NTT INDYCAR SERIES NEWS CONFERENCE

January 28, 2026

Scott Dixon

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: How would you rate this content day so far.

SCOTT DIXON: It's actually been pretty good. Excited to be here. Things have been running smooth. Everything is on time.

Q. How much are you looking forward to 2026?

SCOTT DIXON: Real excited. I think last year was just a bit of a downer year for us. Lots of little mistakes here and there. We had lots of things out of our control, as well. I'm looking forward to it.

We had a big deep dive in the off-season, and then there was lots of positives and things that we kind of already knew, and then definitely some bits I could have executed a little bit better on.

Yeah, it was a big year for the team. Obviously with Alex's stellar season and his first oval race being the biggest race in the world was pretty sweet, as well. We've got to keep the momentum going, and hopefully we can get together a little bit better on our side.

Kyffin obviously a big year start to finish was huge for him, so really happy for obviously Kyffin himself but the whole 8 car side, as well. I think this year should be big for all three of us.

Q. The Rolex 24, you had a chance to do that. How much does that help get all the cobwebs off and get the reaction time back? It's the same every single year, doing it in the off-season, but how good is that for you to break the off-season up like that?

SCOTT DIXON: I think it's really good. For me, it's really just about the enjoyment factor. I don't really have to do it. But I really love doing that race.

I think, one, again, it's one of the marquee events that is super hard to get a drive, too, especially if you look at the field of GTP it's almost impossible. I feel really glad that I can go there with Mike Shank and his team with Jim Meyer. It was a rough one this year. Definitely pretty rough. But still had a lot of fun. I'd rather be doing that than sitting at home on the couch watching it.

Are there positives for it? For sure. I think just getting back into the rhythm of things. There are a lot of differences, just stupid stuff. The radio button will be on the opposite side to the INDYCAR, so there are things that mess you up a little bit, especially when you go back and forth between the races and doing sim days and things like that. But it's a great event, one that's extremely tough to win, and we got reminded of that pretty big time on the weekend.

Q. Any major changes that you're going to do ahead of 2026 to try and replicate Alex's run from last year?

SCOTT DIXON: No, I think honestly, for us, it was all in the details. Just execution. Qualifying I think was -- Elkhart, I think I got myself into grief there; Laguna, Barber; Toronto hit the wall; Long Beach hit the wall. There was a lot of things where we gave up a lot of big starting positions on weekends that were looking extremely good.

I think just execution and looking at the details a little bit better.

I think there's a few things engineering side that we can definitely do better on, as well, for driving style differences and things like that. No, the team is strong. The pit crew stays exactly the same as last year. A couple small changes on the stand. Yeah, I'm looking forward to it.

Q. I wanted to ask you, I asked Will Power about it. If you look at the field right now and especially the top of the standings last year, a lot of guys up there in their 20s. Is there a sense of pride for you just looking at all those younger guys and seeing you're still right up there near the top?

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, but third for me still sucks. You want to be winning, so that's all that really matters. Yeah, I don't know. The group has definitely gotten -- Will and I are 45. I kind of don't know what the next -- maybe Graham is like the next. It's an interesting time because I remember clearly when I first came into the sport, and it doesn't seem that long ago.

No, it's awesome to -- again, we're very lucky to do what we do. I feel great to be in this position. But ultimately you just want to win. Not many people remember who came third last year. They only remember the champion.

Q. Along those lines, what is it like, you and Will in your 40s but there's a big drop-off. What is it like to be with all these guys in the last five or six years who have popped on to the scene?

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, the conversations definitely change. I've got a 16 year old and a 14 year old and a six year old. When you're talking to the likes of Armstrong or people like that, it kind of makes you reminisce on the single days and maybe going out a lot more. I'm glad I got through that part of my life.

But yeah, the conversations are very different. It's still fun to catch up with all these people and see the new talent coming into INDYCAR. It's been really impressive, I think, to see the new crop come through and they're very, very strong. It's huge for the future of INDYCAR, and yeah, you can only welcome it and hope that you get to race against them for a little while longer.

Q. A couple questions for you. It wasn't all that long ago that they used to say, especially looking at the upcoming Phoenix test, that if you ran well at Phoenix, that boded well for your time at Indianapolis. Do you think that still holds true with this current era of car the way it is?

SCOTT DIXON: No. It's totally different. I think maybe back in the 2000s you would talk about that when it was a different kind of circuit. There used to be kind of mechanical crossover that you could utilize, I think, going from Phoenix to Indy and different things here and there.

But no, yeah, it's a totally different -- there's nothing really that aero package wise or mechanical grip or anything that really passes on to Indy. No, Indy is really its own thing.

Q. Also, we talked last year about the amazing season that Alex had and the Ganassi season as a whole and knowing the depth of talent within the field, literally the question was always, how do you catch the Ganassi guys and Alex in particular, and you operated with so minimal on the mistake end where other teams were making -- even though they're minor because the margins are so small in INDYCAR these days. A couple drivers said they couldn't see any weaknesses in Alex's driving throughout the season. He had one key mistake at Mid-Ohio and you took advantage of that. Was that a lesson that you inadvertently taught Alex that gave him one for thing to make him that much tougher the rest of the way?

