01-21-2020, 06:46 AM
INDIANAPOLIS -- While his team struggled with setup and speed, Scott Dixon has flown under the radar during preparations for the Indianapolis 500. Its exactly how he wants it. Its how he has tried to be his entire career. "I like to live simply," Dixon said. As such, one of the most decorated drivers of the last decade goes grossly underappreciated for his accomplishments. Hes the Jimmie Johnson of IndyCar, the driver tearing through the record books with his eye on the top names in series history. Dixons 33 career victories rank seventh all-time, and three more wins would leapfrog him past Al Unser Jr. and Bobby Unser into fourth place. The only drivers who rank higher than Dixon in victories right now have the last name Andretti, Foyt and Unser. Since joining Chip Ganassi Racing in 2002 while the team still raced in the now-defunct CHAMP Car Series, Dixon has won at least one race in every season except two. He has an Indianapolis 500 win on his resume, and his three IndyCar championships -- spread out in 2003, 2008 and 2013 -- show a consistency and longevity thats hard to match. At just 33 years old, he conceivably has almost another decade of racing ahead of him. But hes worked in the shadow of some huge personalities and some of open-wheel racings biggest stars. When Dario Franchitti joined the Ganassi organization in 2009, Dixon watched his famous teammate reel off three consecutive championships and two Indy 500 wins. In that same span, Dixon finished second in the championship once, third three times, and finished second to Franchitti in the 2012 Indy 500. Living in Franchittis shadow never bothered him. "I preferred that, actually," said Dixon, who will start Sundays Indy 500 in 11th, in the fourth row. "When I come out of the truck and everyone is standing around waiting, they all chased after Dario and I could just get on the scooter and ride off and get to work. Ive never had any problem not having the spotlight on me." Franchitti is on the sidelines now, forced into retirement last November from injuries suffered in a crash at Houston a month earlier. The imposing 1-2 attack of the two red Target cars has been broken up. It means Dixon finally has the team to himself, but he doesnt view it that way -- he maintains its always been owner Chip Ganassis team -- and the laid-back New Zealander isnt seeking any fame. Its a shame, because hes earned the attention. "Hes achieved so much, hes one of the most successful of all time, but a lot of people dont know that," said reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan, a fan favourite and Franchittis replacement this year in the Ganassi organization. "He just does his job. Is he more famous than me? Not really. But were not talking about that. Its not what his goal is. Hes doing exactly what he wants to do." Dixon excels at striving for more and putting in the work toward continuing to improve his race craft. "He doesnt stop learning. He doesnt allow what hes just done to be the high point in his life, in his career. He only uses that as a springboard for the next day," said Mike Hull, Ganassis managing director and the strategist atop Dixons pit stand. "We just do not stop learning together, and he represents us. I wish we could clone him, to be honest about it, moving forward because hes the kind of person you need driving your race cars." In his 13th season with Ganassi, Dixon is easily the longest tenured driver in organization history. The team owner says the longevity is because Dixon "doesnt seem to carry much baggage with him." For an owner who dislikes drama or having to massage egos and manage personalities, Dixon is his easy child. As for where Dixon ranks among the all-time greats, Ganassi doesnt want to be part of the conversation. "Were obviously very proud to have Scott," Ganassi said. "When you talk about legacies ... that will be something someday for you in the media to talk about. I dont think its our position in the race team to talk about that. We certainly think his name deserves to be up there as well." Air Force 1 Alte Graphic .A. Happ. The Toronto Blue Jays will be looking to improve the starting rotation ahead of next season and pitchers like Happ have a chance to show they belong as the disastrous 2013 campaign draws to a close. Air Force 1 Sp .Boston beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Tuesday night and celebrated consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month. http://www.airforce1outletitalia.it/scon...0.html.com) - Novak Djokovic easily took care of Andy Murray to reach the final at the $2. Air Force 1 Alte Just Do It . Costa injured his right thigh muscle against Barcelona last Saturday and had sought treatment in Belgrade from a doctor specializing in using fluid derived from horse placenta to repair damaged cells. Air Force 