IndyCar

IRL: St. Louis: Chip Ganassi Racing preview

Dixon takes points lead into St. Louis With his 5th place finish in Michigan, Scott Dixon is now leading the points championship. The top-3 drivers are separated by just 3 points. Dixon's vault into the points lead can be attributed to his ...

Edited: Mar 27, 2008, 5:32 AM

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Dixon takes points lead into St. Louis

With his 5th place finish in Michigan, Scott Dixon is now leading the points championship. The top-3 drivers are separated by just 3 points. Dixon's vault into the points lead can be attributed to his consistency over the last 6 races. Beginning in Texas, Dixon has posted top-6 finishes in every race, including 2 wins.

Impressive Streak

In the last 6 races, Scott Dixon has qualified and finished in the top-6 in each of those races. Included in that streak are 3 poles and two wins. In the last four races, Dixon has qualified on the pole 3 times and started 2nd once. In the last 5 races, Dixon has led 400 laps. That is more than the second place driver (de Ferran- 337) has led all season.

Going for 5 in a row

With the pole win by Tomas Scheckter last weekend in Michigan, Team Target has captured four straight poles. The team has also started 1-2 three times in the last six races. For his career, Scheckter has won 5 poles in 22 races and Dixon has won four poles in ten races in his career. Both drivers stand in the top-5 for pole wins in IRL history. The team is also after their 8th pole in the last 12 races. Scott Dixon won the pole in Japan, Richmond, Kansas and Nashville while Tomas Scheckter grabbed the top spot in Texas and Michigan. Former Team Target driver Bruno Junqueira won the pole at the season finale in 2002.

Record Setters

Through just 9 races in his career, Scott Dixon already stands 11th all-time in laps led. He also stands tied for 9th in wins (3) and tied for 5th in pole wins (4) all-time. Teammate Tomas Scheckter is also notching his place in the record books. Scheckter is 7th all-time in laps led and 4th in pole wins (5). Dixon also set the record for most consecutive laps led with 343, which included Pikes Peak, Richmond and Kansas.

Lap Leaders

Scott Dixon leads the league in laps led with 547. The next closest competitor in that category is Gil de Ferran with 337. Teammate Tomas Scheckter stands third in laps led with 303. The team has combined to lead an amazing 42% of the all of the laps run this year. Scott Dixon has led a lap in 9 of the 10 races this season. A Team Target driver has led a lap in 12 straight races.

Fast Starter

Scott Dixon has started in the top-6 in nine straight races, including four pole positions, two seconds, a third, a fourth and a sixth. His qualifying average over the last eight races is a stellar 2.3.

Away From The Track

When he's not racing at 220 mph, Tomas Scheckter likes to relax by hitting 300+ yard drives on the golf course. Scheckter has been playing since he was 9 and finds the game a fun diversion away from the track. Scott Dixon enjoys watching movies on the big screen and is in training to compete in a few triathlons later this year.

Target House Donations Adding Up

A Team Target driver has led a lap in 12 straight races. So far this season the team has donated $42,275 to Target House and St. Jude's Childrens Hospital. Since 1997 the team has donated $5,000 for each win, $1,000 for each pole and $25 for each lap led to the charity. Target House serves as a home away from home for the families of children admitted to St. Jude Children's hospital.

Quotes

Scott Dixon -- No. 9 Target Toyota

"We tested in St. Louis last week and I thought that it went very well. The team has done such a great job, it has been a lot easier to find the kind of performance we've been searching for this year. We've made up a lot of ground in the points championship race and we're now in the lead. We have a lot of races left, but we're in a position now that we've been hoping for. Gateway should be a good track for us. It's a handling track with two different corners. One thing that we've been after this year is consistency, and I think that with our last 6 races, we've found that. We have 6 straight top-6 finishes and that's what it takes to win championships."

Tomas Scheckter -- No. 10 Target Toyota

"It feels great coming off of our best finish this year in Michigan. We had a car that could have won the race, but we just weren't in the right place at the right time. Actually, we've had cars all year that could have won races but luck hasn't been on our side. I'm so impressed with Team Target and the job that they have done this year. The guys are so focused and driven towards winning, that's the only thing on their minds. It carries over to everyone in the organization, including myself. We're going to get some wins this year."

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