Dixon shifts focus to clinching title

"I'm kind of glad I'm getting in a car tomorrow so I can have some quiet time," Dixon joked on Friday at the Milwaukee Mile, where the IndyCar Series season resumes with the ABC Supply AJ Foyt 225 on Sunday.

Dixon has been on a media blitz since winning the race, only returning to his Indianapolis home late Thursday, then traveling to Milwaukee on Friday to prepare for Sunday's race. The Indy 500 victory, he says, hasn't surfaced in any sudden revelation.

"When the light bulb is meant to go off is when you can sit back and reflect on what you've been up to," he said.

"That's probably not going to come until after Texas for me when we have the week off. I might be sitting on a boat or jet-ski when that light bulb goes off. I'm waiting for that moment. It's still all been kind of surreal."

Now, though, Dixon has his sights on the series championship that narrowly escaped him last year. He has the lead by 15 points over Helio Castroneves after the Indy victory, but Milwaukee is one of the rare tracks that gives Dixon trouble.

He has crashed twice at the Mile, including a hard hit in Turn 4 during practice in 2004 that forced him to miss the race.

"It's probably one of the toughest circuits that we have in the series just because it's flat, it's quite bumpy, and sometimes in qualifying you're flat out," Dixon said, addressing qualifying at the rough mile oval.

"Last year I think I did one flat lap, then nearly spun on the second. With four laps, I don't know what's going to go on there. I think you might have to sort of pace yourself a little bit so the tires don't go off too bad."

Dixon didn't get a chance to practice Friday, but the IndyCar Series rookies - primarily the former Champ Car teams that are transitioning into the series - got an hour on the track late Friday afternoon.

Andretti Green Racing's Hideki Mutoh was fastest; the 27-car field expected for Sunday's race will be the largest field at the Mile since a CART race in 1996 drew 28 cars.

That race, coincidentally, was won by Michael Andretti, then with Newman/Haas.

"The race is going to be the problem," Dixon said. "With 18 cars or however many we had last year, it was almost impossible to get around the track without incidents. So with 27 or whatever we have here, it's going to be interesting for everybody.

"It's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be pretty aggressive. I think you have to be aggressive to make sure you stay at the front."