Four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti believes that Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon deserves more credit for what he has achieved through his racing career.
Franchitti, who still works with Ganassi in an advisory role, and Dixon raced together as teammates between 2009 and 2013. They shared four of the five IndyCar titles up for grabs through that period, their dominance only broken by Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2012.
Dixon finished in the top three of the drivers’ standings for nine straight years from 2007 to 2015, with his run to sixth in the 2016 championship being his lowest finish since 2005. The New Zealander has four titles to his name, the most recent coming in 2015.
As well as enjoying enormous success in IndyCar, Dixon has won the Rolex 24 at Daytona twice overall and also raced at Le Mans last year in Ganassi’s new Ford GT program, finishing third in class and setting fastest race lap in the GT Le Mans class.
“I think Scott deserves more credit,” Franchitti told NBC Sports at Autosport International last week.
“He’s bloody impressive in what he’s able to do in an IndyCar and what he’s able to do in any car. He went to Le Mans last year and I believe he was the quickest guy in that particular car.
“He just goes about it with such a low-key approach. He’s not a ‘song and dance merchant’ like Helio [Castroneves] for instance. You can’t deny what he’s done.”
Franchitti ranked Dixon as one of his most capable teammates from his time in racing, praising his ability to make the most of a sub-standard car.
“Having been his teammate I know how bloody good he is and how hard he is to beat,” Franchitti said.
“I would say of all the teammates I’ve had, he’s the one who can make the most out of an average car. Part of my job with working with the Ganassi team is helping him to push him to make the car perfect.
“That was always my side of the desk when we were teammates, I was pushing to make the car absolutely perfect. He taught me that sometimes you’ve just got to hang onto it. I taught him that you’ve got to make the car absolutely as spot on as it can be.
“I still do that with him now more so because that’s my job. I love it when I can help him out a bit. He’s an exceptional, exceptional driver.”
Franchitti compared Dixon to two-time Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso, who has also carved a reputation for enjoying remarkable success with an off-the-pace car throughout his career.
“He’s also got that thing with Alonso of never giving up. Every lap he’s relentless and Scott’s that way,” Franchitti said.
“I’ve been on the losing side of that! He just keeps going.
“Another interesting thing about Scott: obviously he’s been very successful and won a lot of championships and made a very good living, and has a very lovely family. But his enthusiasm and his passion for it and his commitment hasn’t dulled at all.
“I spoke to him [a couple] days ago, had a quick chat. He’d dropped the girls off at school, and he’s straight to the gym, every morning. Boom boom.
“He gets in that car and he’s still hungry, he still wants to do the job, he still wants to be the best. It’s pretty impressive.”
