Big one doesn’t change point race

You'll have to excuse IndyCar Series title contenders Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon if they refer to the Firestone Indy 400 as a mulligan.

The top two drivers in the point standings were among the seven drivers involved in a multi-car accident on Lap 143 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 5 and resulted in both drivers first DNF of the season.
But despite their early exit from the race, which was won by Tony Kanaan, the gap from Franchitti to Dixon remains at 24 points.

Franchitti finished 13th, but earned the three-point bonus for leading the most laps. Dixon's Target Chip Ganassi Racing team kept pace by repairing his battered race car, and he returned to the race nearly 45 minutes after the crash to improve to 10th position.

"I tried to get past Dario (Franchitti), he just ended up on top of me," Dixon said. "The Target team did a great job getting the car back together so we could get back out there and finish ahead of Dario. It keeps the points the same as it was coming in, so it's like this race never happened."