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Scott Dixon now has a routine for future Indianapolis 500s: Pancakes for breakfast, milk as an afternoon snack.
The Kiwi star capped his shining moment at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by kissing his new wife, Emma, and showering himself with the ceremonial bottle of milk that has gone to
each winner since 1936.
Dixon, the pole sitter, deserved all of the above. He led a race-high 115 laps, the most for a winner since Juan Pablo Montoya in 2000.
But he was quick to point out that his day began with the track's traditional boom that startled him out of a deep sleep at 6am. His barking dogs kept him up from there.
The pancakes in hot maple syrup helped steer him right for the ride that awaited. Now, he's an Indy winner.
Forever.
"It sounds pretty good, doesn't it?" he said afterward.
Such an assessment will have to serve as an emotional outburst for Dixon, who is known for his steely approach. Some drivers have cried in victory lane, but Dixon's first words to a crowd in excess of 250,000 were fittingly low-key.
"You just thought something was going to go wrong," he said. "I've got to thank my wife, for sure. She's put up with my moods."
Dixon, 27, is so difficult to read that team owner Chip Ganassi, who fielded Montoya's Indy-winning car, initially didn't know what he was getting when he plucked Dixon from the folding PacWest team in the middle of the 2002 season.
"He's been like that since I've known him," Ganassi said. "At first, I didn't think he was that excited about racing. People confuse that with caring about things. You know, it's a relief to know it was a quiet confidence that sort of is his trademark. That's a powerful tool."
Dixon didn't have many equals this month, save for his Ganassi Racing teammate, Dan Wheldon, who briefly held the pole in qualifications. They started 1-2 and traded the lead six times in the first half of the race, with Wheldon leading 30 laps in all.
Still, Dixon took nothing for granted, particularly with Wheldon's car struggling with what appeared to be a shock problem. After all, Dixon might already have an IndyCar Series championship in his pocket (2003), but he has had enough disappointments to merit an apprehensive approach. Among them: Difficult seasons with Toyota engines in 2004 and 2005.
Dixon was leading last year's championship heading into the third turn of the final lap of the final race. But when his car choked with a lack of fuel, Dario Franchitti stole everything.
Even this season, Dixon hasn't been able to prevail even when he appeared to have the best car. He dominated the second half of the race in Japan only to have Danica Patrick and Helio Castroneves beat him with better fuel strategy. Virtually the same thing happened in the most recent race at Kansas Speedway, with Wheldon swiping the win.
Dixon took his last lead Sunday from Vitor Meira on lap 172 of 200, and he knew he had the best car. But he still had to finish, eventually coasting to a 1.75-second victory.
"I think I was worried going into the race just because we had such a smooth month," Dixon said.
He will collect a top prize of approximately US$2.5m today.
Meira led 12 laps after taking the lead with a bold and brilliant squeeze between Dixon and Ed Carpenter. Meira finished second for the second time at this event, the other time trailing Wheldon in 2005.
Meira acknowledged he even started thinking about winning the 500.
Marco Andretti, who led for the third consecutive year, finished third with Castroneves fourth after recovering from a broken right front wing after striking debris from Marty Roth's accident on lap 61.
Carpenter ended up fifth, the highest finish for a member of the Hulman-George family since Steve Krisiloff finished fourth in 1978.
Behind them was mayhem, with more than half of the field finding some degree of contact or fire.
Andretti Green Racing was involved in two of the most dramatic incidents, with race co-favourite Tony Kanaan spinning after giving Andretti too much room to pass in the third turn.
Danica Patrick was returning to the track after service from her AGR crew when Team Penske driver Ryan Briscoe left his pit box. Briscoe's car got a few feet out of shape, making contact with Patrick's rear tyre.
Upset, she walked purposefully toward Briscoe's pit box only to be redirected by the series' lead security officer.
The youngest and oldest drivers in the race - Graham Rahal and Marty Roth - crashed separately in the early stages in similar situations. Before the chequered flag waved, the damage also included three rookies.
Dixon didn't have a scratch on his car because it was that kind of day. Now if only the rest are like that.
