If history is any indicator, Scott Dixon will end up in the winner’s circle following Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.
The New Zealand native and defending Verizon IndyCar Series has an incredible streak going at the 2.258-mile road course in Lexington, Ohio.
In his last nine IndyCar starts there, Dixon has won five times and finished third yet another time, leaving him with an average finish of an amazing 2.7, best of any active IndyCar driver.
In addition, he has two poles, an average starting position of 5.7 and has finished all 780 laps contested.
But here’s an interesting twist:
In his first five races at Mid-Ohio under the IndyCar banner (he finished 12th and 5th in his two Champ Car races there previously), Dixon won every other year. In other words, Dixon had three wins in five years (2007, 2009, 2011).
Then he began another streak in 2012, having won every other race from that point (2012, 2014). So, if you go by history, Dixon – who finished fourth in last year’s race – is due to win yet again, making it three of the last five just like the previous streak.
Needless to say, Dixon is looking forward to Sunday’s race and potentially closing the gap on points leader Simon Pagenaud. Dixon comes into the race fourth in the standings, 83 points behind the Team Penske driver.
There’s the additional motivation, now, of wanting to win for Target – as it begins its final five races on Dixon’s car.
“I have a soft spot for Mid-Ohio, to be honest,” Dixon said. “I think we have five victories there over the years and 10 or so with the team in total.
“It’s a place that we always feel that all four of our teams will have a shot at winning, and there aren’t many tracks out there where your confidence level is that high as a team. It’s a track that really feels like home to me.”
Follow @JerryBonkowski
