Five-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion Scott Dixon has mastered nearly every racing machine he’s ever driven. The 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner has achieved legendary status with 46 victories in a 19-season career.

The 39-year-old Dixon, however, has found the iRacing platform to be a “steep learning curve.”

Dixon’s greatness is his ability to adapt to new platforms throughout his career. According to Chip Ganassi Racing managing director Mike Hull, Dixon has driven seven different iterations of Indy cars since he started racing 19 years ago.

After a dismal start in the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge, Dixon finally got up to speed in last Saturday’s Firestone 175 at virtual Twin Ring Motegi. He finished second behind two-time iRacing Challenge winner Simon Pagenaud in a thrilling virtual high-speed duel at the Japanese oval.

Dixon and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers will test their skills in the fifth race of the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge Saturday at virtual Circuit of the Americas (COTA). That contest begins at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time and will be televised on NBCSN.

That’s the site of where the real AutoNation IndyCar Classic was scheduled for this weekend before it was canceled on March 13.

“I was saying to Will Power earlier, two corners are easier than what we have coming up next week,” Dixon said. “It will be pretty tough and interesting to see. I think you'll see the iRacing pros that put in the time will be really sound next week.

“We had a spotter this week, which was definitely a big help. Even talking to the engineer, making sure the tires were checked, going through that process I think is a big deal as these guys spoke about.

“The tricky part is you're learning to drive something that you can only manipulate. You can't really make changes to your style or anything like that. You really just have to learn the style the car is, which I've found quite tough in a lot of ways and will do next week once we go back to a road course as well.”

Dixon has competed in three of the four rounds of the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge. He entered last Saturday’s race still trying to figure out the sim racing platform.

“Hopefully I'll make it past the start line this week,” Dixon admitted last Friday. “Last week (at Michigan) was pretty rough. So was Alabama. Some of these teams have taken it next level.

“When I went onto the pits in Barber, I forgot to change my tires. There was no one to blame apart from myself.

“It's been a steep learning curve. I’ve never been into sim racing or anything like that previously.”

Dixon did not compete in the opening round of the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge as he was ordering his sim rig. Once that was completed, he joined the virtual racing series for the second round, the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at virtual Barber Motorsports Park.

Young drivers such as Sage Karam, Felix Rosenqvist and Scott McLaughlin have been able to show their iRacing prowess. Experienced drivers such as Will Power have been iRacing users for over a decade.

That virtual racing experience by those drivers has been on display in the first three races of this series.

Dixon, however, is new to this form of racing and admits it’s a bit of a challenge.

“I wasn't really sure who was going to be jumping into this situation,” Dixon explained. “Then slowly, I started to get the gear.

“It's tough. It's really challenging. What has put it into perspective is being at home with the kids E learning, then trying to get on a simulator throughout the day when you can and try to keep up the normal training levels that we try to once we get back to proper racing, has been interesting.”

The pause in the 2020 NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule created by the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown has kept IndyCar drivers away from the shops and race tracks, but not away from racing. The virtual racing series has created busy days of practices and preparation in addition to their other duties at home.

“I've found it a lot of fun,” Dixon said. “It's been a little bit frustrating in some ways because you're trying to get up to speed and catch up as quickly as possible. Some people have been racing on these things for more than 10 years. Kudos for NTT INDYCAR SERIES for bringing us online, iRacing as well.

“The complexity of what they've been doing not just for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES but for the other series out there, it's been pretty impressive what they've been able to do. For the fans in this moment it's what we have. It's been a lot of fun to be a part of it.

“Hopefully I think we can have some great races coming up. Ultimately I hope we can get back to the real-world racing before we know.”

Dixon is a devoted family man, married to his wife Emma, with two daughters Poppy and Tilly and newborn son Kit. As a husband and father, Dixon has many duties in the Dixon household.

In fact, his wife has created a bit of a barter system that allows him to spend more time preparing for the INDYCAR iRacing Challenge.

“I'm working with my wife on my ‘Honey Do list,’” Dixon admitted. “Each tick off the box I get, I get an extra 30 minutes on the simulator. I'm actually banking some time this week.

“I'm looking forward to start getting pretty serious on this game.”

Taking the game seriously is something that Karam, McLaughlin, Rosenqvist, Power and last week’s winner, Simon Pagenaud, have done in the first three races. Team Penske’s race engineers have worked with their drivers to formulate strategy and additional information throughout the iRacing contests.

Dixon believes it’s another example of the competition nature of INDYCAR SERIES drivers.

“I think anything gets taken to next level,” Dixon said. “I think you had guys that were just using very simple sims, to now teams using their full-on engineers, strategists, spotters, all that kind of thing.

“It can be fun at a level, then I think we're very competitive people, and it keeps going and escalating to the next level. It quickly reached that level where it's extremely competitive. I think if you win, it's probably fun, otherwise it can be probably very frustrating.”

In last Saturday’s Motegi sim race, Dixon raced wheel-to-wheel and nose-to-tail at high speeds throughout the contest.

The five-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES Champion tried his best to size up race-leader Simon Pagenaud on the closing lap to make the race-winning pass. But Pagenaud, the defending Indianapolis 500 winner, used the same draft-breaking technique Saturday that he used to hold off Alexander Rossi in last year’s Indy 500.

Pagenaud’s zigzag moves never gave Dixon a chance to hold onto the draft and make a slingshot pass.

“When he first did it, it was out of turn two, I thought he was pitting,” Dixon said. “I didn't know we were racing actually for the lead. I thought we were racing for second place. I was so focused on trying to get to the end, I didn't even know we were racing for the win.

“Everybody is racing hard. I thought it was awesome. It was a great show, a lot of fun. I think it was exciting. Simon did a hell of a job. That's what it takes at the end to win, is you got to take risks. Kudos to them. It was fun to be a part of it and fun to watch. “

Pagenaud drove to the checkered flag just ahead of Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank virtual Honda.

“I was just happy to make it to the finish,” Dixon said. “Good job by Simon there. It was really close at the end. For me it was a lot of fun. I think just to get to the finish was goal number one for me.”