IndyCar's defending champion, Dixon looks for a better start out of the gate - MotorSportsTalk

The scariest part of Scott Dixon’s 2013 championship, his third of his what-is-becoming-legendary IndyCar Series career?

He was only really good for half the season.

It was the common thread in stories recapping his comeback tour de force. From 92 points down after the first 10 races to then overcoming that gap, Dixon’s dominance on the double-header weekends helped propel him back into contention.

He managed to come back even with the two-week double whammy that was the Sonoma and Baltimore races, where contact with Will Power in both races cost him win or podium potential.

Dixon may be better out of the gate in 2014, depending on how well he handles the changes coming to Target Chip Ganassi Racing this year.

For five years, Dixon and Dario Franchitti have been the tandem to beat in IndyCar, since Franchitti’s return from NASCAR in 2009.

Now, Franchitti, Dixon’s partner-in-crime, additional setup ace and great friend is retired following the injuries suffered at Houston. He’ll still be active in an advisory role with the team, but the driver-to-driver change is the biggest jolt to the TCGR system for the first time in years.

“Yeah, it is a big loss, not just for myself, but I think for the team and also for the series,” Dixon admitted during the IndyCar media day in Orlando.

“The positive side is that he’s still going to be involved with the team. He’s obviously very talented. He’s won a lot races, achieved many things. But when it comes down to the engineering side of it, his approach to a race weekend, I think it’s something that will be missed a little bit. Hopefully with his involvement we can keep that going.”

In Franchitti’s stead are actually two new additions. Tony Kanaan was originally signed up for Ganassi’s returning fourth full-time car, yet was shifted over to the No. 10 upon Franchitti’s retirement. Re-enter Ryan Briscoe, who was Dixon’s teammate as a rookie in 2005.

“It’s very different. Some is in Portuguese and then broken English,” Dixon joked.

“But, no, you know, for him there’s lots of change. New team members, new engineer, totally different car setup. The one constant for him was luckily the engine package with Chevrolet. Dario and I were very similar I think in debriefing and the way that we approached the weekend.

“It’s hard to tell with T.K. yet because we haven’t worked together that much. But obviously he’s a big personality. Fun to have him at the team. Just to see how we work on car setups is yet to be determined.”

Kanaan and Briscoe both bring in the expertise of working with Chevrolet, and a developed twin-turbo package, as the team makes the shift from Honda this year.

For Dixon, it’s his first change in engine manufacturer since 2006, when the IndyCar Series shifted to all-Hondas after Toyota and Chevrolet pulled out following the 2005 campaign. The 2006 season marked a team resurgence after two years struggling with Toyotas.

As the team works through the change, Dixon is focused on getting off to a better start. St. Petersburg and Long Beach have traditionally been bogey tracks for him.

Much was made of Dixon’s qualifying outings at those two races last year, the 20th at St. Pete and then 26th at Long Beach after a penalty was issued.

Beyond that, results at those two tracks have been hard to come by out of the gate.

At St. Pete since 2009: 16th (2009), 18th (2010), 16th (2011), second (2012) and fifth (2013). Long Beach? It’s been 15th (2009), fourth (2010), 18th (2011), 23rd (2012) and 11th (2013).

“Personally and for the team, the thing on the 9 car side we need to do a little bit better is start the season off a little bit stronger,” Dixon said. “We’re looking for strong results straightaway in St. Pete. Long Beach has been definitely not a great track for results for us in recent history. I think if we can start strong and carry the momentum through from last year that will be goal number one.”

Ganassi, relative to some of its rivals, hasn’t banked as much preseason testing either. But Dixon, Kanaan and Briscoe have all gotten laps in sports cars. All three have raced at the Daytona and Sebring endurance events of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Only CGR’s fourth driver, Charlie Kimball, hasn’t gotten as much seat time this winter.

But for Dixon in particular, he’s hardly starting his title defense on the back foot. Just a different one, as he continues to add to his illustrious resume.

And he’s not concerned with being viewed as the driver “team leader,” even though on paper for 2014, he is.

“I’m not real interested in who is a one or a two or who is leading the team,” Dixon said. “I think we do it as a team effort. I think each driver on the team is like a quarterback to their own group of guys, and then Chip is the leader of the pack, I guess.”

Follow @TonyDiZinno

Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

Women in SuperMotocross: Jordan Jarvis knows how tough it is

The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

Women in SuperMotocross Ashley Fiolek is building community

Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

IndyCar’s defending champion, Dixon looks for a better start out of the gate

Vicki Golden and 805 Beer tell a unique story from an Inverted Perspective

Read more about SuperMotocross