SCOTT DIXON: I think he's always been an extremely well-rounded driver. I think the other thing, too, is he works extremely hard. It's not like it just comes effortlessly. He's a really hard worker.

For me and seeing him work and seeing him more closely, it's a no-brainer for me with how it goes. Yes, there's some times where it's like, that definitely rolled your way. That was one of those seasons. I've been in one of those seasons, too, where just kind of anything you do strategy-wise or the way -- the lap you choose in qualifying, et cetera, et cetera, it kind of just plays off.

But no, he's definitely the standard right now and who everybody is chasing. You can see clearly when we went into the deep dive of just things where we just didn't execute well as a group or myself or whatever. It's nice to see how it's done properly last year.

It's a new year now. Everybody can turn a page and crack on, and it'll be interesting to see how this one plays out. But last year he was exceptional.

Q. I think you won Toronto four times on a street course and now the series is going to Markham. I think Tony Cotman designed that track. It's a little bit longer, 12 turns. I don't know if you've had a chance to see the layout plan. What will you miss about Toronto? It looks like the track has some good passing opportunities. Have you got any opinion of that?

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, I haven't been there, haven't done any of the sim work yet, so I'm not even really familiar with the layout. Like I've seen the drawing of it, but I don't really recall that right now.

It's a shame, I think, with losing the one there by the convention center. I don't know if it's on the cards to be back or what it is. But I think the proximity to downtown is really fantastic, to all the restaurants, to the hotels and things like that. The new area I'm not even sure of. I think it's 30 minutes north of where we were.

But I'm excited there's a new place, and I think they really did their homework on the demographics and understanding where people are coming from and where they're coming from locally or from different areas outside of Toronto.

Excited for a new track and one -- I think the last iteration of the Toronto circuit was kind of the worst of the three or four that I've driven on, but it was still a lot of fun. I think the biggest thing about the Toronto race is the fans and everybody that comes out for that one. It makes that event very strong.

Q. At the end of December you were by your homeland. You experienced Knighthood. Talk about how exciting that must be for you and your family.

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, kind of wild. Well, very wild. Yeah, I think I kind of got an email, I think it was maybe November or late October, and I thought it was actually spam or something. I sent it to my wife and I was like, what is this letter? It just asks, would you accept if it is put out, which then even after that point if you apply and accept it, you don't know if you're going to be put forward.

Yeah, then there's like a two- or three-week embargo that comes out previously to the announcement so then you get an idea that it's happened. Not in my wildest dreams -- I don't think I'd even dream about something like that to be honest because I wouldn't think about something like that.

Yeah, shocking. But a massive honor. I think as far as coming from your country, I've always loved and been very proud to fly the flag for New Zealand and what it gave me as a young person growing up over there and the support that I had from fellow Kiwis to get me to race in different countries has been huge.

The recognition for motorsport was really big. Tony Quinn also got a CBE I think throughout the honors list as well, which he's done a lot of big effort for motorsport in New Zealand, but motorsport generally kind of gets put to the wayside a little bit.

Yeah, it's huge, huge. There's not many people that have been in that situation.

Q. Is there a next step on that?

SCOTT DIXON: No, that's it. That's it. Well, you mean, next step as in ceremony? Yeah, I've got to figure that out. I think you can do it in the UK. I think they have a Commonwealth day or you can do it in New Zealand. I'll probably lean to doing it in New Zealand. They do it in May is the first set and then they do it in October or November.

Q. You may be a little busy in May.

SCOTT DIXON: You've got to fit these things in. I've got to get my sword and my armor and stuff.

Q. A lot of talk about Phoenix. Obviously the last time we raced there it was processional. A lot of talk about a second groove. What do we need to do at Phoenix to get the second groove rocking and rolling?

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, I don't know. It showed signs. I did the test in November, which I know they've done another one since then, and it was just two cars, Rossi and myself, and once we went up there, and it was only for a 20-lap run each, it became usable. I think if you get a full field doing it, it could transition pretty quickly.

The other thing, too, is how the Cup tire reacts to Firestone is really a big unknown, as well. That could be good for us if they're on the bottom, then it's going to make us move higher, et cetera, et cetera.

But no, I think myself and everybody, we want it to be a great race. That's what you want to do. It's a tricky circuit, especially without being able to use the dog leg. It kind of makes that big straight single lane a little bit just with how you can place the car and nobody can go around you. But if that second lane comes in, it would be a game changer.

Q. When we spoke this time last year you hadn't seen the new car. Have there been any conversations with Scott Dixon yet about the 2028 car?

SCOTT DIXON: No conversations. There was a presentation at the drivers' meeting, awesome renderings.

Q. What do you think?

SCOTT DIXON: Yeah, it's cool. It's still not here, right? It's a rendering. I'm hoping for big things. But we need to get back to like 1000 horsepower.

Q. Does it look like a 2001 Raynard is what I want to know.

SCOTT DIXON: It looks better than what we have. It's not hard, but it does (smiling).