Dario Franchitti figured the final laps in Sunday’s Milwaukee 225 would include a three-man sprint with Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves.
But when late-lap misfortunes knocked his two rivals out of contention, the race was Franchitti’s to take.
The veteran Scottish driver reclaimed first place on the 200th lap and edged Graham Rahal by 1.42 seconds for his third Izod/IndyCar victory of the season and 29th of his career. Chicago Tribune
“That was a hell of a run today,” said Franchitti, who started from pole position and led a total of 161 laps. “The first part of the race I thought I had a bit of an advantage on everybody. Very tough, as usual here. Tough on your own just balancing the car, but then you get in traffic and it gets really difficult. It?s the same for everyone.”
Brazil’s Tony Kanaan also challenged for the lead, but spun and crashed with 31 laps remaining.
That allowed Castroneves to make his pit stop under caution, but Franchitti regained the lead when he did and pulled away on the re-start when the caution ended. AFP
“I thought it was really good,” Rahal said. “You could pass.
“But you’re always so close to making a mistake because you’re always around someone for some kind of challenge. There’s never five laps where you can breathe a little bit. It’s such a tough race.” Indianapolis Star
Oriol Servia finished third.
Power started 17th and had a dismal performance in the first half of the race before rebounding in closing stages to finish fourth.
“The guys did a great job in the pits,” Power said. “A couple of those double- file restarts were good for me and couple were bad. I was happy to get the car up there. I guess we’re equal in points now, so good job by Dario. He came back from Texas to teach us a lesson.”
Danica Patrick’s fifth-place run marked her first top-five finish in IndyCar this season. MiamiHerald.com
| 
|