Dario Franchitti took advantage of a lengthy late pit stop by Ryan Briscoe to grab the lead and hang on to win the Iowa Corn Indy 250 Sunday.
Briscoe needed 7.1 seconds to clear the final rounds of pit stops, which enabled Franchitti to jump into the lead and beat Briscoe, who finished second 5.0132 seconds later. It was Franchitti’s second victory of the season.
Hideki Mutoh finished third followed by Dan Wheldon, who won the Iowa race last year. Danica Patrick, who led for 24 laps, wound up ninth. United Press International
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Franchitti won his second consecutive IndyCar Series Iowa race on the fast and racy short track by avoiding bumps in the road and bumping by others around him.
“It’s all a blur at the moment,” Franchitti said after the Iowa Corn Indy 250. “It was a very, very physical race with the massive G loads we pull here, and the heat or the humidity.
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“I’m pretty tired, actually. I was a little bit dizzy when I got out of the car, and it’s been a while since I felt that.”
Seeing his father might have helped, but George Franchitti took the weekend off after traveling to last weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans (France) to watch his other son, Marino, race.
“He’s probably missed five races in my whole career,” said Franchitti, who went to Le Mans, too. “This (win) is for him and all the fathers on the team and all the fathers in the (crowd).” Indianapolis Star
It was the 10th career IndyCar win for the Scot, who took the lead three laps after making his final pit stop on the 78-mile oval.
“In the last stop, the changes were fantastic and I was able to pull away — I had a good gap on (Briscoe),” Franchitti said. “I was able to get through traffic really well.”
Briscoe maintained his lead in the points race — becoming the first driver this season to do so for more than one race. He’s three points ahead of Franchitti and 15 up on Scott Dixon, who finished fifth.
“I don’t think we’re doing anything wrong. We’re doing an extraordinary job as a whole team,” said Briscoe, who has led the most laps at each of his last three races. “It’s just going to be like this the rest of the season. It’s going to be very close.”
The start of the race was marred by a number of accidents and cautions. By the halfway point, seven cars had been knocked out — including Tony Kanaan, who had led for 48 laps.
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Kanaan crashed for the third time at Iowa, this time by hitting the wall shortly after a pit stop. After three straight top-five finishes to start the season, Kanaan hasn’t finished three of his last four races. Worse yet, Kanaan has crashed in the same corner three straight years at Iowa.
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“I think it was a combination of the cold tires and me pushing a bit too hard,” Kanaan said.
Danica Patrick took her first lead of the season 38 laps in after Justin Wilson’s spinout brought out a yellow flag. Raphael Matos then spun out and Mario Moraes lost control, drawing the fourth caution of the day just 55 laps in. Patrick led for 24 laps but wound up ninth, her worst finish since taking 19th at the Streets of St. Petersburg. Ventura County Star
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