Two fast race cars weren’t enough to overcome two slow pit stops as Ganassi Racing led a bunch of laps in Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 but not the one that counted.

Scott Dixon led a race-high 73 laps but had to settle for a sixth-place finish behind winner Helio Castroneves, who led seven fewer laps. Dario Franchitti was out front for 50 laps but wound up one spot behind his teammate on a disappointing afternoon for the past two 500 winners.

Team owner Chip Ganassi shook his head as he returned from pit lane to his team’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway garage.

“One mistake on each car in the pits, that’s what cost us,” he said.

•Photo gallery: Scott Dixon•Photo gallery: Dario Franchitti

The problems started on lap 134 as Dixon and Franchitti were running 1-2 when they entered pit lane under caution following a crash by rookie Nelson Philippe. Dixon exited still in the lead, but the fuel hose stuck in Franchitti’s car and he lost six positions he would never regain.

Only the look of terror on the face of his right-front tire changer, whom the Scotsman believed had given him the signal to go, kept the incident from being potentially far worse.

“I saw his face so I braked,” Franchitti said. “That enabled me to not pull the fuel tank down.”

Ganassi still had Dixon in position to win for the second year in a row even after Castroneves passed him for the lead on lap 142. But on a pit stop 21 laps later after a spin by Justin Wilson, difficulty mounting the right wheel on the New Zealander’s car cost him four spots.

“We led a lot of laps, but it turned around at the end there when we made a little fumble,” Dixon said. "I just tried to stay calm and not make it any worse.

“That’s what makes it so tough to win this race. Just one bad pit stop is all it takes. We can’t do anything about it now. We’ll have a little party tonight and try to forget about today.”

Both drivers said the speed they were able to show when running up front wasn’t enough once they fell back. The cars handle differently in traffic, and in the closing laps, with all the teams able to run full power because they had sufficient fuel in their tanks, passing opportunities were few.

No one was pointing fingers afterward, which team managing director Mike Hull said is a credit to the organization.

“We win as a team and lose as a team,” he said. “If you don’t win and that’s what you set out to do, it’s not a day you like to have. But Dario and Dixon both drove the way champion drivers drive.”

Franchitti, who was racing in NASCAR last year and unable to defend his 2007 Indy victory, enjoyed being in the race again, even if the outcome wasn’t quite what he had hoped.

“When I managed to take the lead and was running away, I had a big smile on my face,” he said. “I can assure you, that was cool.”

Franchitti heads to Milwaukee next week back atop the IndyCar Series standings, five points ahead of Castroneves. So with Indy out of the way, he is looking ahead to a repeat of his 2007 series title and a rematch with Castroneves next May.

“We’ll go back, regroup and try to get ourselves a championship,” he said. “Helio did a fantastic job, and he deserves it. The Penske team deserves it. Believe me, we’ll be back next year to try to take it back from them.”