When Scott Dixon last climbed out of the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Ford EcoBoost following an IMSA race it was victory lane after winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona for the second time in his career. That victory on January 25 helped raise awareness among the motorsports world just how great a driver the three-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner really is.
It also showed those in other forms of racing the impressive level of talent that exists in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
“A lot of us are lucky, though,” Dixon said. “We race in a great series so we get great opportunities and get a chance to drive for some fantastic teams that have a great shot at winning. There is a huge depth of talent in IndyCar – we all know that – and when you go to sports car races it’s no different.”
Dixon is back in the Ford EcoBoost DP for Saturday’s iconic 12 Hours of Sebring – the oldest continuous sports car race in the United States. He will team up with Ganassi’s regular IMSA drivers Scott Pruett and Joey Hand in the once around the close endurance race at the Sebring International Raceway – a former military air base nestled away in the Orange Groves and Fire Ant soil of Central Florida.
“I’m definitely excited,” Dixon said after wrapping up the two-day IndyCar “Spring Training” open test at Barber Motorsports Park earlier this week. “It’s always fun to do those long-distance races and it’s seamless when you go with your team. I know a lot of familiar faces, guys that have worked on the IndyCar program, and some great teammates with Scott Pruett and Joey Hand, who have driven that car a lot.
“It’s a lot of fun for me. I always put my hand up to do these events and I’ve been fortunate to be picked for them. Starting the season strong and getting the win in the 24 Hours of Daytona it would be a dream come true to go there and a get a win in the 12 Hours of Sebring as well.”
Just because the 12 Hours of Sebring is half as long as the Rolex 24 at Daytona doesn’t mean it’s half the challenge. According to Dixon, it may be twice as difficult as the road course at Daytona International Speedway.
“Sebring as a circuit is much more difficult,” Dixon said. “Daytona is a lot of straights with a lot of hairpin corners. Sebring is very bumpy with a lot of fast corners, bumpy fast corners and technical parts. When it is dark at that place it is pitch black. You don’t see anything. It’s not like Daytona. Daytona at night is like driving in the day.
“There are lots of different things that get thrown at you at that race that is probably almost more demanding on the car for the Sebring 12 Hours than the Daytona 24.”
Dixon believes the actual racing circuit and the history of the 12 Hours of Sebring are the most unique aspect of this event.
And at Sebring, the cars are the stars as the paddock garages have the years and the winning car manufacturer for that year’s 12 Hours of Sebring.
“I think that’s important,” Dixon said. “Ford was over the moon when they won their last year and when Pruett went there for testing the first thing you do is look up at the signboard and see that Ford as a manufacturer won it last year. That is definitely a cool part.”
After Saturday’s race concludes in the dark as the clock approaches midnight the sports car teams will pack up and leave and many teams in the Verizon IndyCar Series will arrive to test at Sebring next week in advance of the March 29 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
But Dixon and Target/Chip Ganassi Racing will actually head to NOLA Motorsports Park – site of the second race on the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule.
“There are some differences because Turn 1 at NOLA may be changing as well but it’s a new track for us and a new venue and a place we race at,” Dixon said. “Sebring is typically a place we test at in the summer and with so much rubber down from the 12 Hours of Sebring it makes more sense for us to go to NOLA.”
Mike Hull is the managing director of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing and will join Dixon at the 12 Hours of Sebring.
“This time of the year there is so much rubber down there that’s why we decided to go to NOLA instead of Sebring,” Hull said. “We have three quality drivers in that car and to have Scott Dixon involved in it shows how deep our team really is. These days it’s more difficult to find people like that who have the ability but don’t have the opportunity like we do at Chip Ganassi Racing to show that.”
And when Dixon is behind the wheel of any race car that talent is on full display.