"History will show": When Mario Andretti paid a special tribute to Scott Dixon

Chip Ganassi Racing's Scott Dixon was hailed by former F1 and IndyCar champion Mario Andretti in 2016 after the Kiwi driver won his fourth American open-wheel racing series championship in 2015. Andretti revealed how Dixon didn't receive the recognition he deserved and paid him a special tribute.

An event took place at the Petersen Automotive Museum in April 2016 where the Top 5 drivers with the most wins in the American open-wheel racing series were honored. Dixon back then had 39 IndyCar victories and revealed he felt out of place being in the company of Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti, AJ Foyt and Al Unser Sr.

However, Mario Andretti came out and suggested that Scott Dixon didn't receive the recognition he deserved and that he deserved to be there. The former F1 champion said (via IndyStar):

“He is definitely as good as anyone who has ever driven in IndyCar. He has shown that, clearly and consistently, and people, not enough people know or appreciate that. And it’s certainly unfair for him. History will show, he’ll get his due credit.”

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Dixon went on to win the championship in 2018 and in 2020 to become a six-time IndyCar champion and is just one title away from equaling AJ Foyt’s record of seven American open-wheel racing championships. Scott Dixon’s win tally has also grown since the event in 2016, as the Kiwi currently sits on 58 wins, just nine wins away from AJ Foyt's record of 67 wins.

Many drivers of the current generation look up to Scott Dixon as their idol, as his teammate Alex Palou recently named the Kiwi driver as the GOAT of IndyCar racing.

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Alex Palou hailed Scott Dixon as his IndyCar GOAT

Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou was featured on the First Things First TV show during the 2025 Thermal Club IndyCar race weekend. The host asked the three-time IndyCar champion about the driver that the Spaniard idolized from the past.

Palou, despite being asked to pick a former driver, suggested that Dixon is his GOAT as he said:

“Honestly there have been amazing drivers here in IndyCar and have done tremendous in the past like Mario Andretti and AJ Foyt. There's Dario Franchitti which won three championships in a row. We're trying to chase that this year.

“But overall as a career, what I look up to the most is Scott Dixon, my teammate. Basically, because he's done it in two different eras, like 20 years ago when he started and now racing has changed a lot.”

Alex Palou took the victory at the Thermal Club later that weekend and extended his lead in the IndyCar championship.