Dario Franchitti used a clever bit of strategy to win the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway and close the gap on IZOD IndyCar Series championship points leader Will Power.
Franchitti picked up the lead out of the final pit stop on Lap 173—relying on a double stint of the Firestone Firehawks (62 laps) - and held off Dan Wheldon by 0.0423 of a second for his third win of the season.
Power’s No. 12 Verizon Team Penske crew had a fueling equipment issue on the same pit stop and he had to duck onto pit lane with five laps left for a splash. He was running fourth at the time but finished a season-low 16th.
Franchitti closed to 23 points of Power with three oval races left.
Marco Andretti led an Andretti Autosport trio in the top five with a season-best-tying third place. Ryan Hunter-Reay and Tony Kanaan followed. Helio Castroneves finished sixth and Justin Wilson advanced 16 positions to finish seventh.
Franchitti posted his 26th Indy car racing victory, tying Rodger Ward for 11th on the all-time list (USAC, CART, Indy Racing league sanction). Johnny Rutherford (27) is next.
Results Saturday of the PEAK Antifreeze & Motor Oil Indy 300 IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 1.52 mile Chicagoland Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):
1. (2) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
2. (7) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
3. (5) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
4. (9) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
5. (13) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
6. (4) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
7. (23) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
8. (15) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
9. (24) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
10. (6) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
11. (1) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
12. (20) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
13. (8) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
14. (12) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
15. (25) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
16. (3) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
17. (21) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
18. (28) Davey Hamilton, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
19. (26) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
20. (11) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 179, Handling
21. (14) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 162, Running
22. (29) Jay Howard, Dallara-Honda, 161, Mechanical
23. (27) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 150, Mechanical
24. (22) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 88, Mechanical
25. (19) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 85, Contact
26. (10) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 80, Contact
27. (16) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 80, Contact
28. (17) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Honda, 4, Contact
29. (18) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 4, Contact
Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed: 169.161
Time of Race: 01:47:49.5783
Margin of victory: .0423 of a second
Cautions: 3 for 28
Lead changes: 25
Lap Leaders:
Briscoe 1-28, Andretti 29, Briscoe 30-32, Andretti 33, Briscoe 34-50, Andretti 51, Briscoe 52-54, Wheldon 55, Carpenter 56-57, Tagliani 58, Lloyd 59-61, Meira 62-63, Briscoe 64-80, Fisher 81-90, Briscoe 91-135, Power 136, Carpenter 137, Wheldon 138, Meira 139-142, Wheldon 143-149, Hunter-Reay 150-151, Wheldon 152-155, Power 156, Wheldon 157, Power 158, Franchitti 173 - 200
Point Standings: Power 528, Franchitti 505, Dixon 443, Briscoe 406, Castroneves 398, Hunter-Reay 392, Kanaan 360, Andretti 319, Wilson 316, Wheldon 309.
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