Dixon takes lead in IndyCar points chase

MOTEGI, Japan, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Scott Dixon won the Indy Japan 300 Saturday and vaulted from third to first place in the championship race with one event remaining.

Dixon fought off teammate Dario Franchitti by 1.4 seconds to capture his fifth IndyCar race of the year.

Graham Rahal finished third, followed by Oriol Servia, Mario Moraes and Danica Patrick.

Dixon picked up 53 points, the maximum number available at any IndyCar race. He won 50 points for finishing first, got one point for winning the pole and collected two more for leading the most laps in the race.

That boosted him to 570 points for the year, five more than Franchitti. Ryan Briscoe, who began the day leading in points, hit the wall leaving the pits midway through the race and had to have extensive repairs.

Briscoe eventually finished 18th and fell into third place, eight points behind Dixon.

The IndyCar championship will be decided in the closing race at Miami on Oct. 10.