IndyCar Series news

Dixon: It can switch big time

Reigning Champion Scott Dixon suffered from a frustrating weekend at Sears Point after coming home thirteenth in California. The former championship leader slipped down to third position in the standings after a race which involved a first-lap collision, an extra pit-stop and a final spin in the closing stages.

The reigning Champion is confident for a turnaround

If being caught up in the first-lap pile-up and having to make a resultant pit-stop was bad enough for Dixon at the Infineon Raceway, the New Zealander's afternoon in Sonoma County only became worse when shunted by Marco Andretti in the closing stages, losing valuable positions.

"It was a tough race, everything we tried to do," Scott said afterwards. "We tried catching a yellow, we pitted early to see if it could vault us up and we kept coming out in the same position, racing with TK (Tony Kanaan) and Marco (Andretti) and we got into a bit of a mix-up at the end."

After being involved in the Turn 2 chaos on Lap 1, crowds were able to enjoy a Champion's recovery drive over the course of the race. "We made quite a few passes on quite a few people and, at the end, he (Andretti) got into the back of me and spun me around," Dixon continued of an incident which could prove pivotal come the end of the year.

"He came up and apologised, definitely didn't do it on purpose. It was just one of those days, that's racing - glad to move on and get out of here." Although Andretti received a penalty for the accidental mishap, Dixon holds no grudges and is now focused on reducing a twenty-point gap to championship leader Ryan Briscoe in the final three races of the season.

"I hope to get to the last three races because we fared well there last year," he continued of the points amassed in Chicago, Motegi and Miami in 2008. "It can switch big time - that's what we've got to look at; we need to be consistent in the last three and, hopefully, they can have a bit of a blunder but the Target team can win the last three races - hopefully we can do it and come home with another championship."

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