible.
“Far and away enjoyed the parade. The parade is definitely on another level, with alcohol mixed. Made it pretty interesting. I don’t know. Just really happy obviously for Sebastien. He’s run there many years and come close many times. To get that victory, those guys did it in style. The car was pretty fast and made no mistakes the whole race.
“Also stokes for Chip. To win all these marquee events, to go and win for Ford his first trip to Le Mans is pretty impressive. What he’s achieved in his career already, it’s already (indiscernible) compared to some of the guys he’s been compared against. Just really excited to be part of the project. Ford got their storybook ending they were looking for. Just happy for everybody. I was excited to take part in it. Hopefully our schedules work out to be a part of it next year.”
Dixon returned to the states to take place at a tire test at Watkins Glen International before heading to Road America. On Friday, he took to the track with the other 21 competitors for two practice sessions, one in the early afternoon and one in the early evening. The driver hasn’t had much time to rest.
“I think the depth of the field we have in the Verizon IndyCar Series is like no other,” Dixon added. “It’s extremely close. A lot of great talent from all around. I think, as kind of Sebastien said, anybody that has driven up against the best drivers in the world, other formulas, as well, have found their way here now.
“I think we were lucky also to be involved in the Ford project. Sebastien obviously had raced at Le Mans many times before, he had that experience. For me, that part of it felt a little bit different. A little bit uneasy I think for the first day at Le Mans. Apart from that, I don’t know, it’s just the way it worked out.
“Monday at the Glen was a little bit of an eye-opener. Just going from Le Mans straight to Watkins. The speed of the car there no with the reseal is pretty impressive. That definitely woke me up pretty quickly. I slept well that night.”
This is the first time that the IndyCar Series has been to Road America in quite a few years. A lot has changed since then. They are driving new car with a new aero kit. However, Dixon is excited to be racing at the famous road course again.
“Well, it was definitely different because I think we had a different tire coming back here,” Dixon quoted. “The car felt substantially different for me. Plus, you know, some of the teammates, my teammates, had tested here. They find different things, and you kind of go reevaluate to see whether they work for yourself.
“Yeah, I would say we didn’t exactly hit the ground running. We had definitely some problems balance-wise and some brake issues and things perhaps. Yeah, you know, I think for us, there was no separation from when we tested here six or eight months ago to even running a different tire, so, yeah, there were a lot of things that were different. I think if you’d run here last week, you obviously would hope to have hit the ground running a little bit better than what we did.”
