IndyCar legend Scott Dixon comes to Iowa Speedway with history on his mind
NEWTON — The only thing hotter than the weather heading into this weekend's Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend at Iowa Speedway is veteran driver Scott Dixon.
The six-time NTT IndyCar Series champion from Auckland, New Zealand is coming off a win in last week's Honda Indy Toronto race at the Streets of Toronto course.
With the win, Dixon matched Mario Andretti’s Indy car victory tally of 52 to move into joint second in the all-time rankings.
Only A.J. Foyt, with 67 career wins, has more trips to Victory Lane on the IndyCar circuit than Dixon, who currently is fifth in the championship standings with 307 points. He is looking forward to NTT IndyCar's return to Iowa Speedway for the first time since 2020.
The doubleheader begins with the HyVeeDeals.com 250 at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Hy-Vee Salute To Farmers 300 is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
MORE: Thunderstorms possible for concerts, IndyCar races at Iowa Speedway this weekend
If Dixon can come away with the sweep, he would move into sole possession of second place in career wins and vault his way up the championship standings, which Marcus Ericcson leads with 351 points. And it would be the best birthday present he could give to himself and his team.
“It’s a great event. It’s a wild, wild race. I’m excited that it's back on the schedule," Dixon said during Thursday's media lunch at the River Center in downtown Des Moines. "I love the doubleheader format, so I’m glad that it’s a doubleheader. Hopefully we can get more of them on the schedule in the future. It’s a difficult track and a difficult race. You have to make adjustments and you have to stay really focused on the race.”
RELATED: How the Iowa Race Weekend came to be
The doubleheader will be a test of man and machine. The rough surface at Iowa Speedway adds character to the track and presents challenges for the drivers.
“It’s as rough as advertised. It’s also as much fun as advertised," said former seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, who is in his second season on the NTT IndyCar circuit. "It’s a very thought-out race track. I remember when Rusty (Wallace) was a part of building it, sharing his ideas and thoughts on the track years and years ago. Now to find that driving fueled the transition into the corners and off, it’s really just a very fun race track. It’s awesome.”
“The track conditions are great," said veteran Graham Rahal, who is 13th in the championship standings with 210 points. "This track is very, very bumpy. We all know that. I’m not sitting here saying we need to change that. I think it’s got great character. Just like Texas prior to the repave a couple years ago was a very good track. Texas now isn’t a very good track. Here is a place you may ruin it if we did that, too, so I would leave it as is. It’s a challenging track. That provides the different lines and lanes that people run in because of those conditions. This track has a lot of character.”
There will be plenty of talent in the field, including four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves, who came away with the win in 2017, his last appearance at Iowa Speedway.
“Since this is a day race, it is extremely important to start off with a good car. Good qualifying. Or use a different strategy," Castroneves said. “The car is so different. The last time I was here was 2017. It was a big difference for me to understand what the car is doing. With this heat, it starts chewing away on the tires.”
RELATED: Helio Castroneves sees future of IndyCar in Iowa Speedway race weekend
The race teams will be put to the test as well. With the rough track surface, the close racing on the ⅞-mile oval and temperatures approaching 100 degrees on Saturday, equipment and tires will be under duress all weekend. Whichever team can get the right setup and time its pitstops best will have the best chance to come away victorious.
“It’s a doubleheader, so that’s going to change some," Johnson said. "A doubleheader in the middle of summer in Iowa is going to be tough, so I think hydration will be a premium. I’ve been doing a lot of heat training to get ready. I don’t see July in Iowa being comfortable temperature-wise. I think hydration will be the biggest part.”
"It's part of the event, and everyone will have to deal with the same conditions. This is where the hard work in the gym is going to pay off," Castroneves said. "These cars are very sensitive to the weather, so we are going to have a plan in place to deal with that. It's not always the fastest car that wins, but the most consistent car. Whoever finds the best, most consistent setup is going to win."
With its tight corners, high banks and relatively short straightaways, Iowa Speedway — nicknamed as the "The Fastest Short Track on the Planet" — presents challenges the drivers and teams don't see at any other course.
"Iowa Speedway is a very unique track," Simon Pagenaud said. "You have to be one of the most versatile drivers in the world to win there. We're turning 18-second laps and going 180 miles per hour and there are always two racing grooves. It is very intense. I really enjoy coming to Iowa. It's so much different than Indianapolis or Long Beach."
MORE: How to watch the 2022 Hy-Vee IndyCar races at the Iowa Speedway in Newton
The Hy-Vee IndyCar Race Weekend is a first of its kind, with four concerts mixed in before and after the races Saturday and Sunday. It is no longer a race. It has become an event, one Iowa Speedway and Hy-Vee hope to build on in the future.
“It’s awesome," said Ericcson, the reigning Indy 500 champion. "It sounds like they are going to put on a great show here wth all the music and two races. There are going to be a lot of things for the fans. I hope there are going to be a lot of fans coming out because I think it’s going to be really awesome."
“The best thing with IndyCar fan experience is that you get a lot for the money," Pato O'Ward of Brazil said. "You get a lot of access. You can literally go up to the car and see what’s inside and whose car it is. You’re lucky if you are within 200 feet of an F1 car if you go to a Formula One race and you are paying probably 10 or 20 times more the price. I think it’s the best fan experience you can get.”
Matt Levins is a sports reporter for the USA TODAY Network in Burlington, Iowa, who has covered local sports for 31 years. Reach him at mlevins@thehawkeye.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: IndyCar legend Scott Dixon comes to Iowa Speedway with history to make
