Scott Dixon is keen to see more oval races on the IndyCar calendar, and says the series’ efforts to improve racing on the Texas Motor Speedway have paid off.
Texas is the first of four ovals IndyCar will visit this year for a total of five races. The Indianapolis 500 will take place in May, Iowa holds a double-header in July and the oval portion of the 17-race calendar concludes at Gateway in August.
Dixon has raced there 24 times since 2003, and has a record five wins in what now runs as a 248-lap (574.73 kilometres) race. Speaking to media including RaceFans ahead of this weekend’s race the six-times IndyCar champion said he wants it to remain on the calendar even if the grandstands are not as full as they used to be pm race day – a problem several oval races suffer.
“I think people view or watch the races a little bit different these days,” said Dixon. “We all get a pretty quick reminder from when we see older races in the 2000s of that place being pretty packed. I think it’s not just tough for us, but obviously for NASCAR Cup Series that races there as well.
“I’d love to see more ovals on the [calendar], whether it was a Richmond or a Kentucky or some of the circuits that provided fantastic racing for us throughout the years. I would like to think this would be our minimum of oval races, for sure.”
The quality of racing at Texas Motor Speedway has varied dramatically in recent years. Once notorious for its ‘pack racing’, which several drivers described as dangerous, some recent events have been more processional.
The Texas round used to be a night race, but now runs in the day. That is one of several factors which have affected the popularity of the race and the quality of racing at it.
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Following Dixon’s domination of race one of IndyCar’s Texas double-header in 2021, IndyCar decided changes needed to be made to provide a better racing spectacle for the next year.
Teams were allowed to run barge boards in 2022, with the purpose of adding downforce to the cars to make them more stable. That led to race that had 12 leaders, was decided by a last-lap pass and was widely regarded by drivers and fans to be more enjoyable.
Additional changes are planned for this year which Dixon hopes will further improve the quality of racing. “I think this year the IndyCar series has done a good job of bringing some updated aerodynamic pieces, which I think will…
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