The incident proved to be the last interruption to proceedings until the closing stages, throwing the spectre of green flag fuel stops into the mix. Dixon moved back into second on lap 66, and then went side-by-side with leader Castroneves from lap 67 to 74 before having to give best to the Penske car.

Andretti tried to make it a three-wide battle, the AGR machine appearing to enjoy running the high line, and was rewarded for his bravery when the battling Enrique Bernoldi and Vitor Meira slowed the top two and the tardy Marty Roth completed the hold-up.

Andretti then led through to the first round of green flag stops, handing the lead back to Castroneves before the Brazilian incurred the wrath of the stewards by breaking the pit-lane speed limit on his stop. Dixon took over at the front for a lap as the frontrunners staggered their stops, before Briscoe took over briefly as his out of sequence stop vaulted him back into contention.

The Australian, however, endured a longer-than-usual stop as his car required a change of nose following a brush with the rear of Hunter-Reay.

With Meira also stopping at the same time as Briscoe, the crowd was treated to the rare sight of Milka Duno taking the point, but it wasn't long before normal order was restored as Andretti, then Dixon, returned to the front.

The points leader made his move back into P1 just after half distance, then ran side-by-side with Castroneves once again, only this time while lapping the Brazilian – a feat accomplished with the unintentional help of AJ Foyt IV.

Running roughly 50 laps between stops, Dixon, Hunter-Reay and Briscoe cycled through top spot at the next need for fuel, before a yellow for debris bunched the field once again at lap 165. Dixon had shown signs of pulling away from the squabbling group behind, but joined the majority of his rivals in stopping under the caution, handing the advantage to Meira, who opted to stay out in search of track position.

After one aborted restart, caused by Foyt getting high and brushing the wall as Meira bunched the pack up, the Brazilian was able to bolt away, but the question remained as to whether he would be able to make it to the end. Indeed, a splash 'n' dash was looking likely for the entire field as the rapid pace made a 60+ lap run questionable.

Meira held the advantage through to the inevitable on lap 206, while Dixon was shuffled back to third by Andretti. The Brazilian's hopes of remaining in contention were dashed by Panther's decision to fit fresh tyres and then a gearbox glitch that prevented him from getting away at the first attempt.

That left the lead battle between Andretti, Dixon, Hunter-Reay and, remarkably, the two Penske cars, as Briscoe and Castroneves overcame their various setbacks to run in the top group with Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon, the Briton having come through the field as the race wore on.