INDIANAPOLIS – Scott Dixon’s spin during Sunday’s full-field practice session for the Aug. 23 Indianapolis 500 was a rarity for the five-time NTT IndyCar Series champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner.
“We were just feeling the car out and we had a set of used tires on it which we normally wouldn’t do,” Dixon’s race engineer, Michael Cannon, told SPEED SPORT. “He got some schmootz (rubber and dust) on his tires and slid high.
“I didn’t even know there was a bump up there and neither did he.”
Dixon, who qualified second during the Fast Nine qualifying session a few hours earlier, was on track with the rest of the field doing full-tank, race day setup runs when his No. 9 PNC Bank Honda broke loose from the track.
The car did a complete spin off turn four, made another complete spin and slid down the frontstraight before the left-front and left-rear made light contact with the inside wall on the front stretch.
Dixon was uninjured, but the car needed some repair.
“I was just getting up to speed and kind of turned in and got a little wider than normal and felt fine, just kept turning it,” Dixon recalled. “And there’s actually a big bump there, and it hit the bump. And as soon as it hit the bump, the front wheels came off. I put more (steering) lock in, and the rear just came around. I’m very lucky. It just barely brushed the walls. It actually looks like the car’s fine. Just the front and rear wing, so pretty lucky in that situation. I felt pretty comfortable on Thursday with race running, so obviously we would like to be out there. I don’t know what situation, how quickly we’ll be out there. Obviously, it’d be nice to get out before the day’s over, but we’ve still got Carb Day. It’s just a bummer for the crew.
“Obviously, we try to avoid these situations.”
About one hour later, Dixon and the car were back on track and he ran the third-fastest lap of the session at 223.686 mph around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“That’s Scott Dixon, right?” Cannon said. “That’s why he has won 49 races and five championships. He is pretty comfortable and pleased with the race car and we are starting up front.
“We are pretty optimistic. I’m sure if you asked Marco Andretti, he would say the same thing.”
Marco Andretti starts on the pole for Sunday’s 104th Indianapolis 500 after knocking Dixon off the top spot when Andretti’s Honda ran a four-lap average of 231.068 mph. Dixon’s No. 9 Honda was 231.051 mph.
The field average is 229.339 mph, the second-fastest in Indianapolis 500 history. The record was set in 2014, when the field average was 229.382.