Nicknamed the “Ice Man” for his cool, quiet demeanor, Scott Dixon drove a methodical, technical race to earn his first Indianapolis 500 win last weekend and move up into first place in Indy Racing League points.
The New Zealander hasn’t slowed down since winning, being shuttled to dinners and media sessions across the country. Spending afternoon at Texas Motor Speedway, Dixon spoke about winning the race and the season so far.
Dixon said the key to securing the lead and the victory was the restart after the final pit stop with 24 laps to go. He said if a car starts too fast, it’ll reach terminal velocity too soon, allowing the opposition to catch up and make a pass.
Being in first, Dixon started in second gear and balked a little bit before ramping up the speed. He found it messed up second-place finisher Vitor Meira enough to get a good jump and maintain enough space to prevent Meira from getting a run on him.
The IndyCar Series next race is at Milwaukee this Sunday, and Dixon admits that due to the whirlwind victory tour he has yet to even think about the race. After Milwaukee, Texas is on tap with the Bombardier Learjet 550k on June 7.
Dixon spoke about how Texas was daunting when he first raced it on his way to clinching the points title in 2003. He didn’t like the setup but since has been able to understand the track better, growing to enjoy it.
Despite fuel strategy issues, he has found that the performance of his car in the mile and a half tracks at Homestead-Miami, Japan and Kansas has been spectacular. Having never won at Texas, Dixon is looking forward to the challenge and being competitive.
“It’s a place where the preparation of the car doesn’t seem to make as much difference as some of the easier, flat-out places,” Dixon said. “Texas is very difficult to race. If you give up a little, you are going to be trounced.”
When asked his about his low-key composure compared to his competitors, Dixon said, “I’m one of those guys that play things down. I let the results speak for themselves.”
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