Motorsport: Miscue lets Dixon sneak series lead

The 2009 Indycar series title is set for a thrilling three-way, winner-take-all scramble in Miami next month after New Zealand's Scott Dixon won the Japan 300 yesterday to take over the series lead with one race remaining.

Dixon, who started from pole position, led for most of the race and took over the lead for good on the 164th lap. He finished 1.4475s ahead of Target Chip Ganassi team-mate Dario Franchitti in his fifth win of the season.

Dixon now leads the standings with 570 points followed by Franchitti, who has 565. Ryan Briscoe, who went into the race with a 25-point lead over Franchitti and a 32-point lead over Dixon, finished 18th and has 562 points.

Graham Rahal finished third while Danica Patrick, who won here last year, was sixth.

The final race of the season is on October 10 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"We needed to get maximum points today and we did," said Dixon. "Dario and I are 1-2 for the championship race and that's how you want it."

Briscoe took the lead for the first time on lap 103 when Dixon and Franchitti pitted.

But his chances of wrapping up the championship ended when he pitted in on the 106th lap. He went into the pits just before a yellow flag came out when Mike Conway hit the wall at Turn 4.

When Briscoe was exiting the pit, he ran over the large cone marking the end of pit lane, getting it stuck under his front left wheel.

Because he was leading when the yellow flag came out, the field slowed to allow Briscoe to keep the lead.

When the pits opened again, Briscoe went in to have the pylon removed, giving the lead to Dixon when the race restarted on lap 118.

He rejoined the race on the 123rd lap but by that time dropped to 19th.

"It was frustrating," said Briscoe. "The accident leaving the pit was huge. I had the opportunity to get the lead and I gassed it too much. The team did a great job getting the car back but my day was pretty much done."

The last 36 laps of the race were a sprint between Dixon and Franchitti and the 2008 champion held on to win.

"After our second pit stop it was just a matter of trying to catch Scott," said Franchitti. "I needed traffic in front of us to be able to catch him but there wasn't any."

Dixon heads to Homestead in pursuit of his second consecutive championship and third overall, both of which would tie former IndyCar driver Sam Hornish Jr.

Franchitti won the 2007 title when Dixon ran out of fuel on the final lap of the season at Chicagoland Speedway. Briscoe has never won an IndyCar championship.

The eight-point differential between first and third is the second closest in series history, behind 2003 when just seven points separated the top three.

- AGENCIES