Franchitti, Dixon, Kanaan: The IndyCar rivalry coming to Goodwood

Confirmation that Tony Kanaan will be racing at this year’s event means the Revival is set to welcome the three drivers that finished on the podium at the 2012 Indy 500. Between Kanaan, Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon, the Goodwood Motor Circuit will be the stage for five Indy 500 wins and 11 IndyCar Championships.

All three of these drivers’ open-wheel careers began in the 1990s, but it was in 2001 that they all sat on the same grid for the first time at the opening round of the CART season in Monterrey.

By then, Franchitti was already established as a title contender and multiple race winner, while Kanaan was similarly experienced but had only enjoyed a single victory. Dixon was the young hotshot, and he announced himself almost immediately by winning in only his third CART race at Nazareth Speedway.

They all made the switch to IndyCar in 2003, and Dixon became the first champion of the three, beating Kanaan in a five-way final race battle, while Franchitti was out of action for much of the season with a back injury.

Kanaan took the crown in 2004 with a brilliantly consistent season as Dixon and Franchitti struggled, setting the precedent for a rivalry that continues to this day.

For much of the next decade, the IndyCar series would feature at least one of these three drivers on the podium at near enough every race. The trio dominated the 2007 Championship, winning 13 of the 17 races between them, and finishing one-two-three in the standings as Franchitti joined his rivals as a champion at last.

That was one of the more memorable title climaxes in the history of world motorsport, as Franchitti and Dixon battled for victory, and the title, until the very last lap of the season, when Dixon ran out of fuel to give Franchitti the win.

Dixon completed the cycle to become a two-time Champion in 2008 ahead of Kanaan in third, as Franchitti took a sabbatical to try his hand in NASCAR. But the Scotsman returned in 2009, joining Chip Ganassi Racing as Dixon’s team-mate to begin a reign of dominance that saw him take three titles in a row and become a four-time Champion.

Although in less competitive machinery than his Ganassi rivals, Kanaan continued to show his speed but found his path back to the title blocked once again. This time by Dixon, who picked up where Franchitti left off after the his career ending crash in 2013.

Franchitti’s enforced decision to retire stole an opportunity for us to see all three of these drivers united under the Chip Ganassi banner. That had been the plan throughout 2013, but as it was the trio was down to two, and who better to step into the vacant #10 Chip Ganassi car than Tony Kanaan? These three careers that had been so closely tied for so long were now simply inseparable.

Dixon claimed more titles in 2013, 2015 and 2018 as Kanaan’s speed began to wane, and two became one as the Brazilian called time on his own career, in a full-time capacity at least, at the end of the 2019 season.

The New Zealander won again in 2020, and even right now in 2025 at the age of 45, he remains a regular race winner and perennial Championship contender.

Another accolade these three great drivers share is that of winning the Indy 500. Franchitti tasted the milk on three occasions, Dixon and Kanaan, to date, once each. It goes without saying that IndyCar’s flagship race is incredibly difficult to win, and yet there are few drivers outside these three who have demonstrated such consistency at Indy over such an extended period.

Kanaan finished in the top ten 12 times from 22 starts, including four top three finishes and a win. Franchitti was six from ten, including three wins, and Dixon is 14 from 23, with six top three finishes including one win.

So, what does all that mean for the 2025 Goodwood Revival? Well, if nothing else, the action on track is about to get spicy.

The barbs have already been flying as these three drivers, now very much friends, have been injecting no small amount of needle into their preparations ahead of what is bound to be a hugely entertaining weekend at Goodwood.

We know that Franchitti, Dixon and Kanaan will be going head-to-head in the RAC TT Celebration and the St. Mary’s Trophy presented by Motul, and there is absolutely no doubt that these three are going to want to get the better of each other at every single opportunity.

We brought the three of them together on a Zoom call to discuss their excitement ahead of the Revival, and it’s safe to say their rivalry remains as strong as ever. “That’s what friends are for, we can’t agree on everything,” said Kanaan, as he and Dixon squabbled over who caused a collision while the pair were leading at Motegi way back in 2003.

Dixon noted it was around that time that the three of them started to develop a friendship, although Franchitti attributed their first battle for the Championship in 2007 as the year when he and Dixon “bizarrely became really good pals… which was kind of odd since we were battling it out up until the last corner of the last lap.”

Those two were particularly keen to poke fun at Kanaan’s new position as Team Principal at Arrow McLaren. The Brazilian’s internet dropped out on numerous occasions, as Franchitti jibed, he was “probably having to take a call because he’s very important.”

The Scot also noted with a laugh: “We’re going to have to tell him that in the ’40s, ’50s and ‘60s people didn’t have teams of social influencers following them around with cameras.”

Asked if Kanaan, ahead of his Revival debut, had ever raced a classic, Franchitti responded: “Only when he was a kid, when they weren’t classics.”

Dixon meanwhile could barely contain his excitement at returning to the Revival. “It’s one of the best races I’ve ever done,” he says, referring to his run in the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy in 2022. “I’m really excited to do three different types of cars this year which is going to be really cool.”

“I was just shocked at how competitive everyone was,” he continues. “I thought it would’ve been pretty laid back and pretty chill, but from the get-go, even in the practice sessions it was just flat out, and nobody’s really scared to rub a little.”

Offering some advice to Revival new boy, Kanaan, Dixon added: “For me [the biggest challenge] was the lack of grip. You’re wheel spinning down the straights in third or fourth gear. The best part though was just the pure fun. Every lap I was either laughing or [there was] just a smile from ear to ear seeing everything that was going on around me.

“There’s only positives about it, you just hope you come out unscathed, especially when it’s not your car, but I love every part of it.”

Kanaan meanwhile offered a simple explanation as to why he so far hasn’t approached his two rivals-turned-mates for any Revival advice: “They’re just going to lie to me so there’s no advice that I can trust.

“I think Dario’s definitely behind some of the hard times I’m going to have. The least I know the better.”

Franchitti was at least able to offer a couple of nuggets of wisdom: “It’s a standing start, so you probably won’t be able to jump it as much as you used to jump the rolling starts.”

All jokes aside, he adds: “If it rains, you will not use full throttle. It’s the slipperiest thing I’ve ever experienced, you’ll wheelspin with 20 per cent throttle in fourth gear.”

Kanaan’s response is quite something: “Wow, that’ll be fun.”  

And that is the goal at the end of all of this, we’re really looking forward to soaking up all the action that these three motorsport legends are going to lay on for us throughout the 2025 Goodwood Revival.

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