Fast-food run proves dangerous for drivers
Associated Press
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
The whole plan had been to celebrate Scott Dixon’s pole-winning run for the Indianapolis 500 at a downtown Italian restaurant.
But the restaurant was closed by the time Dixon had completed his media obligations Sunday night.
“Really only the next choice was to get fast food,” Dixon told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday.
So Dixon and friend Dario Franchitti headed to Taco Bell, where Dixon planned to order his usual Cheesy Gordita Crunch, subbing beans for the meat. Just a mile down the road from hallowed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the two were robbed at gunpoint while waiting in the drive-thru lane.
“It was definitely shocking, disbelief for the most part,” said Dixon, who acknowledged the “bizarre contrast” of being robbed a few hours after the high of winning the pole for the fabled race coming up this Sunday.
“It will make you feel really small again,” Dixon said.
Dixon has been advised not to discuss details of the Sunday night robbery, in which police arrested two boys, ages 15 and 14, a short time later. Tony Kannan, a teammate of Dixon’s with Chip Ganassi Racing, told reporters that Dixon and Franchitti had their windows down when they were approached at gunpoint.
“They held a gun at Dixon’s head and asked him for his wallet and his phone,” Kanaan said.
Dixon, who is nicknamed “The Iceman” because nothing seems to rattle him, said he felt he and Franchitti remained calm throughout the incident.