KEY POINTS:
CHICAGO - It was a case of "so near and yet so far" for kiwi Indy Racing star Scott Dixon here today.
Scotland's Dario Franchitti passed the New Zealander on the very final lap of the Indy 300 event at Chicagoland Speedway this morning (NZT).
The win gave Franchitti the 2007 IndyCar Series title.
Dixon, the 2003 champion, was leading the race but ran out of fuel in the third turn of the last lap, allowing Franchitti to pass him on the outside for the win in the final race of the year and the title.
"It came down to a fuel race," Dixon said.
"I was trying to save fuel but it just wasn't our day.
"The 27 car (Franchitti's) was getting much better fuel mileage, seemed to be going longer all day and that's what it came down too, it's tough."
Franchitti, the Indianapolis 500 winner who is reportedly poised to jump to the popular Nascar stock car racing series next season, started the race with a three-point lead atop the standings and finished with 637 points to claim his first IndyCar championship.
Dixon finished 13 points behind Franchitti.
Sam Hornish was third across the finish line, followed by Brazil's Helio Catroneves and Scott Sharp.
Brazilian Tony Kanaan, the only other driver with a chance to win the title on Sunday, finished sixth.
- NZHERALD STAFF, additional reporting from AFP
