TORONTO — Dario Franchitti is getting friendly with caution flags in the IndyCar Series, and the calls from the scoring monitors also are going his way.

The Ganassi Racing driver regained the series points lead Sunday by catching two monster breaks in the Honda Indy Toronto, a race he also won in 1999.

Franchitti was headed for pit road on lap 59 when Graham Rahal bounced Ed Carpenter off his line to draw a full-course caution. Race officials not only allowed Franchitti to pit without penalty, they allowed him to be ahead of hometown hero Paul Tracy when he returned to the track.“Paul and I were really close, me on pit road, him on the track,” Franchitti said. “I guess the timing line showed I was ahead.”Video replays supported that.Franchitti, who led a race-high 45 of 85 laps, did the rest to win his third race of the season. He won the Long Beach race when he twice pitted just as the yellow waved.Ryan Briscoe called Franchitti “lucky,” although it’s worth noting that the Scotsman had that situation go against him last month at the race in Richmond, Va.Tracy couldn’t understand the ruling for position, and he ultimately paid the price for it.After Franchitti passed Helio Castroneves for the lead, Tracy tried to do the same. It appeared to be a successful pass on the Team Penske driver nursing used tires, but they ran out of room on the tight street circuit.Tracy’s left front tire bumped Castroneves’ right rear as they entered the third turn, and the contact continued from there. After the second rub, Castroneves lost control of the steering wheel and the car veered back into Tracy, who got squeezed into the wall.Both racers were finished, although Castroneves was able to drive his car back to pit road. A chorus of boos awaited him.“He would be the last guy I’d do anything to, especially here after what happened in 2002,” he said, referencing the controversial finish to that year’s Indianapolis 500.Tracy could have used the opportunity to fuel the rivalry, but he was diplomatic, perhaps because he wasn’t completely alongside Castroneves as they entered that fateful corner.“It’s hard to say what happened,” he said. “We were really racing hard. I made a move and he gave me enough room.”I’m not going to say he did it on purpose.“Tracy had charged from 15th to second, delighting the crowd. He made a tire-smoking move on series rookie Mike Conway that won’t soon be forgotten. Conway ended up hitting the wall a few corners later trying to keep up with Tracy.”I guess that’s why they call me ‘The Thrill (from West Hill, a Toronto neighborhood),’." Tracy said.Fellow Canadian Alex Tagliani showed similar strength and excitement as a part-time series driver. He led his first 21 laps of the season before getting cycled out of the lead with yellows not going his way.In a scramble to get back in contention, Tagliani ran up on the back of Tomas Scheckter, who led six laps, locking up his tires and knocking Scheckter into Mario Moraes.Scheckter was furious, wrestling away from safety workers to throw his gloves at the French-Canadian as he drove by under caution.“It was just a stupid move,” Scheckter said. “Way too late in the race. A non-brainer.”Moraes had his own set of problems. Already missing part of his front wing prior to that contact, he ended the event in a strange crash with E.J. Viso. Their contact came on the cool-down lap.“It’s easy to get frustrated here,” Franchitti said.Adding normalcy to the race was Briscoe, who finished second for the fifth time in the past six races. But even he and third-place-finishing teammate, Will Power, had drama to add to this race. Both incurred flat tires on the opening lap and had to pit for repairs.“That’s what I call a race,” Power said. “It’s a course that allows you to pass. That’s what we need.”