If the order on Lap 87 would have remained through the finish of the inaugural Detroit Indy Grand Prix presented by Firestone, Tony Kanaan's victory would have kept him in the IndyCar Series title race until the green flag of the season finale Sept. 9. source: indycar.com / Dave Lewandowski Oh, Kanaan claimed his fifth victory of the season in the 90-lap feature on Belle Isle. But a bizarre twist of events and carbon fiber with two laps remaining gave the No. 11 Team 7-Eleven driver renewed life in the drive for his second series title. He's 39 points to the rear of Andretti Green Racing teammate and points leader Dario Franchitti, who takes a three-point lead over Scott Dixon into the 200-lapper on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway oval. Racing for position entering T13 of Lap 88, Dixon attempted to overtake the second-place car driven by Buddy Rice. The cars made contact and Dixon's car spun at the exit of the turn, blocking the racing surface. Franchitti's car made light contact with Dixon's No. 9 Tagrte Chip Ganassi Racing car. But with an assist from the Delphi Safety Team, Franchitti was able to continue and finish sixth. Dixon finished two spots behind, which would have produced a dead heat heading to Joliet, Ill. Franchitti's advantage comes from picking up the three bonus points for leading the most laps (27). Darren Manning, driving the No. 14 ABC Supply Co. car for A.J. Foyt Racing, posted a season-high fourth place. Kosuke Matsuura in the No. 55 Panasonic Panther Racing car also recorded a season-high fifth. Pole sitter Helio Castroneves, who led 26 laps, was involved in a crash with the No. 2 Vision Racing car driven by Tomas Scheckter on Lap 68 and finished 14th. The cars of Sam Hornish Jr., Sarah Fisher and Vitor Meira retired on Lap 31 when they were involved in a Turn 1 incident on a restart (stalled car of Ed Carpenter in Turn 8). The cars of Danica Patrick and Darren Manning, also involved, were able to continue. Hornish's No. 6 Team Penske car rejoined the race on Lap 45. Ryan Hunter-Reay, who started fifth, was the first to exit on Lap 24 with a clutch issue in the No. 17 Team Ethanol car for Rahal Letterman Racing. A gearbox issue in the No. 26 NYSE car cost Marco Andretti, who retired three laps later. "(We've experienced this) a couple times this weekend already, which is very disappointing for the NYSE boys," Andretti said. "Unfortunately, again it's just one those years. The car was alright but I was struggling and the cables started to go right away. I was fighting it all day. It was not fun."
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