IRL's Briscoe stays in lead with 3 straight 2nds

Ryan Briscoe has led the most laps at each of the last three IndyCar Series races, only to wind up watching someone else win the checkered flag.

His recent span of three consecutive second-place finishes does have a silver lining.

All those seconds have led to first place in the IRL points standings. In fact, Briscoe enters Saturday's SunTrust Indy Challenge in Richmond, Virginia atop the points race for the second straight week _ which nobody else has done this season.

Briscoe, in his second season with Team Penske, finished a career-best fifth in points in 2008.

"It's a bit frustrating, and it's probably the laps led that's helped me hang onto the points lead," Briscoe said. "Second place is the next best thing and hopefully, you know, maybe we can get a win at the next race."

Briscoe's run of seconds began in the AJ Foyt 225 on May 31, when he led for 154 laps before finishing behind winner Scott Dixon, who zipped past Briscoe late and pulled away.

Briscoe held the edge for 160 laps at the Bombardier Learjet 550k, but his last 20 laps were what he called some of the most frustrating he's ever run. He couldn't get past teammate Helio Castroneves after Castroneves beat him on the final pit stop. Though Briscoe's second-place finish put him atop the leaderboard, it was a tough result to swallow.

"Texas, that's probably the hardest one. I felt as though I had the winning car there, hands down," Briscoe said.

In last Sunday's Iowa Corn 250, he held an early lead and retook it from laps 138-194. But Dario Franchitti maneuvered into first after a late pit stop and the traffic broke his way, as Briscoe couldn't find the space he needed to make a move.

Though Franchitti beat Briscoe by more than five seconds, Briscoe was able to hold onto second _ yet again _ and those 42 points kept him ahead of Franchitti for the lead.

"It was always going to be tough between myself and Dario, and he just got the better of us at the end of the day," Briscoe said.

Briscoe has 241 points to Franchitti's 238. The six points Briscoe earned by being the lap leader in each of the last three weeks has proven to be the difference.

While Briscoe isn't thrilled about letting the last three races get away from him, they haven't diminished what's been a breakout season for the 27-year-old Australian.

Briscoe said he's still on a "steep learning curve" since rejoining the IRL in 2008. Though Briscoe had 14 starts for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2005 and 17 with Penske last season, including wins at Milwaukee and Mid-Ohio, he said this week that this was the first season where he doesn't feel like a "rookie" on the circuit.

Briscoe has five top-five finishes in seven starts _ matching his total from last year, when he ran 17 races _ and he's well within striking range of the record for laps led in a season, 899, set by Dixon last season.

Dixon also won the points race in 2008, and Briscoe is hoping to follow suit this season.

"We need to go out there and win more races. But when you can't win, you've got to take home the points, and that's something I've been really working on," Briscoe said.