|
|
 
 
Dan Peters
Sports Editor
Oak Park
Journal
|
© Suburban Journals of Chicago
File Photo by Mark Rotor
Dominant
Dario Does It Again! …Franchitti Wins Indy 500 & Ganassi Makes
History
By
Mark Rotor & Dan Peters
May 30th, 2010
Dario Dominates At Indy
“The Greatest Spectacle In Racing” lived up to it’s billing on Sunday
with both
excitement and drama as the defending IZOD Indy Champion Dario
Franchitti was dominant leading
155 of the 200 laps but needed a break on the final lap to win the 96th
running of the Indy 500.
A violent and fiery collision between Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay
changed
the complexion of the race on Lap 200. The caution insured the race
leader
Franchitti a first place finish under the checkered and yellow flags
ahead
of Dan Wheldon to capture his 2nd Borg-Warner with his wife actress
Ashley Judd
awaiting on pit road. “To come back after being away for a year to win
the
championship and win the Indy 500, thank you Team Target,” said
Franchitti.
Target Chip Ganassi Makes Motor Sport History
With the victory, Owner Chip Ganassi of Target Ganassi Racing has made
history
accomplishing what no other race owner has done, winning the Indy 500
in the same
year they won the Daytona 500. Ganassi’s teams celebrated their Daytona
500
victory in February, capturing the Harley J. Earl trophy and now hold
the
Borg-Warner. "I'm a very, very lucky guy," said Ganassi.
An extremely modest Chip Ganassi gave credit to his teams, "Obviously,
you know,
Jamie McMurray, Bass Pro Shops, won that race in February. "Dario and
Target won
the race here today. I'm a lucky guy to be in this business and to be
able to
work with people that accomplish that.
Ganassi Gives Credit To Team,
Making History at Indy & Daytona
© Suburban Journals
of Chicago
photo by Dan Peters
“Up until ten laps to go, I was pretty relax and then all hell broke
loose
with fuel saving and stuff (the crash), said Franchitti. The #10 car of
Franchitti was low on fuel retaining 1.3 gallons and was pursued by
Wheldon's #4 National Guard car with one lap remaining when Mike
Conway’s #24
car collided with #37 car of Hunter-Reay launching Conway air-bourn
into the
turn #3 catch fence. Conway was transported to Methodist Hospital for
x-rays
revealing a fracture of his right leg and Ryan Hunter-Reay was released
with a hand
injury. The incident produced a yellow locking the field allowing
Franchitti to coast to victory. "It was a fantastic job by Dario," said
Scott Dixon.
He got lucky on the yellow, but you’ve got to give the guy a lot of
credit: He
led a lot of laps and definitely worked on it.”
Dan Wheldon Remains Second Best At Indy
The 2005 Indy Champion has come close to winning his second trophy
finishing in 2nd place for the last two year. Wheldon started in 18th
place and systematically
moved up through the field stalking Franchitti on the final laps while
conserving fuel
but ran short of time to catch him. "Second two years in a row is not
good," said Wheldon. "I have
to make sure I improve that one more spot next year. It was a good
race.
3rd Place Controversy - Alex Lloyd or Marco Andretti?
Unofficially, Alex Lloyd from Great Britain was awarded 3rd place
creating a
British top-three sweep making history at the Indy but wait, two hours
after the race
the results was revised. The unofficial results showed Marco Andretti
in 6th place however as it turn-out, he was passed by three cars during
the
final caution. “Everybody saw it,” Marco said. “Last time I checked the
rule,
you can’t pass on the yellow.” The official results awarded Marco
Andretti
3rd place ahead of Lloyd in 4th, Scott Dixon 5th and Danica Patrick
in 6th place.
Helio
Castroneves #3 Chasing Dario Franchitti #10 Early
© Suburban Journals
of Chicago
photo by Dan Peters
Franchitti Charged From The Checkered Flag:
From the moment the honorary starter Jack Nicholson waved the checkered
flag
to start the race, Franchitti surged to the front of the 33 car field
maintaining
the race-lead for most of the 500 mile race. The #10 Target
car of Franchitti made it look easy slicing through the front row of
Team Penske’s Will Power #6 and the Pole sitter Helio Castroneves #3.
Franchitti passed Power in Turn #1 and chasing Castroneves as #21 car
of
Davey Hamilton spun in Turn 2. By the time the yellow flag was waved,
Franchitti
shot ahead of Castroneves to lead Lap #1 at Indy 500 for the first time
in his career.
