Dixon says restart clinched victory

The New Zealander was leading the field with 24 laps remaining, knowing that second-placed Vitor Meira had passed him on the previous restart 16 laps earlier and that staying ahead this time could make the difference between winning and losing.

"You're a sitting duck when you're out front," said Dixon. "If you speed up you get to your terminal velocity a lot quicker than the guy behind you does so he's going to be able to pass you.

"I slowed down a bunch on that last restart, I went all the way down to second gear, but it gave us enough of a buffer that Vitor couldn't get by us."

Dixon also said he was relieved to secure the victory because he'd known all the way through the month leading up to the race that he was in a strong position.

"This was a month where I could be aggressive because I had the tools to do it and that's what it came down to," he said. "The team have been almost unstoppable over the first five races so it's nice to have that confidence level.

"I was worried going into the race because we'd had such a smooth month. I was sort of waiting for something to go wrong. You have high expectations, but in the back of your mind you're thinking 'what if we have a bad pit stop?' or 'what if we have a mechanical problem?' that's out of your hands.

"There was no point in the race where I thought we had it in the bag. Especially in the last 40 laps when the sleepers like Meira were coming out - he was super fast. The traffic was going through my mind in the last five laps, too.

"I didn't want to get stuck behind one of them because as soon as you lose momentum the guys breathing down your neck are going to blow by you."

Dixon admitted his delight at winning IndyCar's blue riband event for the first time and expects it to take a while for the feeling to sink in.

"I was shocked, almost dumbfounded," he said. "It's such a strange feeling, and for me because I don't show emotions too much, but it's almost like you're in dream land. You expect someone to pinch you and you wake up and you're sleeping in your bed back home. It hasn't sunk in yet but it feels so special.

"I was yelling a lot on the radio and punching the air. I think I nearly took out three cars on the cool-down lap!

"In the last 30 laps you feel quite alone out there. You're like 'oh sh*t, this is actually down to me. I'd better not mess up because everybody has given me the tools to do it' so it does fall on you there. Then all I wanted to do was get back to the pits and see everybody that helped me get there."