DETROIT – Ever since the end of last Sunday’s 106th Indianapolis 500, Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing has gone underground and off the grid.
Dixon was bitterly disappointed that a pit road speeding penalty just 25 laps from the finish of the Indy 500 had cost him yet another chance at a second victory in the biggest race of the season.
Instead of capturing the Indianapolis 500 for the second time in his career and first since 2008, Dixon finished 21st after he was penalized.
This one hit Dixon harder than the previous disappointments. He skipped the red carpet before the Indy 500 Victory Celebration Monday night at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis. He arrived at the post-race banquet in time to be honored for his 21st-place finish, then quietly slipped out of the event.
The driver did not return texts from those who just wanted to see how he was doing.
Friday was a new day at Belle Isle Raceway in Detroit, however, and Dixon had to return to work. After attending the mandatory driver’s meeting, Dixon participated in the media bullpen, but refused to go into detail about last week’s Indianapolis 500 disappointment.
Dixon led 95 laps in the race and had what seemed like the winning strategy. That was before the fateful last pit stop when he was clocked at exceeding the pit lane speed limit by 1 mile per hour.
“Did you get my texts?” one reporter asked.
“I’ve got lots of message in my phone. Sorry, I haven’t looked at them,” was his response.
When asked how he will bounce back from the Indy disappointment, Dixon said, “We’re in Detroit, man.
“I’m pretty quick with that stuff, to be honest,” Dixon said. “To me, it’s more about how everybody else feels that I’m close to. It is what it is.
“I think everybody is OK. It’s hard to tell. I think the saving grace is the team won the race. If one of the Ganassi cars had not won, it would have been very bad.”
Dixon said all of his near misses have hurt and that he has had some really good cars at the Indy 500.
“Having a great strategy still doesn’t guarantee you anything,” Dixon said. “We had only made it to the last stop. Anything could have happened from that period of time. We had nothing guaranteed.”
When pressed further, Dixon said, “I’m fine.
“I’m upset for everyone else.”