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Scott Dixon on the track - Source: Reuters -
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Australian Ryan Briscoe went wheel-to-wheel with Indycar Series
challenger Scott Dixon on the last lap before snatching victory in
Saturday's Peak 300 race by just 0.0077 seconds.
Briscoe's win - his third of the season - came in the
fourth-closest finish in series history. Three of those four
closest finishes at the Chicagoland Speedway where he
triumphed.
New Zealand's Dixon finished second followed by Brazilian Mario
Moraes and another championship contender, Scotland's Dario
Franchitti - keeping the series title fight tight going into the
final two races of the season.
Briscoe now leads the championship on 550 points, 25 ahead of
Franchitti with a further eight to Dixon going into the final two
races.
"No different, really," Briscoe said. "We've seen how quickly that
can turn around."
Briscoe's Penske Racing teammate, Helio Castroneves, appeared to
break a suspension part and hit the wall with 16 laps to go.
Castroneves, who came into Saturday night's race fourth in the
points, was eliminated from title contention after his crash.
Graham Rahal rounded out the top five. Danica Patrick finished
12th.
The race was fast and caution-free until nearly the halfway point,
when Andretti Green Racing driver Hideki Mutoh lost control of his
car and hit the wall hard on lap 92. Mutoh was able to climb out of
the car on his own.
All the leaders pitted on lap 96, putting the leaders close to
making it to the end of the race with only one more stop.
Briscoe had a slightly slower stop than the rest of the leaders -
apparently misjudging his marks while coming to a stop - and came
out in eighth place for the restart.
Briscoe struggled in traffic during the middle portion of the race
but eventually climbed back into the lead when Franchitti pitted
under green with 42 laps remaining.
Briscoe and Dixon pitted soon after, and Dixon took the lead back
after all the leaders cycled through the pits.
After Castroneves' crash, Dixon led the field to a restart with
nine laps to go.
But Briscoe pulled alongside Dixon as they took the white flag
signaling one lap to go, and raced him side-by-side for the
remainder of the final lap before inching past him as they came to
the finish line.
After winning the pole position in qualifying Friday, Briscoe held
a slim five-point margin over Franchitti in the championship
standings coming into Saturday night's race. Dixon, Franchitti's
teammate, trailed Briscoe by 21 points.
