2008 Dallara Target Chip Ganassi Racing Indycar

Scott Dixon

After posting four wins, including three consecutive victories, two pole positions, leading 215 laps and finishing either first or second in ten of 16 races during the 2007 IndyCar Series season, Scott Dixon and the Target team have a lot to look forward to in 2008. Finishing runner-up in the Championship which came down to the last turn, of the last lap, of the finale race, may have left Dixon feeling a bit deflated, but he hopes to build on those positive results to contend for yet another Championship.

The positive momentum began in 2006 when the Target Team implemented many exciting improvements to its program, including a return to the Honda engine and switch to the Dallara chassis, as well as the addition of 2005 IndyCar Series Champion Dan Wheldon as a teammate. All those factors had Dixon aiming high once again and it paid off with a return to the front.

That season, Dixon earned two wins, including a second consecutive victory at the Watkins Glen road course and a night race win at Nashville Speedway, along with a pole position on the road course at Sonoma, as well as nine top-five finishes. The driver of the no.9 Target Honda also led laps in nine of 14 races for a total of 261 laps. Dixon was a contender in every race and in a battle that came down right to the final laps of the season finale at Chicagoland, he closed out the 2006 season fourth in the IndyCar Series Championship standings.

Dixon, like many before him, started his racing career in karting and captured two championships in the New Zealand Formula Vee series. After a successful racing career in Australia and New Zealand, including a championship in the class I Formula Ford Series and a 'Rookie of the Year' award in the Australian Formula Holden Championship, Dixon moved on to Dayton Indy Lights series in North America. There he added another championship to his resume in 2000 for PacWest Racing with six wins, seven podium finishes, and one pole position. At the time, he was the second-youngest driver in history to win the Indy Lights title, just six days older than the late Greg Moore.

After his championship performance in 2000, Dixon received the call to move up to the CART Series in 2001. Dixon started the season by making a name for himself in Monterrey, Mexico, where he led 14 laps in his season debut. Just two races later, in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Dixon entered the record books by becoming the youngest ever winner of a CART race, or any major open-wheel race, by capturing his first victory at the age of 20 years, 9 months and 14 days. He followed that record-breaking performance by adding a podium finish of third at Milwaukee, and fourth-place results at Chicago, Road America and Laguna Seca.

In his rookie Champ Car season, Dixon scored championship points in 11 of 20 starts and led the FedEx Championship Series in laps completed, with 2,521 out of a possible 2,610, and miles completed, with 4,351.217 out of a possible 4,520.983. He finished eighth in the championship with 98 points while capturing the 'Rookie of the Year' honors along the way.

In 2002, Target Chip Ganassi Racing picked up the young driver after the PacWest team folded following the third race of the season. Dixon joined Target team drivers Bruno Junqueira and Kenny Brack for the Milwaukee race and put in a solid season that saw him amass 12 top-tens including a second place finish in Denver.

2003 was a storybook season for Scott Dixon. After a move to the Indy Racing League with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, the New Zealander began with a victory at the season-opening in Homestead, Florida, becoming just the third driver to win in his IndyCar® Series debut. Dixon continued to perform after his hot start and captured the series championship with 507 total points.

Dixon won the 2003 Championship with a 343 consecutive laps led, three wins, five pole positions and a total of 748 laps led. The young phenom took the checkered flag at Homestead, Pikes Peak, and led every lap in his victory at Richmond.
As the defending IndyCar Series Champion, Dixon performed consistently throughout the 2004 season, finishing among the top-10 in ten of 15 races with a second place finish in Phoenix, another top-five finish at the Indy Japan 300 in Motegi and capped off the 2004 season on a positive note with four straight races in the top-ten.

The end of the 2005 season finally brought a a close what can be described as a difficult period in which the team's championship contention had been hampered by reduced horsepower. Dixon, however, showed that he had not forgotten what it takes to finish first. He and the Target team celebrated a long awaited win on the road course at Watkins Glen in 2005 and still posted six top-10 results.