Scott Dixon “quietly comfortable” ahead of Indy 500 qualifying

A relaxed Scott Dixon could be a scary thing for the competition.

During the morning press conferences ahead of Fast Friday, the precursor to qualifying for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, the six-time IndyCar Series champion cracked a smile as team owner Chip Ganassi stated, “I don’t know that we’re 1-2-3 pole material, but we feel pretty good.”

Considering the cagey grin, Motorsport.com asked Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner and a five-time pole-sitter of the event (second all-time), if Chip Ganassi Racing has been holding back a little bit.

“I don’t know,” said Dixon, 45. “I haven’t really done too much qual sims [qualifying simulation].

“I think we’re in a good spot. We definitely saw some pretty stout runs yesterday. There’s definitely a lot of competition. Looks like there’s little pockets of groups.”

Knowing how the cars will handle the extra 100 horsepower boost implemented for the next three days that brings the grand total to roughly 780hp, increasing speeds up to an estimated 10mph, is certainly the biggest unknown.

“I think some of it will change once you go to the bigger boost,” Dixon said. “We’ll have to see how today plays out. Tomorrow looks pretty rough (with the potential for rain). Might be an all-Sunday show. 

“I feel more comfortable this year about where we are just knowing what we’ve got, how we prepared, the window we need to be in. I think as a group we feel more comfortable doing what we’re doing. I think last year we made a couple mistakes, especially in qualifying, where we should have had more performance. 

“You never really know. That’s the hard part here. Even a gust of wind can change your run dramatically. It’s harder this year with the hybrid. You’re going to see a lot of different strategies, which will be interesting. Everybody is going to be crunching those out.

“No, I feel quietly comfortable and excited. We’ll see.”

The six-time IndyCar Series Champion then went further in describing how the driving sensations feel significantly different with the boost turned up.

“You’re 10 or 12 miles an hour faster into the corners,” said Dixon, a 59-time Indy car race winner (second all-time). 

“Your average speed is up a ton. Surprised to see this week how many people were doing qual sims, even on Tuesday and Wednesday, considering how I feel how much it changes once you turn the boost up.

“It’s tricky. Once you get into that sweet spot of trying to trim out as much as possible, ride that fine line of being on the edge, not going over too much. Even if you slide the car a little bit too much, it just kills the speed.

“I don’t know. I enjoy it. It’s fun. I don’t know what driver doesn’t like more power. When they turn it up, it’s a ton of fun.”

 Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing Honda

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Lumen via Getty Images

When it comes to the race, though, Dixon, who has 25 Indy 500 starts, has endured his share of heartbreaks amid the one triumph. Even just looking back on recent years serves how close he’s come to his second ‘Baby Borg’ trophy. In 2020, he led a staggering 111 laps but fell on the wrong end of a duel with Takuma Sato. The following year saw a mismanagement of fuel strategy that left him entering a closed pit. Then, in 2022, his dominant run fell apart after speeding – by roughly 1mph – on pit lane. And those don’t include the occasional mechanical issue or bad pit stops endured at various times over the years.

“You can’t really dwell on the past,” Dixon said. “That’s for sure. It’s just eyes forward, focusing on what we’ve got this year. “Some things are in your control, some out of it. There’s definitely moments where you felt like you were hard done by and maybe some that you did yourself. 

“Yeah, it’s really just taking in the moment right now and focusing on what we’ve got in front of us. Trust me, if I can get a second, I’d be thrilled. But unfortunately there’s 32 others that are going to have a pretty good shot.” 

Dixon elaborated how many contenders he believes will be in the fight for this year’s race on May 24. 

“I think you’re going to be racing five to 10 as a group of really strong cars,” Dixon said. “Even last year you could see there were a lot of people taken out early, had issues early.

“It’s a tricky race to get everything right in that three hours. Honestly then it just gives you a shot at possibly winning. Even if you have a perfect day, it just gives you a shot.” 

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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com