LEXINGTON, Ohio. — Scott Dixon became IndyCar's leader in career victories today, pulling away from the field to capture the Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio.

The victory was Dixon's fourth of the season and 20th of his IndyCar career, breaking a tie with former series star Sam Hornish Jr.

Dixon entered the record books with ease, taking the lead from Justin Wilson halfway through the race then pouring it on to win by nearly 30 seconds over pole sitter Ryan Briscoe.

The victory also pushed the defending points champion back atop the standings with four races left in the season.

Dario Franchitti was third, followed by Ryan Hunter-Reay and Hideki Mutoh.

Dixon said before the race it felt as if no one wanted to emerge from a crowded championship battle between himself, Franchitti and Briscoe.

While the race marked the 12th time in 13 events the points lead has changed hands, the affable New Zealander may have finally given the season a sense of order following a stunningly easy victory in which he beat the field by nearly half a lap.

Vying for a third series title, Dixon will head to Sonoma in two weeks with a three-point lead over Briscoe and a 20-point edge over Target Chip Ganassi racing teammate Franchitti.

Given the way Dixon mastered Mid-Ohio, making up the difference won't be easy.

Even as temperatures peaked at 115 degrees on the track, Dixon had little trouble keeping his cool despite spending the first half of the race falling well behind Justin Wilson.

Wilson was in total command early, slipping past Briscoe five laps in and quickly extending his lead to more than seven seconds.

Dixon, however, was able to close the gap thanks to slightly better fuel mileage and a perfect pit stop. He took the lead for good on lap 43 after Wilson got hung up behind Milka Duno's lapped car.

Wilson's bid to pick up his second win on a road course in five weeks ended when he stalled coming out of the pits on lap 63. He finished 13th.

With Wilson out of the way, Dixon had little resistance, turning the last 20 laps into an extended victory parade.

The handful of modifications the series pushed through last week before the race at Kentucky in hopes of providing a more thrilling product — including the popular "Push to Pass" button — didn't produce much in the way of excitement.

Dixon made sure of that. He took his second title at the sprawling 2.258-mile road course so easily he was practically posing for pictures in Victory Lane by the time the rest of the field crossed the finish line.

The win was Dixon's eighth career road triumph and first since winning at Edmonton over a year ago.

Though he's displayed his usual dominance on ovals this year, Dixon hasn't been quite so sharp when forced to turn both left and right.

He entered Mid-Ohio having led just three laps on road courses this year. Whatever road woes had bedeviled him, however, disappeared after he took the lead from Wilson, who appeared to get stuck behind the decidedly slower Duno.

Dixon didn't exactly get too fired up about breaking Hornish's mark. The official IndyCar series only goes back to 1996. He's still got plenty of work to do to catch A.J. Foyt, who holds the career record for open-wheel wins with 67.