Kanaan is 80 points ahead of Dan Wheldon with just one race to go

Kanaan, who only needed to finish fourth for the title, was pipped by Fernandez over a two-lap sprint following a late re-start.

Fernandez had led for 18 laps and the win was his third of the season.

Briton Dan Wheldon came home in third place with former champion Sam Hornish ending up fourth.

Reigning Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Rice came fifth with Scotland's Dario Franchitti in sixth.

The race was largely uneventful and the third and final caution came out when Thomas Enge's car spun in the middle of the track.

Although he was hit by Tomas Scheckter, neither driver was seriously hurt.

After the re-start, Fernandez was able to sneak ahead of Kanaan by just 0.0183 seconds.

Kanaan had started the race from the back of the grid after mechanical problems prevented him from recording a qualifying lap.

Darren Manning, who was fourth in qualifying, was unable to race because of slight concussion and a bruised back suffered in a crash on Saturday.