Scott Dixon wins Dan Wheldon Memorial Pro-Am Karting Challenge
"We definitely didn't have the fastest kart," said Dixon, who teamed with Andrew Drake, Michael Bizzell and Nathaniel Borden in the No. 9 Target-sponsored kart. "We just kind of kept it clean, working with a few guys and just got lucky there at the end. There were some fast karts there, but obviously they were worried about each other and didn't see us coming around the outside. It worked out pretty good."
The race, shortened to a one-hour endurance event due to earlier rain, featured 17 four-person pro-am teams headed by veterans of the Verizon IndyCar Series and Mazda Road to Indy. The pro drivers each took the wheel for the all-important final 15 minutes.
The biggest winners were the three charities that benefited from the event – The Dan Wheldon Foundation, Alzheimer's Association and Wilson Children's Fund, which will share the proceeds totaling nearly $50,000.
"We all want to win here," Dixon said, "but just being part of the race is the biggest part. With everyone out here and supporting means the most to us. It's fun to hang out with everybody. Dan (Wheldon) was a huge personality and it was great to honor him and Justin (Wilson) as well."
Dixon followed up the Wheldon pro-am victory by teaming the next day with fellow Verizon IndyCar Series driver Josef Newgarden to finish second in the 12th annual RoboPong 200 kart race at New Castle. Dixon and Newgarden finished 47 seconds behind the team of Jake Donald and Brandon Jones. They were the only two karts to complete all 200 laps in the endurance race that took nearly 3 hours, 45 minutes.
Other Verizon IndyCar Series drivers competing included Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, James Davison, Sage Karam and Will Power, plus 2015 Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot and Pro Mazda runner-up Neil Alberico.