BELLES OF THE ISLE; Tony Kanaan leads Danica Patrick in an AGR tango at Detroit.(Competition)

Byline: CURT CAVIN

From the presentation of historic Belle Isle to the controversial action on the refurbished street course, the Detroit Grand Prix redux was a smashing hit.

In fact, except for a brief interruption of the media center's television feed, there wasn't a complaint heard all weekend. Well, there was that minor thing about not being able to pass on the tight and often bumpy circuit, but Andretti Green Racing's Dario Franchitti put even that criticism to rest.

"When the car is floating from bump to bump, you're in that rhythm, you see the guys disappearing in your mirrors, it's like, yeah, that's cool,'' he said.

Franchitti, a former winner on the island in the middle of the Detroit River, wasn't so pleased with how this race ended, but he left the city with the points lead. He'll try to capture his first major championship in the season finale on Sept. 9 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Franchitti was following then-points-leader Scott Dixon on the penultimate lap when cars went sailing. Second-place-running Buddy Rice ran out of fuel, leaving Dixon little room to maneuver. Dixon swiped Rice before spinning. Just when it appeared that Franchitti might slide through unscathed to the left, Dixon, sitting crossways in the middle of the track, rolled back into his path, and Franchitti hit him.

Much to the crowd's delight, AGR's Danica Patrick benefited to finish second, the best result of her IndyCar career. She was clearly a fan favorite all weekend, with the crowd roaring its approval when she continued after an earlier first-turn incident involving several cars. She even led nine laps in the middle of the race courtesy of a different fuel strategy, and just the appearance that Patrick might win generated buzz across the island.