For Dixon, the Indy 500 remains both a race he\u2019s conquered and the home of some unfinished business. <\/p>\n
The six-time IndyCar champion<\/a> won the race in 2008 and has built a career that puts him in the Parthenon of open wheel racers. Yet, for all the wins, titles, records and reputation, the Indy 500 has often been a cruel place for the Chip Ganassi Racing driver. <\/p>\n Dixon has been fast enough to have won the race on numerous occasions and his record of near misses at The Brickyard is heartbreaking. <\/p>\n He has led laps, controlled phases, sat on pole, played the fuel game better than almost anyone, and still lost. He has finished second three times and third twice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s different every year, you know, the competition is different every year,\u201d Dixon told the Weekend Herald. <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re chasing different things or trying to overcome different things and it changes from year to year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a bit frustrating getting so close [to winning another Indy 500] in the past, but you can\u2019t dwell on past results. Although, I sometimes think more about the races we lost than some of the wins.<\/p>\n \u201cThese days you won\u2019t see a driver leading by a few laps towards the end of the race. Everything is so close now and you have to start to move up through the field as soon as possible after the race starts.\u201d<\/p>\n Dixon starts this year\u2019s race from 10th, and while he might have liked to be further up the field he\u2019s not too worried about it. <\/p>\n It would be a strange day indeed if the Indy 500 is won in the first 50 laps, and Dixon\u2019s great strength has always been the ability to build a race in layers. <\/p>\n He\u2019s the King of saving fuel, conserving tyres, reading the traffic, having a solid race strategy and keeping himself out of trouble for the final push towards the end.<\/p>\n At 45, Dixon remains as clinical as ever.<\/a> His speed is still there, but so is the calculating patience that\u2019s made him so hard to beat over two decades. <\/p>\n Dixon\u2019s greatest weapon is not just experience, but his calmness and being able to deal with what is immediately in front of him.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first qualifying session to get into the Fast 12 was good. Then we had an issue with the right front tyre that blistered, which kind of killed it [getting into Fast Six for pole] for us.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we would have been in with a good shot to race for the pole if we didn\u2019t have our issues. I think we\u2019ve got a really good race car. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re quite a bit different than where we\u2019ve been setup-wise in the past, and I think what we have is quite good. So I think we\u2019re in a good spot.\u201d<\/p>\n