INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Ryan Briscoe was on top of the IndyCar world a week ago.
He was the points leader, had three straight runner-up finishes and was the only driver to complete every lap of every race. Then came a disastrous weekend at Richmond, and suddenly Roger Penske's Australian driver found himself behind two Target Chip Ganassi rivals.
It's been that kind of season in the Indy Racing League.
``I think to be leading the points is nice,'' Dario Franchitti said after Saturday's second-place finish gave him the top spot. ``The stretch of results we've had is nice. But it can turn in an instant.''
All of this year's contenders can attest to that.
Briscoe had been the model of consistency through the first seven races with five top-fives, that remarkable string of seconds and no DNFs. He led more laps than Franchitti and Scott Dixon combined until Saturday.
But Saturday's crash and 19th-place finish dropped Briscoe out of the lead.
Now Franchitti, the Scotsman who won the 2007 points title, leads Dixon, his teammate and the defending champion, by one point.
How topsy-turvy has this season been?
In a series in which the points race has generally been a one- or two-driver affair, four drivers - Franchitti, Briscoe, Brazil's Tony Kanaan and New Zealand's Dixon - have led at least once. Franchitti and Briscoe have each led three times, and Briscoe is the only driver to maintain the lead through back-to-back races.
Drivers don't expect that trend to change anytime soon.
``I think it means there's more than one guy to keep your eye on,'' Briscoe said. ``Any one of the guys who is racing in front of you can be racing for the championship. I don't have any clear idea of who is the main guy. I hope it's me, and I'm sure Dario hopes it him.''
Half a dozen drivers - or more - are still in contention.
Franchitti, Dixon and Briscoe, the top three, are separated by just 26 points. The series' most marketable drivers, three-time Indy winner Helio Castroneves and 2008 Japan winner Danica Patrick, have not led yet and are sitting fourth and fifth, 54 and 60 points behind Franchitti.
England's Dan Wheldon and Kanaan, both former points champions, are sixth and seventh, and 20-something Americans Marco Andretti and Graham Rahal are within 100 points of the leader, too.
``To be honest, people like (Rahal) getting in the mix is going to help us out a lot,'' Dixon said.
Series officials agree that having more drivers chasing the top spot is good for the series - and it could be even better if the bigger names finish the season strong.
``Clearly, they (Castroneves and Patrick) are the most recognizable drivers we have and the casual fan, or even the non-racing fan, knows who they are because of what's happened off the track,'' said Brian Barnhart, the series' president of competition. ``It clearly would be an advantage for the league if they were the leaders or in contention for points.''
They certainly could.
Patrick is having the best season of her career with seven straight top-10s and has already posted a career-high five top-fives. Patrick's only DNF came in the season-opener when she and Raphael Matos collided at St. Petersburg, leaving her 19th.
All of the leaders have had one of those.
Castroneves, the Brazilian who also drives for Penske, had his in the season-opener. His tax-evasion trial kept him out of the race, costing him valuable points. Yet only Dixon (three) has more wins than Castroneves or Franchitti (two).
Some think at least two drivers could end the dominance of Penske and Ganassi drivers, too.
Speculation that Patrick would leave Andretti Green Racing for NASCAR has not affected her performance on the track, though she has not been to Victory Lane since winning last spring in Japan.
Wheldon, the 2005 Indy champ now driving for Panther Racing, has looked strong at times, too. He's just 75 points off the pace and has seven straight top-10s.
But it could come down to the remaining schedule.
The series heads to Watkins Glen, N.Y., this weekend, then Toronto and then Edmonton. That's three straight road or street courses and the results could cause more changes in the standings.
``It brings more guys into play, to take points away or even win,'' Barnhart said. ``You've got a lot of drivers that can do that, like the eight or nine we just talked about and you could even see a surprise.''
It's so close, in fact, that nobody is willing to pick a favorite.
Even Franchitti.
``It's going to be a tough race this season,'' he said. ``We're going to have to try and win every race, because Scott's going to be there. The Penske guys are going to be there. I think Graham's going to be there. The AGR car is going to be there. And especially on the road course, a bunch of other people. So it's going to be pretty exciting.''
