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  Despite Brisco leading on the track with a car which was pacey enough to take the fight to defending champion Dixon, Briscoe crashed in the pitlane.

Ryan Briscoe faces a winner-takes-all shootout as he tries desperately to claim his first Indy Racing League title in the USA.

Things were looking good when he headed to Japan last weekend in first place after a breakthrough win, but he could eventually only manage 18th place while his title rivals Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti ran 1-2.

The result at Twin Ring Motegi means the speedy young Australian is in third place and must mount a come-from-behind charge with Team Penske at the final shootout at the Homestead oval in Florida.

So, what went wrong? Incredibly, and despite leading on the track with a car which was pacey enough to take the fight to defending champion Dixon, Briscoe crashed in the pitlane. "Yeah, it was pretty frustrating," Briscoe admits, explaining his error. "With the accident leaving the pits, it was a huge opportunity for me to get the race lead. I just gassed it too much leaving my box, and the car spun. I hit the wall."

The result was major suspension damage and a string of pitstops as the Penske mechanics tried hard to get Briscoe back into the point-scoring places. "We had to change the front upright. The team did a great job doing it in the time they did, but unfortunately that was our day done pretty much. (I) Just sort of brought the car home without pushing too hard at the end."

Briscoe knows it was a major mistake at the worst possible time, but he is still upbeat about his championship chances. "The good thing is that it's only eight points to Scott (Dixon). I feel real good going into Homestead." And he believes his tough weekend in Japan will not be repeated at Homestead on October 10.

"This track (Motegi) is unique. Ganassi had the upper hand on us this weekend. Homestead, Team Penske I'm confident is going to be the team to beat. "Eight points is the difference between first and second. It looks like is it's going to be a pretty tough battle to see who can win the race."

"I think it's a flip of a coin really who is the favourite going there between myself, Scott or Dario. I think all of us are fully capable of winning at that track. We're just going to have to be on our game, make everything absolutely perfect, be strong."