Marco Andretti claimed his first win in the IZOD IndyCar Series in nearly five years after taking Saturday night’s Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway.
Andretti wrestled the lead away from his former teammate and defending Iowa race winner Tony Kanaan with 18 laps remaining. Kanaan attempted to reclaim the top position, but Andretti held him off at the finish by 0.8 seconds for his second career IndyCar win but his first since August 2006 at the Infineon Raceway road course in Northern California.
Dario Franchitti dominated most of the race at the 0.875-mile oval by leading 172 of 250 laps. But Andretti and Kanaan took over in the final 70 laps, as the two swapped the lead several times. MiamiHerald.com
“I’m just so happy and relieved for him,” said proud papa Michael Andretti. “There’s been a huge monkey on his back, and it was on mine, as well. There was just a lot of pressure on us, him as a driver, me as an owner. So to come back and win like this, it was just a great, great day.
“It was a big win for us for sure,” Michael added. “A lot of people were really pounding on us and thought we were down and out, but I can tell you this team has got tons of fight in it and we are never out. We got together and made a few little changes in the team, everybody just rallied and worked their butts off, and here we are. I’m just proud of everybody on this team.”
“We’ve been in a position to win a lot of races but came up short, so I think ‘relieved’ is the word,” Andretti remarked. “I never doubted the team, never doubted myself. I always said as soon as the stars were aligned and a little bit of luck goes my way that we’d be sitting here.
“The drought, so to speak, just made me appreciate what we have here in IndyCar racing,” Marco continued. “From the drivers to the teams, it just makes us appreciate being here that much more because we know we beat those guys.” ESPN
Kanaan, who crashed three years in a row at Iowa before winning in 2010, watched firsthand as Andretti struggled for years to end his winless streak.
The gregarious Brazilian had a little fun with Andretti after a spirited battle for the win went to Andretti.
“I told him at the podium. I said ‘I hope it won’t take another five years for you to win another one,’” said Kanaan, who finished a season-best second. “He’s been driving great and he got it.”
Scott Dixon finished third, with rookie JR Hildebrand fourth and Franchitti fifth. After leading 172 laps, Franchitti took a 20-point lead in the IndyCar Series championship, because incoming co-leader Will Power crashed and sustained a minor concussion.
Danica Patrick opened the race second, her best starting position since Nashville in 2008. She was hardly much of a factor once the green flag dropped.
Patrick quickly fell back as Franchitti maneuvered to the front, and she slipped back into ninth after James Jakes hit the wall for the night’s first caution flag.
Patrick finished 10th. USA Today
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IZOD IndyCar Series: Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway - Race Results
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