Photo Credit: Ashley McCubbin
On Thursday, June 11 at the Honda Indy Toronto, Scott Dixon unveiled a special Jurassic World livery for his No. 9 Dallara-Chevrolet entry for Chip Ganassi Racing Teams this weekend.
“I’m excited,” Dixon commented on Thursday. “Toronto is always a fun event. It’s well-attended. The fans have a real love for the sport, and it’s cool to see. For us with the paint scheme for Jurassic World and the release of the movie being the same as the first day we go on track is going to be really cool. Hopefully we can carry some momentum from the Texas win, even though it’s a totally different track and situation. Anytime you can get a win, it’s good for team morale.”
Jurassic World, the latest installment in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park series opens in threatres nationwide on Friday, June 12. The 3D movie features stars Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Omar Sy, BD Wong and Irrfan Khann. Details about the movie can be found via the movie’s website at http://www.jurrassicworld.com.
Dixon enters this weekend on the heels of some momentum, scoring in the victory in last weekend’s Firestone 600 at Texas Motor Speedway. It marked a highlight to what has been an up-and-down season as a result of some mechanical issues and wrecks along the way.
“It’s been a little up and down,” the New Zealand driver commented. “I guess, as far as points to where we typically are, kind of good. But we’ve had some bad events. Obviously, with St. Pete, the mechanical failure that we had there with the air jacks, New Orleans was a bit of a wash-out and we picked the wrong strategy, getting taken out at Indianapolis road course, and the (Indianapolis) 500, the car was really good till we overheated at the end, kind of run out of contention at the end. The great thing about it is the car has been competitive at all the tracks that we’ve gone to. We just haven’t maximized it out every weekend.”
The confidence is there, though, based on the strength that manufacture Chevrolet has shown with the new aero kits to date this season, having won the majority of the events in dominating style.
“Chevy has done a phenomenal job,” Dixon stated. “I think, clearly, they’ve been the class of the field. With combinations, they’ve really thought through every situation at different tracks that we go to. They just had so many options that it made it accessible for the team to do well. Chevy and Pratt and Miller have done a phenomenal job.”
He knows how to do well in Toronto, sweeping the pair of events on the streets of Exhibition Place in 2013. In 10 career starts in Toronto, he has three podiums and seven top-five finishes. Dixon admits that the track can be challenging, espically through turns five thru eight.
“I really enjoy the last complex on to the front straight – nine thru 13, or whatever it is,” he added. “It’s just bumpy. Turn one is probably the most trickiest, as far as breaking and trying to carry the speed. It’s never one spot at a track like this and Toronto is one of those tracks that if you can get a lap right, it’s really rewarding.”
