Ron Dixon launches USA contest for young race drivers

NZPA ©

Racing driver Scott Dixon's father, Ron, has been made a director of the Palm Beach International Raceway in Florida.

The father of New Zealand's two-time Indy Racing League (IRL) champion and last year's Indianapolis 500 winner will head up the raceway's participation in the Indy Lights Rookie Challenge.

Ron Dixon was credited in a statement from the raceway with inspiring the concept of its Indy Lights Rookie Challenge, expected to attract up-and-coming race drivers to compete for a fully sponsored ride in the 2010 IRL Indy Lights series.

"There are a lot of young racers who simply cannot afford today's Indy Lights annual budgets, which have escalated to between US$750,000 and US$1 million (NZ$1.05 million and NZ$1.4 million," he said.

"My aim is to help young drivers who cannot raise these kinds of racing budgets."

He planned two days' testing the applicants on a road course at Palm Beach and another two days on an oval circuit at Homestead, with an independent panel judging the drivers.

Panellists would judge the contestants not only on their driving abilities but also on their appearance, fitness and how they handled the media during the competition, which starts in mid-February.