Dixon's runner-up result put him just eight points down on Franchitti with four races remaining in the '07 season. (LAT Photo) » More Photos

Then, as he crossed the finish line unaware that the checkered flag was being displayed, Franchitti slammed into the back of Matsuura's car, sending the No. 27 car into the air and into the air and into the fence. Franchitti was not hurt, but he expressed disappointment in the crucial errors.

"I'm pretty disgusted with myself right now," said Franchitti, who called out Wheldon for a seven-car crash that sent Franchitti airborne at Michigan. "I made my feelings clear on last week's incident and where I thought the blame was, but this one was all me."

One of Franchitti's teammates also encountered late-race trouble. Patrick was running among the top four when she scooted out of the pits after a fuel-only stop only to spin as she prepared to blend back into traffic. She got the car moving again under caution, but spun again as the flat-spotted left rear tire blew. She spun into the wall, narrowly missing a safety vehicle on the track.

"I really was lucky I missed the medical truck because I was headed straight for him," Patrick said. "I was coming out of the pits on hot tires, so presumably I should be pretty fast on pit exit. I was using less throttle than normal on it, but it still spun on me. I blistered the tire so bad that it blew when I tried to get going again."

That crash helped Foyt, who beat Kanaan out of the pits to take the lead. Shortly after the restart, Kanaan passed Foyt with eight laps remaining, and Dixon quickly followed, but Foyt held off Marco Andretti to finish third. It was Foyt's best finish and the first top-five of his career; his previous career best was eighth the previous week at Michigan.

"I did struggle my first couple of years in the IRL," Foyt said. "I'm learning more about these cars setup-wise and learning what I like. This is my first year in the IndyCar Series with an engineer, so that helps a lot."

Following Andretti to the finish line was Foyt's Vision Racing teammate Tomas Scheckter, who was running second for a time. Scott Sharp was sixth, Ed Carpenter seventh, Franchitti eighth, Castroneves ninth and Vitor Meira 10th.

When the smoke had cleared and the parts had fallen from the sky, Kanaan and Dixon were the ones gaining the most ground, turning Franchitti's once comfortable lead into a tight run for the championship. With a road course (Infineon), a street course (Belle Isle) and an oval (Chicagoland) remaining, the stage is set for a two-against-one battle between Andretti Green and Target Chip Ganassi.

"I want my team to win this championship," Kanaan said. "Either me or Dario, we need to win this championship. I will do whatever it takes. If I need to help my teammate to do that, I will, and I think vice versa. The focus is to get Andretti Green another championship."

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