“That kind of set the stage,” said Chip Ganassi. I think that was a
very important kind of pumping his fist and staking his claim.
Certainly, you can't win the race on the start, but you can lose it.”
Finishing Like A Champion
During the second half of the race, Lap #114 Franchitti reestablished
his lead following a restart and continued his dominance staying ahead
of Kanaan for 49 laps
(123 mile) and by an interval of 6 seconds. I think that went a long
way towards
getting him up in the seat, knowing how his car was," said Ganassi.
"Then as the
race went on, we were able to pull out one second, two seconds. It was
dominant
up through 150 laps or whatever."
At the end of the race as Franchitti put it, “All hell broke loose”
during the
final 10 laps. Finally, Kanaan made his move closing the gap to 0.386
seconds
however, he too needs a splash of fuel on Lap #196 allowing Franchitti
to conserve fuel
and coast-in ahead of Wheldon. "The guy's a champion. He's been there,
done that, “said Ganassi. "He knows what
it takes. From the first day of practice up until five minutes ago,
he's the
consummate professional. The last time I saw him, he's the guy you want
in the
car in that situation."
They showed me a list of two time winners," said Franchitti. "Those
guys are legends.
I said the other night, I'm just a driver, those guys are the legends.
I'm so lucky to
be drive for Chip and Team Target, getting in good cars, especially
having gone
away after we won in '07. To be invited back was pretty cool. To have
won a
championship and an Indy 500, I didn't expect any of this. I said
before, I
expected to be retired by the time I was 35. This is all bonus and it's
pretty cool."
“Congrats to Dario said,” Castroneves. What an awesome car he had.
Ganassi did
an incredible job to put him up there. It was the car to beat today.
And we tried!
Dario Franchitti Burns Up The Track At Indianapolis Speedway
© Suburban Journals
of Chicago
File Photo by Mark Rotor
It Was The Pits For Team Penske & Team Target's Scott Dixon
Uncharacteristically, the top teams Penske and Target Ganassi had
difficulty in
performing in the pits and on the track ultimately costing their
drivers the race.
Will Power Penalized
Early in the race, on Lap #37 Team Penske's Will Power, attempted to
beat Franchitti out the
pits and prematurely left dragging part of the fuel nozzle on to the
track.
Power was assessed a drive-through penalty on Lap #44 causing him to
drop back. In
addition to a delay suffered when he over shoot the pit box by a
two-feet, it was a tough day for Power.
“As a team, we made too many mistakes today,” said Power. We had a
bloody
fast car. The Verizon car was chopping through the field. It was one of
those days."
Helio's Crucial Mistake
The dual between Castroneves and Franchitti never really materialized
due to a
stall on pit road near the end of the race causing Helio to lose time
and position
to Dario. “This is a place where the team and driver who makes the
least mistakes wins”
said Castroneves. Certainly, I made one crucial mistake leaving the
pits. The
guys did a terrific job all month and I let it stall-out right at Lap
#150 a
time of the race that’s critical, and it put us to the back.”
Briscoe Pancakes In Turn #4
To add insult to injury, Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe smacked the wall
in turn #4
after leaving the pits ending Briscoe's race. "It was really slick out
there, and we just added
some downforce to the car,” Briscoe said. "But we were on cold tires
and just
got up into the marbles, and it was the point of no return, so we hit
the wall."
Team Target's Hiccup
Team Chip Ganassi was not immune to heartbreak in the pits. On lap #67
Franchitti’s
team mate 2008 Indy winner Scott Dixon lost his left front wheel
leaving his pit
box. “For me, it was not much of an exciting race,” said Dixon. “I was
kind of
sitting in the back of the pack when we had the pit stop problem. We
just never
really regained."
Team
Target's Scott Dixon Prepares For Battle
© Suburban Journals
of Chicago
File Photo by Yolanda Rotor
Andretti Autosport - The 'Redeem Team'
Andretti Autosport had a rough qualification week failing to start any
of
their five car team in the top 10 on pole day. Marco Andretti started
16th,
Ryan Hunter-Reay 17th, Danica Patrick 23rd, John Andretti 28th and most
surprisingly
Tony Kanaan started 33rd in the last position. Needless to say, the
team
was disappointed with the qualification weekend and was looking to
redeem them
selves on race day.
