The key moment of the race forced a second consecutive race to end under caution and left one driver hobbling and another fuming. After Dixon passed Andretti for the lead, Ryan Hunter-Reay began to pressure Andretti for position. As Hunter-Reay moved inside Andretti in the entry to Turn 3 with five laps remaining, Hunter-Reay was forced down onto the apron and lost control, sending both cars into the wall.

“He came down on me,” Hunter-Reay said. “I went low to try to avoid him and got down on the white line. That upset both cars and took us out. … This was going to be our breakout night and we didn’t get it. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am. We did what we had to do out there tonight, and it was going to be our night. Unbelievable.”

Hunter-Reay looked strong until a late collision with Andretti. (LAT photo)

Andretti was seen favoring his right foot as he walked. It was the second time in six days that an IndyCar race ended under caution because of a crash involving Andretti. At Milwaukee on Sunday, Andretti apologized after his car slid into Ed Carpenter’s and caused a three-car crash that led to Briscoe winning under caution. This time, Andretti wasn't apologizing.

"There are some guys you can run close with and some guys you can't," Andretti said. "He clearly hit the white line, and that is that. We ran well today, but to me, that doesn't matter. We need to bring home results. It's very disappointing."

The crash was a break for Castroneves, who moved up two positions and saved some ground in his championship battle with Dixon and rescuing himself from an early pit speed penalty. “We had a great car, a winning car,“ Castroneves said. “I’m upset because I feel like we had a great chance, but that’s just the moment right now. Second place is a great finish. It’s great points, and that’s what we need to focus on.”

Briscoe also kept pace in the championship, holding fifth place with a podium finish that, a few laps before, wouldn’t have been expected. Briscoe missed his pit box on his first stop, pulling into Dan Wheldon’s stall instead. The ensuing drive-through penalty under green dropped the No. 6 Team Penske Dallara-Honda a lap behind the leaders, but Briscoe and his team battled back with the help of a wave-around.

“It was tough, let me tell you, but it was also fun coming through the field,” Briscoe said. “It’s always a little frustrating to get yourself into those situations. We really shouldn’t have had to been in that situation to have to go to the back and then work your way back up. … We might have had a car that could have won. It definitely wasn’t a picture-perfect race.”

Meira also was strong through the prime-time laps of the race, holding the No. 4 Panther Racing Dallara-Honda steadily in the lead from the 169th lap to the 207th after he stayed on track while the leaders pitted. Eventually, he was forced to surrender the lead with 21 laps remaining, only to watch the caution flag fly six laps later.

Dixon and the Ganassi squad celebrate once again. (IndyCar photo)

“Everybody saw how good we were once we got to the front,” Meira said. “I was pulling away. This is another good race for us and another step forward. The confidence level at Panther is really, really high right now."

The race tied the Texas record for cautions in an IndyCar race -- eight for 52 laps. The yellow-flag ending also renewed the debate about the series going to green-white checkered restarts to prevent races from ending under caution.

“I saw some of the fans walking out before the checkered fell,” said Ganassi, an advocate of a green-white-checkered rule. “It’s just disappointing. They come to see a show and they deserve to see a good finish. They deserve to see an exciting finish. I understand the differences between IndyCars and NASCAR and why some people think you can’t do it here, but I think we need to sit down and figure out a way to do it so it’s fair for everybody.”

The series takes a week off before resuming June 22 at Iowa Speedway, kicking off a stretch of six races over six consecutive weekends.


BOMBARDIER LEARJET 550k RESULTS