Will Power’s race victory was tempered by concern for the injured and ugly flashbacks after a horror crash at the Houston Indycar Grand Prix.

Australian driver Power was leading and so avoided the last-lap smash involving three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti, whose car went airborne and partially disintegrated as it slammed into the safety fencing on the street circuit.

The accident left the Scotsman concussed and with two fractured vertebrae and a broken right ankle.

Thirteen fans and a track official were injured by flying debris.

Franchitti was rushed to hospital and later had surgery on his ankle.

The high-speed crash was reminiscent of Dan Wheldon’s fatal crash at Las Vegas in 2011.

Power suffered a broken back in the Las Vegas crash after he and Wheldon hit the fence and he was badly shaken after the Houston incident.

“I just saw Dario’s car and him sitting in it with a lot of damage, and yes, that’s what it reminded me of,” said Power, who collected his second victory of the season.

“I hate seeing that. We try to keep these cars on the ground.”

The memories also flooded back for New Zealander Scott Dixon, whose second-place finish pushed him to the top of the 2013 series leaderboard with one race of the season left.

“The smells and the visuals, for me, and even talking to Will (Power), you have the remnants of Vegas popping into your head with you coming around the corner and you can’t drive through it because there’s a field of debris,” Dixon said.

“There was nowhere near the amount of damage that we saw (in 2011), but seeing the replay was a big shock.”

Dixon now sits 25 points ahead of Power’s teammate Helio Castroneves on the season’s leaderboard, after winning the first of the round’s two races on Saturday.

Brazilian Castroneves had a disastrous afternoon, slipping down from pole position to 23rd after suffering gearbox issues for the second day in a row.

He had held the series lead going into the weekend.

Dixon only needs to finish fifth or better in the last race of the season in Fontana, California, on October 19 to clinch his third IndyCar title.

“It’s been a good turnaround in points for us, but it’s still going to be a tough weekend in Fontana – 25 points can go anybody’s way.”