“I never doubted us said,” Marco Andretti. "I think qualifying is so
different
here than it is to race because the Firestone will hang on for four
laps with
very aggressive setups and can pull a time out of it. When you have to
run full
stints in traffic, it's a different ballgame. It's 500 miles."
Marco competed to till the very end charging after Franchitti although
his
team wanted him to conserve fuel. “Basically in the closing laps, it's
so
frustrating because I'm looking at Dario, the leader of this race, and
the
laps are counting down,” Marco said. “I don't want to lift, you know
what I
mean? When I'm told in my ear, I could have very well ended up where
T.K.
(Tony Kanaan) did (11th). I'm glad one of us as a team, kind of pushed
Dario a
little bit.”
Go
Daddy Go! - Danica #7 Passes #78 Rookie Simona De Silvestro
© Suburban Journals
of Chicago
photo by Dan Peters
Patrick Praised Team For 7th Place Finish
Danica also finished in the top 10 for the 5th time in her career
moving
from 22nd to 7th place. Congrats to Dario, he is a really good friend
and a good
guy. “I’m very happy with the result, and the reasons we got it were
that our
pit stops rocked and we had a perfect strategy,” said Danica Patrick.
I’m really glad that yellow came out at the end because we were cutting
it
real close on fuel. That’s the roll of the dice, and the team did a
perfect job.”
"I knew that the strength of the team was going to be race day. The Go
Daddy
car got up front and I had faith in that. It was a little tough to pass
but because of the
pits stops and the fuel strategy we got up front. I hope Mike Conway
wasn’t
hurt. I never want anybody to get hurt. It’s not comforting going
underneath
a car flipping up in the air. Cars are like footballs, you’re not sure
what way
they are going to go. I hope they are ok."
Tony Kanaan Charged From 33rd To 2nd
Although Kanaan had a miserable qualification weekend Tony and Andretti
Motorsport
made race day count competing for the lead in the final laps and
finishing in 11th place.
“I hope I made it exciting out there," said Kanaan. "I promised them a
good start, and
I think I did that. I have been in many positions for this race, and I
don’t
think the fastest car wins all the time. I think we had a shot for a
win."
Kanaan went from 33rd position to 2nd 0.385 second behind the leader,
only to
yield his spot when he ran low on fuel with 5 laps to go finishing
11th. "We took a gamble," Kanaan said.
When it comes to a fuel strategy race, I’m not a big fan of it. I
support my guys
all the way. Let’s learn from it. I think this team is more together
than ever. I did the
best I could and my guys were great, we are going to keep on fighting.
I had fun today."
"The best driver on this day, with the best car won! Congratulations to
Dario."
Franchitti
Collects $2.75 Million For Finishing On Top Of The Podium
© Suburban Journals
of Chicago
photo by Dan Peters
The Order of Finish 2010 Indianapolis 500:
Starting Position Indicated (X)
1. (3) Dario Franchitti
2. (18) Dan Wheldon
3. (16) Marco Andretti
4. (26) Alex Lloyd
5. (6) Scott Dixon
6. (23) Danica Patrick
7. (11) Justin Wilson
8. (2) Will Power
9. (1) Helio Castroneves
10. (5) Alex Tagliani
11. (33) Tony Kanaan
12. (7) Graham Rahal
13. (27) Mario Romancini
14. (22) Simona de Silvestro
15. (20) Tomas Scheckter
16. (10) Townsend Bell
17. (8) Ed Carpenter
18. (17) Ryan Hunter-Reay
19. (15) Mike Conway
20. (31) Takuma Sato
21. (21) Ana Beatriz
22. (24) Bertrand Baguette
23. (32) Sebastian Saavedra
24. (4) Ryan Briscoe
25. (19) E.J. Viso
26. (29) Sarah Fisher
27. (30) Vitor Meira
28. (9) Hideki Mutoh
29. (12) Raphael Matos
30. (28) John Andretti
31. (13) Mario Moraes
32. (25) Bruno Junqueira
33. (14) Davey Hamilton
Jack
Nicholson In Laker's Colors, Waves The Flag To Start Race
© Suburban Journals
of Chicago
photo by Joe Paolella
Texas Motor Speedway - Firestone 550k
- Race TV Coverage:
- Saturday June 5th, 7:30PM CT on VERSUS Network
© Suburban Journals of Chicago
photo by Dan Peters
Past Sports News
Local
Sports and
Teams
|
o0
|
