Ganassi keeping Dixon on gardening leave through year's end

Scott Dixon will have a few months of downtime to enjoy while waiting for January 1 to join McLaren Racing as the new driver of the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevy.

The New Zealander chose to leave Chip Ganassi Racing after spending 25 seasons with the team to sign with its most heated rival, and while a heartfelt farewell between Ganassi and Dixon was arranged at the recent season finale at Laguna Seca, the Kiwi’s former team has upheld the non-compete clause in his contract that will make Dixon unavailable to Arrow McLaren until the first day of 2027.

“Obviously it’s not ideal, but it was a deal that he signed,” Kanaan told RACER. “So we’re just going to be as prepared as we can for when he's going to come here, sit in the car, be in the shop, and we do the proper intro to the team. In the meantime, we can't do anything about it.”

Despite serving as a standard practice in Formula 1, the enforcement of 'gardening leave' clauses hasn’t been common within the IndyCar Series paddock until recent years when high-profile engineers, manager, and drivers have been held to the full term of their employment agreements.

Prior to Dixon, two-time IndyCar champion Will Power was the highest profile driver to face the same restriction as his call to leave Team Penske for Andretti Global at the end of the 2025 season was met with Penske’s requirement for Power – and former Penske managing director Ron Ruzewski – to wait until January 1 before starting with their new team.

The team doesn’t have to wait for former Meyer Shank Racing driver Felix Rosenqvist, who opted to leave at the end of his three-year tenure with the organization and replace Christian Lundgaard in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren Chevy.

“Felix is fully open, so he is already going to the sim and doing a bunch of things with us,” Kanaan said. “And for him, it is like coming home. I was able to keep the majority of the people still here, as far as his mechanics and engineering staff since he left, so he’s coming right back to the people he already knew.”

Lundgaard is the one exception among the drivers involved with Arrow McLaren’s sweeping year-to-year-changes. The Dane completed his two-year contract with the team and was granted permission to seek new opportunities after Arrow McLaren decided to split with the rising star.

Although it remains unconfirmed, Lundgaard has been expected to replace Dixon at Ganassi. Kanaan wouldn’t speak to where he was headed, but did confirm his availability.“He's been free since the end of the year,” he added. “I know because he came here to give his company car back and made sure he told everybody that he was gonna go get his Honda Passport at the other team.”