After fast start, Scott Dixon is confident heading into Indy 500 weekend

Scott Dixon is off to one of the hottest starts of his career as the IndyCar racing series speeds toward Indianapolis for the illustrious Indy 500 on Sunday.

In six starts this season, the Auckland, New Zealand, native and driver for Fox Chapel native Chip Ganassi’s team has three wins, led 201 laps and is ranked first in the driver standings, 49 points ahead of his closest pursuer. Dixon is confident he can get his fourth win of the year.

“I think the whole team feels pretty confident for the race this weekend,” Dixon said Thursday during a Zoom news conference with reporters.

Dixon won the first three races of the season and placed in the top five in five of his six starts.

He won the Genesys 300 at Texas Speedway then won the GMR Grand Prix by less than a second, edging Graham Rahal. His third win came July 11 as he captured the REV Group Grand Prix Race 1 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc.

It has been a commanding performance as Dixon chases his sixth series championship. But the Indy 500 might mean a little more to him.

A victory at Indy would be the 50th of his career — he ranks third all-time behind Mario Andretti (52) and A.J. Foyt (67) — and would be his second 500 win. He won his only Indy 500 in 2008 on the way to his second series championship, and while he is feeling confident, Dixon knows it won’t be easy.

“It’s definitely going to be the toughest race of the year,” Dixon said. “You definitely have to dig deep and take advantage of the opportunity that we’ve all been given.”

Marco Andretti won the pole for Sunday’s race last weekend, edging Dixon for the top spot. Dixon still earned the fifth front-row start at Indy after clocking a total time of 2:35.8098 in the qualifying race. Andretti clocked a 2:35.7985.

The 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 starts at 1 p.m. Sunday.