Dixon has a supreme racing record at our next track on our Indycar calendar of Mid Ohio. As we head to another road course in round 11, Dixon has had an underwhelming season in his Chip Ganassi #9 machine where he has only achieved a best result of third place at Long Beach marking his only podium in a turbulent year so far for the New Zealander. This season of Dixon so far has been particularly uncharacteristic with specifically the last 4 rounds being the obvious outlier relative to his usual consistent form where he has been unable to finish in the top 10 on any occasion. Lying on the verge of falling outside the top 10 of the championship at this stage of the campaign is a worrying sign. Has Dixon lost that cutting edge of his to churn out consistent results? However, this track creates an opportunity for Dixon to right the wrong of this year so far. Here are his 7 wins at Mid-Ohio.
2007: A fuel-saving first win at Mid Ohio
Scott Dixon on the circuit’s return to the calendar after a 3 year hiatus qualified in position 6 on the grid meanwhile Helio Castroneves took pole with a qualifying lap record for the time. However, Dixon’s speciality was on show in the race that we all have come to know so well for over the years. Having avoided the shunt at the turn 1 on lap 1 that happened directly ahead of him between the Andretti teammates he was able to scythe through the melee and ran in the podium positions throughout the race. Having overcut Castroneves at the first pit cycle but got beaten on pitlane in pit cycle two he therefore ran in position two heading into the last part of the race. Dixon’s trait of being able to fuel safe to a number so
effectively was what allowed his Ganassi #9 crew to short fill his car with fuel enough for a short dash to the finish. In the process of a faster pitstop, he overcut Castroneves’s Penske and was able to hold on to take the victory by just over 2 and a half second. This was Dixon’s third victory in a row at the time equalling a record breaking streak at the time of drivers like Kenny Brack and Dan Wheldon.
2009:Dixon Domination of Mid-Ohio
In 2009, Dixon returned to the Mid Ohio sportscourse after being beaten by the Penske duo of Briscoe and Castroneves with a drive and determination to not let the same feat occur and instead return to the top step at the road course. Dixon qualified in position 3 off the front row but this was no issue for the ‘Iceman’ who has the record breaking number of victories at the track where he has only had two pole positions displaying a superiority of his racecraft at the track. Dixon held his own in position 3 early on the race and waited for the race to open up for him. His fuel-saving prowess allowed Dixon to jump Briscoe via the overcut. No longer bottled up behind the slower Penske driver at the time, Dixon’s superior pace began to show as he closed up and was able to overtake Wilson in what became a race-winning pass. Dixon controlled the race from there and showed sheer speed to be able to cross the finish line with a whopping 27 second lead making his performance a dominant one. This was Dixon’s second victory in three years at this circuit that was starting to become his own.
2011: Challenged but Conquered at Mid Ohio
Dixon came to the Mid Ohio sports course in 2011 with a desperate urge to break his winless run so far that season with a best result of position 2 in multiple races. Additionally, having watched his Ganassi teammate win this race the year prior, this gave all the incentive the New Zealander needed to return to Victory lane. Dixon qualified on pole position marking his first pole position of the season at a track that he has had a successful relationship with in previous years. The race was far from straightforward for Dixon as he had to battle with his teammate Franchitti for the first position. Franchitti was able to overcut Dixon giving Dixon a taste of his own skill before Dixon was able to smartly pass at the green flag restart. He controlled the race in the remaining laps to win comfortably in the end winning his third race in five since the circuit’s return to the calendar.
2012: A Masterclass at Mid Ohio
Dixon came into the 2012 Indy 200 race at Mid Ohio aiming to rebound after a slightly quiet run of form having not stood on the podium since his victory at Belle Isle five races prior. Dixon qualified for the race in fourth off the second row of the grid. This was a patient race from Dixon who trailed Penske driver Will Power for the majority of laps languishing in position 4 before pit cycling up to position two after the first stops. He trailed Power, unable to make a pass on the Australian racer but a driver and team who have clearly unlocked and perfected the formula to win around Mid Ohio in recent years was never a combination to be phased by pace of Power. They waited till the pit lane to beat the Penske crew and get ahead after a quicker stop utilising the clear run to his pit box meanwhile Power had a far more acute angle to navigate costing precious tenths of a second. Dixon clearly had enough pace in clean air to control the remaining laps to win by just over three and a half seconds. Dixon achieved his fourth circuit win and his first back-to-back wins at the race track, a new feat which he hadn’t accomplished prior.
2014: A comeback drive for the ages
After having quite an underwhelming race at Mid Ohio in the 2013 season, Dixon came back here with a determination for far better by utilising Ganassi’s pure dominance at this race circuit where his Ganassi teammate Kimball got his debut victory last season.The season was underwhelming from Dixon who was a barren run of result leading up to MId Ohio having zero podiums in the last eleven races which coincided with the team wide Ganassi struggle for results in 2014 till this point. However, qualifying didn’t go to plan for Dixon as he spun and had to start from last place in position twenty two. This did not deter Dixon who went on a huge charge through the field on an alternate strategy to file his way to the front where he had a fuel saving masterclass in the second half of the race where he was up to 3 laps down on fuel at one point. Not many could pull this off but Dixon at Mid Ohio is a match made in heaven and Dixon’s would take his 5th victory at this track in 8 races – a remarkable track record.
2019: Methodical and Mechanical at Mid Ohio
Heading into the 2019 Indy 200 race Dixon uncharacteristically had gone 4 Mid-Ohio races without standing on the top step that he had made commonplace in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Although, heading into the Dixon was on strong season form but with the only one win to show for it which he looked to replicate and he managed to in supreme fashion. Dixon ran back the years at Mid-Ohio to produce another one of his spectacular fuel conserving drives. Starting on the fourth row in position 8, Dixon had a quiet start to the race but all the time was running to a fuel number in order to get the race done on two stops which he managed to achieve. Furthermore, in the latter stages of the race, Dixon had to hold off the fast-charging swede Felix Rosenqvist with minimal fuel and tyre life to play with yet placed his car exactly where it needed to be in order to defend his position which he managed perfectly to take his sixth win at this venue in a flawless and precise manner.
2025: Executing whilst others faltered at Mid Ohio
Having won a race on the calendar in every season Dixon participated in really reflected the longevity and outright consistency this driver possesses. This record however heading into the Mid Ohio race of 2025 was under threat. In the first 9 races of the year Dixon had only managed a podium finish of a position 2 at the season opener. A result was needed and it came in fortuitous fashion in its outcome yet took a crafty fuel saving strategy to cycle from around position seven or eight and up to the front came the final stint. Dixon was within five seconds of Palou when a rare error took place where Dixon was able to overtake Palou. Dixon defended gallantly to hold off Palou in the final five laps to take his unprecedented seventh victory and Mid Ohio and his record equalling 34th road course victory tying him with Australian Will Power for this achievement.
Looking ahead to this weekend
Heading into the 2026 Indy 200 at Mid Ohio, can Dixon after his announced departure from the Ganassi outfit after a career-long journey with them give a welcome final send-off in the most successful race track of their partnership together? Dixon would have to for the second time in his career win back-to-back races at Mid Ohio. Dixon’s form this season hasn’t been what it ought to be without even a podium finish to show but this circuit like last year could bring a cure to not only rectify his outstanding record of a win every season but also will act as a reminder to everyone and himself that he’s still got what it takes to win races which will be key as he looks to head to pastures new in 2027.
written by Taegan Hignett // Media Credit: Penske Entertainment
