Scott Dixon has lent his support to the suggestion of IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard that IZOD IndyCar Series next year's season finale in Las Vegas could become a street race.
Las Vegas Motor Speedway was confirmed earlier this year as the concluding round of the 2012 IndyCar schedule, which still has yet to be finalized. However, the track's future position on the calendar was thrown into doubt by Dan Wheldon's fatal accident at the track last month. Bernard subsequently asked IndyCar drivers via Twitter whether they would be in favor of a Vegas street race, such as that run by the Champ Car World Series in its last season of operations, and met with widespread support. Two-time champion Scott Dixon firmly endorsed the idea.
"I'd definitely support it," the New Zealander, a two-time IndyCar champion, told AUTOSPORT. "I think it's a good solution. It's been done before, and I think it would be a better fit than what we've done this year."
The investigation into the multi-car accident that claimed Wheldon's life continues, but Dixon joined drivers in criticizing racing on 1.5-mile high-banked ovals like LVMS where, in their current configuration, the cars can easily be driven flat-out for the entire lap.
"There should be no way at a track like that you should be flat," Dixon declared. "Take some grip out of it or give it a lot more power, so you need to brake and you need to lift. At Vegas, you could be three-wide in a massive group and still stay flat. That was just the worst combination for what we did that weekend."
"The car was just too easy to drive flat, and the track had too much banking. It was easy to stay flat in the corner, but there are ways to help that."