Dixon set for milestone start

Scott Dixon

Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan reached milestones with their 300th Indy car starts in May. Now it's Scott Dixon's turn July 12 in the ABC Supply Co. Inc. Wisconsin 250 at Milwaukee IndyFest presented by the Metro Milwaukee Honda Dealers.

The driver of the No. 9 Cottonelle Chevrolet will mark his 250th Indy car start, which over his 15 seasons is 14th on the all-time list.

"When you see starts you definitely understand how long you've been around and kind of start to feel old, but the longevity is really cool as well," said Dixon, who won at Milwaukee in 2009. "Motor racing is tough week to week opposed to foreseeing 10 years down the road and how it's going to go. You hope for the best. Because of your passion and love for the sport, you want to be around a long time. I feel very lucky and privileged to be an Indy car driver.

"Those milestones are a lot of fun. For me, the goal now is to get to 300. Hopefully, it brings good luck at Milwaukee."

Dixon, who turns 35 on July 22 and is the longest-tenured driver for Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, ranks fifth on the Indy car career victory list with 37 over a span of 14 years, 1 month. Al Unser's 39 wins is next on the achievement list.

Unser's first victory came at Pikes Peak on July 4, 1965, and his 37th at Cleveland on July 3, 1983. His 39th victory also was his fourth in the Indianapolis 500 on May 24, 1987. A.J. Foyt has the most victories with 67.

"As long as you work hard and work on the idea of winning championships, victory is going to come," said Dixon, who has attained multiple wins for 10 consecutive seasons. "We've been fairly decent this year and hopefully we can build on it and have a crack at the end for another championship."