SPEED with Harvick and Buxton
SPEED with Harvick and Buxton

EXCLUSIVE: Scott Dixon Breaks His Silence on Shocking Arrow McLaren Move & Chip Ganassi Split

July 16, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

“I need to try something different.” That’s how six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon explains the decision that shook the series: leaving Chip Ganassi Racing after 25 years to join Arrow McLaren. In this interview with Kevin Harvick and Will Buxton, Dixon breaks his silence on the move, revealing a decision that was years in the making, driven by a quiet but persistent question about what else might be possible.

The Decision That Kept Him Up at Night

Dixon’s move was not a sudden impulse. He reveals that talks about a potential switch to McLaren go back as far as 2019. What changed this time was timing and a growing internal restlessness. “There’s a lot of things that kind of kept me up at night,” Dixon says, “and a lot of it was actually, do I finish my career without trying anything else?” The core tension was not dissatisfaction with Ganassi—Dixon calls Chip Ganassi “one of my best friends”—but a genuine curiosity about a different environment. He describes the conversation with Ganassi as “extremely tough,” acknowledging he has spent more time with the team than with his own family over a quarter-century. Ultimately, the decision came down to a simple, personal calculus: “I need to try something different for right now.”

What McLaren Offers That Ganassi Couldn’t

Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.

Read Full Summary →

Free • No credit card required

Listen to Audio Summary Open in App

What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:30) **Introduction & The Big Move** - Harvick and Buxton introduce Scott Dixon as a six-time IndyCar champion and frame the massive news of his departure from Chip Ganassi Racing after 25 years to join Arrow McLaren.
  • 2 (03:13) **The Decision to Leave: Why Now?** - Dixon reveals the internal struggle and the specific "nagging" thought that drove him to consider leaving the only IndyCar team he has ever known.
  • 3 (05:26) **Why McLaren Won the Deal** - Dixon explains that the choice came down to timing, a deep personal connection to Bruce McLaren, and a desire to experience a completely different operational process.
  • 4 (07:55) **The "Circle of Life" & Reinvigoration** - Dixon describes the need to break out of a comfortable rut and the excitement of not knowing how a new team operates.
  • 5 (10:06) **Legacy & The Fear of a Decline** - Dixon is asked if he ever worried about tarnishing his legacy by leaving a dominant team, a risk Harvick identifies as the hardest thing to judge.
  • 6 (12:37) **The Hard Work Ahead: Building the Team** - The conversation turns to the unseen work required to integrate a driver of Dixon's caliber into a new team during the off-season.
  • 7 (14:09) **The Tony Kanaan Dynamic** - Harvick presses Dixon on the potentially strange dynamic of having his close friend and former rival as a potential boss.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Scott Dixon Kevin Harvick Will Buxton

Show Notes

After 24 historic seasons, 6 championships, and 58 wins with Chip Ganassi Racing, Scott Dixon is leaving for Arrow McLaren in 2027. In this SPEED on FOX exclusive, Will Buxton and Kevin Harvick sit down with the 6-time IndyCar Champion for his first major, unfiltered interview since the earth-shattering announcement. Scott opens up about the incredibly tough conversation he had with Chip Ganassi, how he plans to finish his legendary run with the No. 9 team on top, and what ultimately drove him to seek a new challenge at this stage in his career. Plus, he breaks down his future relationships with his new boss Zak Brown, former teammate Tony Kanaan, and his highly anticipated partnership with Pato O'Ward and Felix Rosenqvist. This is the Scott Dixon interview you’ve been waiting for.

👉 SUBSCRIBE to SPEED on FOX for more exclusive motorsport interviews and analysis!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SPEED with Harvick and Buxton

More from this podcast

SPEED with Harvick and Buxton →