DIXON WILL DELIVER?

There are few drivers better on the streets of Toronto than Honda driver Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing. He hopes to continue that trend as the defending race winner returns for the 2023 Honda Indy Toronto at Exhibition Place.

It’s one of the major sporting events of the season in Toronto; and an important weekend for the Ontario Honda Dealers –a main partner of the Honda Indy Toronto.

Dixon started second and drove to his fourth Honda Indy Toronto win in 2022. That continued an impressive streak for Dixon, who has two wins and one second place finish in the last three IndyCar contests here. In 14 starts at Toronto, Dixon has four wins, six podiums and two poles, and has led an astounding 240 laps, including a race-high 40 laps in last year’s victory.

“It's a circuit that you can really attack,” Dixon said of Toronto. “Some of the circuits now, with some of the tires that we have, you almost have to drive at 8/10ths [to limit tire wear]. This one you can drive at 12/10ths. You can overextend yourself, find that little bit more speed, risk versus reward. I can't stand circuits with a lot of runoff; you make a mistake, and nothing happens.

“Toronto is very technical, very tricky. A bit of a bullring. There's no real time to let up.” He proved that in last year’s Honda Indy Toronto.

The driver of the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing started on the outside of the front row, made his first pit stop on Lap 18 and was able to keep the hard-charging Honda driven by Colton Herta in his rear-view mirror all the way to the checkered flag. Dixon defeated Herta by 0.8106 seconds. It was an IndyCar-record 18th-straight season that Dixon has won a race.

Dixon’s win was also historic. It was his 52nd career IndyCar win, tying him with Mario Andretti for second place on the all-time victory.

“It means a lot,” Dixon said of the achievement. “I love Mario. I love Mario for so many reasons, what he's done in the sport, achieved, what he gives back to the sport. It means a lot to me, to even be mentioned in the sale conversation as these greats. I never thought it was possible.”

Dixon, who now has 53 career wins, returns to Toronto in 2023 hoping to extend his seasons with a victory streak one more year and get one more victory closer to AJ Foyt’s all-time career win record of 67.

“We'll keep going, man,” Dixon said. “If we can get on a roll here and knock out some wins, anything's possible.

Dixon is off to another great start in the 2023 IndyCar Series season and believes the Honda Indy Toronto is one of the highlights of his season.

“It’s cool, it’s fun,” Dixon said. “Going to Canada always is a lot of fun. It’s a great atmosphere there and a fun circuit. We have gone through many different iterations throughout the past 20 years, but it’s a fun track.”

“We’ve had good races at Toronto and have had some great battles there, going all the way back to my days with [former teammate] Dario Franchitti.”

Dixon turns 43 on July 22, but remains a prime contender for the 2023 NTT IndyCar Series championship, which would tie him with AJ for the all-time record of seven IndyCar championships.

“To get that seventh championship would be career defining,” Dixon said. “Hopefully, we can make that come true.”

Dixon has come a long way since he drove to victory at Nazareth Speedway on May 7, 2001, to become the youngest winner in IndyCar history [at that time] as a 20-year-old.

“I remember the day winning my first race, the next day was a real struggle,” Dixon recalled, referring to the after effects of his celebration. “I remember even having the conversation with Michael Andretti about getting to his number (42 wins). ‘Man, you're crazy, it's not going to happen.’

“He was like, ‘No, it's going to happen. Honestly, it's going to happen really fast.’

“Honestly, at the age of 20, man, trust me, I had other things on my mind at that point. I was just trying to keep my job.

“Even being in IndyCar racing for 20-plus years, I'm still learning every day, man, and it doesn't stop. It's continuous. It's hard work. I guess that's the biggest thing. You've got to be committed and you've got to be committed for everybody that's involved, but you have to get after it.”

The distance from Dixon’s hometown of Auckland, New Zealand to Toronto, Ontario is 8,632 miles or 13,879 kilometers. It’s pretty much on the other side of the Earth.

But the two countries are both part of the British Commonwealth. New Zealand and Canada are members of the United Kingdom. In a sense, that makes Toronto Dixon’s “home track.”

“It always feels goods to win at Toronto,” the Honda driver said. “That's when you turn it up a little bit, just that extra bit.

“Honestly, I feel like I'm at home. The fans are super into it. It's just very special I think to be back here. I think sometimes it takes moments like obviously what we had, we weren't here to really appreciate what we have as a sport and the people that love our sport.

“It's good to be back here in Canada.”