SONOMA, California – How does a racer top a championship season that puts him among the very best in the history of his sport? With a movie, of course.
With or without the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series championship, Dixon will attend the Sept. 24 premiere of “BORN RACER,” a documentary of his 2017 season. The perfect script for the end of the 2018 season would be a fifth championship, something he can accomplish Sunday by maintaining the points lead he has going into the season-ending INDYCAR Grand Prix of Sonoma (6:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN and Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network).
INDYCAR GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA: Starting lineup/tire selection
If it happens, Dixon would stake his claim as one of the best of all time. Only one other driver in the sport’s history – the great A.J. Foyt with seven – has more than four championships.
“It would be huge,” Dixon said. “It would put us in a very small category of people who have won more than four. Drivers and teams kind of segment each year in terms of how you perform, and I think this year we’ve done a fairly good job. The goal is to close it out.”
Four drivers – Dixon, Alexander Rossi, Josef Newgarden and Will Power – are in the hunt for the championship. Dixon’s 29-point lead over Rossi puts him in control, as does his front-row starting position. But Dixon’s 18 years of Indy car experience tell him it’s not over until everyone crosses the finish line.
“Anything is possible, especially with the competition right now,” he said. “How some of these races play out can be flipped pretty easily. We’re leading right now, but it doesn’t guarantee anything. Mathematically, lots of things can happen.”
The 38-year-old New Zealander has 44 victories to his credit, which ranks third all-time, trailing only Foyt’s 67 and Mario Andretti’s 52. But not many races in Dixon’s 18 seasons will carry the significance of this one. Not just for the numbers and the history, either.
“Quite honestly, the competition right now is just crazy,” Dixon said. “It’s through the roof. It’s extremely tough. Just to be a single race winner in a season is really tough these days. To be fighting for a championship against 23, 24 or 25 of the best right now across all disciplines is tough.”
INDYCAR GRAND PRIX OF SONOMA FAST FACTS
Race 17 of 17 on the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series schedule
Track: Sonoma Raceway, a 12-turn, 2.385-mile permanent road course in Sonoma, California. This will be the 15th Indy car race at the track. The first was won by Dan Gurney in 1970. The Verizon IndyCar Series has raced at Sonoma annually since 2005.
Race distance: 85 laps/202.7 miles
Fuel: 70 gallons of Sunoco E85 ethanol for each car
Full fuel stint: 23-27 laps
Push-to-pass: Each car receives 150 seconds of overtake activation for the race, with a maximum single duration of 15 seconds. Push-to-pass provides added engine turbocharger boost equivalent to approximately 50 additional horsepower.
Tire use requirements: Each car that completes the race must use at least one set of Firestone primary specification (black-sidewall) tires and one new set of Firestone alternate (red-sidewall) tires in the race, each for at least two laps.
Television: NBCSN, 6:30 p.m. ET
Radio: Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network (network affiliates, Sirius 216, XM 209, IndyCar.com, indycarradio.com, INDYCAR Mobile app), 6:30 p.m. ET