Dixon takes over IRL points lead

Scott Dixon took advantage of Dario Franchitti’s late collision Sunday, winning for the fourth time this season and taking the lead in the IndyCar Series championship with two races remaining.

Franchitti, starting from the pole and beginning the Motorola Indy 300 at Sonoma, Calif., with an eight-point lead over Dixon in the title fight, dominated the 80-lap race at Infineon Raceway, controlling it until the last round of pit stops.

Dixon, the 2003 series champion, stretched his fuel further than the other leaders almost all day and came off pit road just ahead of Franchitti on lap 68. Tony Kanaan was right behind Franchitti at the end and didn’t try to pass his struggling teammate in the waning laps, helping his friend and likely giving up any chance at adding another championship to his 2004 title. Kanaan trails Dixon by 62 points.

Sam Hornish Jr. finished fifth, followed by Danica Patrick, the fourth AGR entry, who started alongside Franchitti on the front row but was unable to stay with the leaders after the first pit stop.

Formula One

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won his second consecutive Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul, beating teammate Kimi Raikkonen.

Two-time defending Formula One champion Fernando Alonso of McLaren was third.

Overall leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren had been in third place but dropped to fifth after shredding a tire on the 43rd lap. Nick Heidfeld was fourth.

In the overall standings, Hamilton’s lead was cut to five points over teammate Alonso, 84-79, with five races left. Massa is third with 69 points and Raikkonen is next with 68.

Champ Car World Series

Sebastien Bourdais won Champ Car’s inaugural Belgian Grand Prix for his sixth victory this season.

Bruno Junqueira of Brazil was second on the 2.5-mile circuit at Zolder. Graham Rahal, Bourdais’ rookie teammate at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, was third.