The number of Kiwi racing drivers who have made a mark in international motor racing is very small. F1 champ, Denny Hulme, Grand Prix-winning Chris Amon and legendary designer/driver Bruce McLaren, whose name lives on as his company still produces the world's best supercar: the McLaren. On four wheels, Denny Hulme is considered by many to be NZ's greatest ever driver because he won F1.

Those people are flat-out wrong.

New Zealand's greatest racing driver is Scott Dixon.

Dixon is as far above the field of racing drivers as Hadlee is of the field of NZ bowlers.

Yet, Scott himself would almost certainly deny my statement, because he would point to his team and the people around him and say he'd been lucky.

Bullshit! In a good way. Scott does actually think like that, which is probably why he's light-years ahead of the competition. He now ranks fourth on the all-time Indy Car stats, behind only three names: AJ Foyt, Mario Andretti and Al Unser.

There are still people in the world who don't recognise Indy Car, and I can't figure out why. Driver after driver has left Indy Car for F1 and dominated. Or maybe you didn't realise Andretti also won the F1 champs and had never heard of Jacques Villeneuve or Emerson Fittipaldi. The reason more drivers don't switch is simple - they have nothing to prove. That the money is better in USA doesn't help making the decision to switch, either.

On the world stage, Dixon is far and away our greatest competitive sportsman and has been for the past decade, and I do include Richie McCaw in that. His dual wins in NZ sportsman of the year are partial testament to that.

As McCaw has been praised for his humility and attitude, so should the Manurewa boy, Scott Dixon.

And while you're at it, throw in a quick thanks to his mum & dad. No matter how much money you have, bringing up a kid racing karts competitively is awesomely time-consuming, with commitments that few parents would ever make.

Bravo to the lot of you!

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