1 Alte Bianche Italia .com) - The Buffalo Bills will return to the friendly confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium on Sunday when they welcome the upstart Cleveland Browns to town.EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - Although Chicago and Los Angeles have won the last two Stanley Cup titles, Matt Greene and his fellow Kings realize the Blackhawks have been superior whenever the two championship teams were on the ice together recently. Chicagos recent mastery of the Kings completely came apart in one crazy period, and the Blackhawks are headed to the West Coast to figure out how to get it back. When the teams return Saturday night for Game 3 of the Western Conference finals, the Kings hope to build on their five-goal third period in a 6-2 victory on Wednesday night, evening the series in dramatic fashion. Until Game 2, Chicago had beaten the Kings six straight times and in nine of the clubs last 10 meetings dating back to last seasons conference finals. The Blackhawks had been faster and more offensively creative than the Kings, but it all went away in a barrage of goals that set a distinctly different tone for Game 3. "Its been a series thats gone in their favour for the last couple of years now," Greene said Thursday at the Kings training complex. "Weve got to do our best to change that. If we could put a finger on it, we would. But its up to us to figure it out and to keep it going and get some more wins. ... I dont think they have a mental edge on us, no. Youve just got to go out and play." Both teams essentially took Thursday off, gathering only for travel or a team meeting. While the Kings downplayed the importance of momentum from their win, the Blackhawks had an extra day to absorb the shock of their second four-goal defeat in the last six playoff games. "I woke up this morning way more angry than I exited the game," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said Thursday before the team flew to the West Coast. "Normally its the other way around. ... A game like that is a game that should get your attention, and I think thats where were at." Quenneville felt the loss was a significant setback for the Blackhawks only because of how it occurred. The two-time champion coach couldnt recall such an abrupt reversal of momentum against Chicago in any game this season. Quenneville thought his team essentially played a perfect game for the first 38 minutes, taking a 2-0 lead before it all fell apart with Los Angeles first goal. The Blackhawks arent a team that falls apart, but the Kings have a wway of making opponents do things they never imagined under playoff pressure.dddddddddddd "I think it was probably a little bit of a shock to us all," Chicago defenceman Nick Leddy said. "But thats how playoffs are." The Kings feel it wasnt just momentum that gave them home-ice advantage in this series. Los Angeles had been making strides against the defending champions for months, and coach Darryl Sutter thought his team played much better in its series-opening defeat than its victory. "I dont think it was momentum," Sutter said. "It was more once we were down two (goals), I think it was our ability — and were good at that — our ability to stay with it and stick with the game." That game is showing a few unexpected facets lately. The Kings are now the highest-scoring team in the Stanley Cup playoffs with 3.25 goals per game, a shocking number for a defence-first team that struggled mightily to score for much of the regular season. But the Kings success in Game 2 was due to its usual strengths on defence. Los Angeles defence on Chicagos top scorers was uniformly solid. Anze Kopitar shadowed Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, who didnt record a shot, while Patrick Kane failed to score a point for the second straight game. The Kings excelled on special teams, killing a two-man Chicago advantage and scoring the tying and go-ahead goals on their own power plays. Los Angeles also dominated the faceoff circle, following up its impressive work late in the second round against Anaheim. "Theyre huge momentum-swingers every time," Greene said. "A good (penalty-kill) can do wonders for you in terms of momentum, and a good power play. The coaches do a good job emphasizing you dont need to score on the power play. You just need to make sure you build momentum and get a good two minutes going in their zone. Last night, everything was clicking. Those were two huge power-play goals for us there. They really turned around the game in our favour." Bruising forward Andrew Shaw is expected to be available to the Blackhawks for Game 3 after missing Wednesdays game with a lower-body injury, his seventh straight game out of the lineup. The Kings arent likely to see defenceman Robyn Regehr, whose knee injury has kept him out for eight games. ' ' '