It’s not every day that a driver manages to notch up 400 starts in any racing discipline, let alone IndyCar – where it has only been achieved once throughout its history.
Mario Andretti is the only man to currently hold that record, but Scott Dixon looks set to join him during race one of the Milwaukee Mile 250.
The Kiwi debuted in the sport back in 2001, and has raced against a total of 201 different drivers in his time.
A total of six championships – and even more impressively, 18 consecutive seasons with a race victory, highlight just what a special talent Dixon has been and how lucky IndyCar is to have witnessed someone of his calibre.
Scott Dixon will race in his 400th IndyCar race in Milwaukee
Technically, Dixon has 360, not 399 starts currently – but his CART days are also considered IndyCar for this matter – since both effectively merged in the early 2000’s.
CART ran the same races as IndyCar, and the sport still visits many of those venues to this day – including where Dixon made his CART debut in 2001.
READ MORE: Will Power shares update on his IndyCar future after dominant Portland victory
That season, aged 20 when he entered the cockpit for the first time at the Telmex Grand Prix of Monterey, he earned Rookie of the Year honours on his way to an eighth-placed finish in the championship.
He won his maiden IndyCar title in 2003, and went on to win five more – most recently in 2020, to go with an Indianapolis 500 win in 2008.
A Formula 1 test with Williams in early 2004 never amounted to anything, as the British outfit opted against signing a rookie for the following season, choosing Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld instead.
Which drivers have appeared on the same grid as Dixon the most?
The top three drivers to have featured on the same IndyCar grid as Scott Dixon on the most occasions will be of no surprise to many long-term fans.
Tony Kanaan – the driver with the fourth most starts (393) in IndyCar history has lined up alongside Dixon the most over the years, which is no surprise considering that they shared the grid for 20 years.
Helio Castroneves comes next, with the Brazilian pipping Kanaan to the third most starts (394), but not quite more races next to Dixon.
And lastly comes a man who shares the grid with Dixon currently – Graham Rahal, who made his IndyCar debut back in 2008.
So as Scott Dixon reaches the big 400, where a few of his closest ever rivals have fallen just short, his eyes will be on keeping himself in the championship fight with just three races to go in 2024, and a huge gap to close to points leader Alex Palou.