Scott Dixon has welcomed Chip Ganassi’s decision to bring in sophomore driver Ed Jones for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series season, with the British racer coming in to replace veteran Tony Kanaan in the #10 machine.
Chip Ganassi Racing has downsized their operation for 2018 from four cars to just the two, but Dixon, a stalwart at the team since 2002 and a four-time series champion said the decision to bring in last seasons Rookie of the Year is a refreshing one for everyone involved.
Dixon feels that having a team-mate who knows all of the tracks on the calendar, and how to get the best out of their car in a limited amount of practice will bode well for the team, with the New Zealander feeling that Jones will have benefited greatly from having Sebastien Bourdais as his team-mate at Dale Coyne Racing last season.
“I think it’s pretty refreshing that Chip has signed Ed, someone who’s not a rookie,” said Dixon to Motorsport.com. “OK, Ed’s only had one year in IndyCar but that means he’s been to all the tracks [aside from Portland], he’s been to Indy 500 and gone through that whole two-week process and ended up with a strong finish.
“And then for the other tracks, he knows about going from black tires to red tires, how much has to get done in a 45-minute practice session, the whole process. He’s got good experience on ovals. And obviously Ed’s had someone really good like Bourdais as his team-mate.
“So that’s good, and it’s good to have that deal finalized. The only downside is that we don’t do a proper team test with the new cars until January so we’ll have to wait until then to actually work together.
“But you know Ed; he’s a super-pleasant guy, one of the easy ones to talk to, so yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
