Dixon joins list of all-time greats with 29th Indy car win

Scott Dixon

Scott Dixon cracked the top 10 of the all-time Indy car victory list Aug. 5 in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. His 29th win, all but one with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, tied Rick Mears for 10th all-time.

"If I could run for another nine years that would be pretty cool," said Dixon, who is two wins from tying Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Dario Franchitti, Sebastien Bourdais and Paul Tracy for ninth. "That's a long time, but we would love to work our way to the top."

Only four drivers on the all-time wins list scored 30 or more wins before turning 33 years old, and Dixon, who turned 32 on July 22, still has nearly 12 months to match that feat.

Below is a chart listing the total Indy car victories of the top 10 drivers and how many each had at age 32.

AT AGE 32

Driver Birthday 1st win Wins at 32 Total
A.J. Foyt Jan. 16, 1935 9-5-1960 (DuQuoin) 37 67
Mario Andretti Feb. 28, 1940 7-25-1965 (Indy Raceway Park) 31 52
Michael Andretti Oct. 5, 1962 4-13-1986 (Long Beach) 30 42
Al Unser May 29, 1939 7-4-1965 (Pikes Peak) 27 39
Bobby Unser Feb. 20, 1934 7-4-1966 (Pikes Peak) 1 35
Al Unser Jr. April 19, 1962 6-17-1984 (Portland) 28 34
Dario Franchitti May 19, 1973 8-16-1998 (Road America) 14 31
Sebastien Bourdais Feb. 28, 1979 5-5-2003 (Brands Hatch) 31 31
Paul Tracy Dec. 17, 1968 4-18-1993 (Long Beach) 18 31
Rick Mears Dec. 3, 1951 6-18-1978 (Milwaukee) 19 29
Scott Dixon July 22, 1980 5-6-2001 (Nazareth) 29 29

Note: Sanctioning bodies include USAS, CART, Champ Car, INDYCAR

Some interesting notes about the top 10:

• Bobby Unser had one victory when he was 32 years old (the Pikes Peak Hill Climb in 1966). He certainly was productive afterward. His final win came at Indianapolis in 1981 – when he was 47 years old.

• The first race A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, Al Unser Jr. and Rick Mears won after they turned 32 was the Indianapolis 500. Unser won the 500 on his 32nd birthday (5/29/71).

• Foyt won his 67th and final race (at Pocono) when he was 46 years old. He won his first when he was 25.

• Al Unser Jr. won his 20th race two days before turning 32 – at Long Beach. Nigel Mansell was the runner-up.

• It was two days shy of a two-year gap between Paul Tracy's 30th and 31st victories (both at Cleveland; the latter in 2007). He earned his 29th win (at Milwaukee) three weeks before his 30th.

• Foyt's first four victories were on dirt ovals in events sanctioned by USAC. In each, he didn't start on the front row.

• Four-time CART/Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, who's competing this season in the No. 7 TrueCar Dragon Racing car, won his 31st race at Mexico City in 2007. He competed in Formula 1 the next two seasons.

• Of Mario Andretti's 52 wins, 24 came from the pole.

• Michael Andretti won his final race (at Long Beach in 2002) with fellow IZOD IndyCar Series team owner Jimmy Vasser placing second. Vasser had 10 Indy car wins.

• Like his brother, Bobby, Al Unser's first victory was the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. Bobby was second in that 1965 race.

• Dario Franchitti moved into a tie with Tracy and Bourdais with 31 victories by winning his third Indianapolis 500 in May.

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