Scott Dixon Gives Championship Advice To Power, Pagenaud

Reigning IndyCar champion Scott Dixon had a few words for Will Power and Simon Pagenaud as they battle to see who will succeed Dixon with the title.

Scott Dixon knows about winning IndyCar championships. The New Zealander has four, and is the reigning series champion until either Will Power or Simon Pagenaud will be handed the title after the Sep. 18 season finale at Sonoma.

While discussing his victory at the 2016 Grand Prix of the Glen this weekend, Dixon offered some advice to the Team Penske drivers in their championship fight.

“Both of them, man, you’ve just got to go for it,” said the Chip Ganassi Racing veteran. “You’ve got to race it like any other race.

“It’s hard. I think all of us fall victim to falling into a championship battle and racing for a championship, as opposed to just doing what we need to do. I think in the past [Ganassi] has done a very good job with the championships that we’ve taken last minute, with Dario’s record and some of mine as well.

“it’s definitely a very emotional ride going into it,” Dixon continued, “and Will has been in a lot more battles for the championship than I think Simon has. But then also Will took a pretty big hit today as far as points. We’ll have to see how that team handles it.”

“I think [team owner] Roger [Penske] will be very happy that the championship lies with that team and they can fight it out. He’s going to be a happy man either way,” he concluded. “But I think the biggest advice I could give those two, not that they really need it, is just race it like any other race.”

Dixon knows full well what it’s like to be in Power and Pagenaud’s position. He earned the 2015 IndyCar championship on a tiebreaker over their teammate Juan Pablo Montoya. It was a truly impressive effort as Dixon had to overcome a major points deficit by winning the double-points season finale at Sonoma, which then gave him more race wins than Montoya.

Similarly, Power and Pagenaud will have to wait until Sep. 18 at Sonoma to find out which of them will succeed Dixon in holding the Astor Cup. Pagenaud has a 53-point lead over Power, but Power can earn up to 104 points if he wins the race and collects all four bonus markers.

However Power’s participation in the final race is currently unclear after he crashed out at The Glen on Sunday.

Did Dixon think either Pagenaud or Power has an edge as the championship battle goes down to the wire?

“I think Simon has done a phenomenal job this year, and especially early on in the season,” he said. “[Sonoma]’s somewhat a Penske-dominant track, or has been at least for qualifying. We’ve had a good run there recently with the race victories. And Will has, I don’t even know how many poles the guy has had at that place, a lot, and the same with Helio [Castroneves], too.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out,” he continued. “I think going into the race I would say that Will has maybe a stronger situation going in, as far as speed in qualifying. But the race can throw so many different variables, and Simon has just been rock solid in so many different situations this year. I think we could see that, especially at Mid-Ohio, where Will got the advantage in the pit stop exchange but Simon was able to work it back out.

“It’s going to be a good battle to watch,” Dixon concluded. “I just hope I’m in front of them.”

The GoPro Grand Prix of Sonoma takes place Sunday, Sep. 18 at Sonoma Raceway. The race will be broadcast on NBCSN.