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Scott Dixon’s recent statement at IndyCar media day about the state of the NTT IndyCar Series sounded a little like a Formula 1 declaration.
“I think we’re kind of at the point now where we couldn’t really take any more entries,” the six-time champion and Chip Ganassi Racing headliner said.
“That’s a good position to be in,” he said, more pleased about the sport’s popularity than he was attempting to be exclusionary. “You’ve even got other teams that are saying that they could run more cars with the amount of sponsors that they have.
“I think it’s good. The health of the series, I think, is probably the best I’ve seen it in quite some time. I think when you look at car count, the teams, the amount of sponsors, and the depth of the sponsors is something to be very proud of,” Dixon said.
“But either finding the people or engine leases is kind of the restricting issue at the moment.” As backward as that might sound at first, he said, “That’s really positive.”
Fellow driver Graham Rahal, of the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team, announced Jan. 9 the organization had landed globally recognized 5-Hour Energy as a full-season associate sponsor for Pietro Fittipaldi’s No. 30 Dallara/Honda. The energy-drink giant had spent nearly a decade in NASCAR, sponsoring teams and events.
“That’s fresh in everybody’s mind,” Rahal said of the organization’s new marketing partnership. “That shows the validity of IndyCar racing. It is the motorsport that you can get the best bang for your buck in the world right now. There is still a lot of intrigue and a lot of interest to be a part of it.”
Susan Wade has lived in the Seattle area for 40 years, but motorsports is in the Indianapolis native’s DNA. She has emerged as one of the leading drag-racing writers with nearly 30 seasons at the racetrack, focusing on the human-interest angle. She was the first non-NASCAR recipient of the prestigious Russ Catlin Award and has covered the sport for the Chicago Tribune, Newark Star-Ledger, and Seattle Times. She has contributed to Autoweek as a freelance writer since 2016.
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