Dixon takes victory and points lead

Penske driver Briscoe had held a 25-point lead coming into the Japanese event, but jeopardised his title chances by crashing in the pitlane just as he looked set to take the lead. He was able to rejoin following a long stop for repairs but could only watch from the midfield as Dixon took maximum points from the weekend.

Ganassi dominated from the outset - with Franchitti immediately jumping past front row starter Mario Moraes to slot into second behind Dixon.

The pair then pulled away as the field spread out, opening a 3s lead over KV's Moraes, who soon had an equally safe cushion back to Briscoe, as the championship leader came under pressure from Panther's Dan Wheldon.

The lead swapped at the first stops, with Franchitti running one lap further, emerging just ahead of Dixon, and then fending off his team-mate's challenges.

Meanwhile Moraes' crew struggled to get him refuelled after he parked out of position. The stop was both slow and unproductive - only half a tank of fuel went in and he would have to make an additional stop soon afterwards, dropping him to 20th.

Wheldon passed Briscoe just before the stops and then closed on the two Ganassi cars. The trio remained in formation until the next pit visits, where Dixon managed to get back ahead of Franchitti as the Scot was blocked in traffic on his out-lap.

Briscoe ran several laps further than the leaders and pitted just as the yellow came out for a heavy crash by Dreyer & Reinbold's Mike Conway. This should have jumped Briscoe into the lead, but he lost control accelerating out of his pit, clouted the inside wall, and lost 15 laps while his car's left front corner was repaired.

This massive blow to Penske was compounded by Ganassi's continued dominance. Dixon kept Franchitti at bay through the rest of the race, with Wheldon dropping off their tail when he pitted shortly before Ryan Hunter-Reay (Foyt) spun into the wall and caused another yellow just as the Ganassi duo made their final stops.

Dixon stayed in front in the pits and then crept away from his team-mate in the closing laps, winning by 1.4s and putting himself in the prime position to secure a third IndyCar title at Homestead. He heads for the finale five points ahead of Franchitti and eight ahead of Briscoe.

Newman/Haas/Lanigan's Graham Rahal secured third by winning a spectacular battle with team-mate Oriol Servia and Moraes at the final restart - Moraes having got back on the lead lap and the leaders' pit schedule thanks to the timing of Conway's caution.

Last year's winner Danica Patrick was not a top three threat this time, fending off her Andretti Green team-mate Marco Andretti, Wheldon and top rookie Raphael Matos (Luczo Dragon) for sixth. Tomas Scheckter looked set to be in this group prior to a gearbox problem on his Dreyer & Reinbold car.

Helio Castroneves salvaged 10th for Penske, making steady progress through the midfield following his qualifying crash. AGR's Tony Kanaan chased him up the order, having been put to the back of the grid after his car failed a technical inspection.

It was a disappointing day for the three Japanese-born drivers. Hideki Mutoh (AGR) only recovered to 14th after his Friday accident, Kosuke Matsuura was 17th for Conquest, and Dreyer & Reinbold's Roger Yasukawa had to pit for attention to a brake problem.

Pos  Driver             Team                      Time/Gap
 1.  Scott Dixon        Ganassi              1h51m37.6411s
 2.  Dario Franchitti   Ganassi                 +  1.4475s
 3.  Graham Rahal       Newman/Haas/Lanigan     +  3.2002s
 4.  Oriol Servia       Newman/Haas/Lanigan     +  7.3720s
 5.  Mario Moraes       KV                      + 12.7643s
 6.  Danica Patrick     Andretti Green          + 16.1392s
 7.  Marco Andretti     Andretti Green          + 16.6513s
 8.  Dan Wheldon        Panther                 + 17.2646s
 9.  Raphael Matos      Luczo Dragon            + 17.5790s
10.  Helio Castroneves  Penske                  +    1 lap
11.  Tony Kanaan        Andretti Green          +    1 lap
12.  Justin Wilson      Coyne                   +    1 lap
13.  Ed Carpenter       Vision                  +   2 laps
14.  Hideki Mutoh       Andretti Green          +   2 laps
15.  EJ Viso            HVM                     +   2 laps
16.  Robert Doornbos    HVM                     +   2 laps
17.  Kosuke Matsuura    Conquest                +   5 laps
18.  Ryan Briscoe       Penske                  +  15 laps
19.  Stanton Barrett    3G                      +  18 laps
20.  Roger Yasukawa     Dreyer & Reinbold       +  28 laps

Retirements:

     Ryan Hunter-Reay   Foyt                  157 laps
     Mike Conway        Dreyer & Reinbold     103 laps
     Tomas Scheckter    Dreyer & Reinbold     83 laps