IndyCar driver Scott Dixon revs up Vestavia Hills students
His job is to drive a car fast, real fast. Thursday he slowed down to talk to about 600 students at Vestavia Hills Elementary School East about what it is like to drive a car at 225 mph.
Dixon was in Birmingham to promote the April 5-7 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at the Barber Motorsports Park.
Students were knowledgeable about racing since other drivers have visited their school before. They answered trivia questions about Indy racing to win t-shirts.
Dixon received a warm welcome from the kids but they laughed and cheered when Bulls eye, the Target mascot dog entered the gym. Dixon seemed surprised to see the mascot as well. Target is the sponsor of his race team.
The kids were impressed with Dixon's New Zealand accent.
Dixon praised the track at the Barber Motorsports Park. "Mr. (George) Barber has done a fantastic job. He's put some real passion behind it," he said.
"But then driving it, there's lot of elevation, you've got a great mix of corners between tight hairpins to medium-speed corners, high-speeds, lots of elevation changes, lots of blind corners," he said. "Technically its is a real difficult track . It's got a bit of everything."
Dixon won the IZOD IndyCar Series championship in 2003 and 2008. He won the Indianapolis 500 in 2008. He has driven for Target Chip Ganassi Racing since 1990. AL.com