INDIANAPOLIS — Dario Franchitti drove 199 nearly flawless laps, then survived the last one with a huge break from a spectacular crash to climb back on top of the open-wheel world Sunday with his second win at the Indianapolis 500.

Two years removed from a failed try in NASCAR, Franchitti held on with a scant 1.6 gallons of fuel left in the tank — a victory made possible by a crash that sent Mike Conway airborne and into the wall, and left the final lap to be run under a caution flag.

“Still running,” the winner told his crew over the radio as he crossed the finish line, while wreckers were moving out to scoop up debris from Conway’s accident with Ryan Hunter-Reay.

The victory made Franchitti’s boss, Chip Ganassi, the first owner to win Indy and NASCAR’s Daytona 500 in the same year. It also validated the Scottish driver’s return to the IndyCar circuit two years after celebrating his 2007 Indy victory by making an unsuccessful move with Ganassi to NASCAR.

England’s Dan Wheldon, the 2005 winner who closed furiously as Franchitti slowed to save fuel in the final laps, was second, and fellow Brit Alex Lloyd was third, followed by Scott Dixon in fourth.