Congratulations to Dario Franchitti-IndyCar champion again!
Discussion
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12040_64240...
Dario Franchitti claimed his third IndyCar championship and second in as many years on Saturday after title rival Will Power hit the wall in the Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The Scot finished eighth in a race won by Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate Scott Dixon while Power, who came into the race holding a 12-point lead over Franchitti in the overall standings, scraped the outer wall of the oval track on lap 135 of the 200-lap race.
His Penske Racing-run car suffered a broken right rear suspension in the incident and despite the efforts of the team to rectify the damage, the Australian driver eventually stepped from the cockpit of his car.
Franchitti, who started the race from pole position, was leading at the time but with Power out of the race, he only needed to finish in the top 10 to retain the title.
"It's a pretty good haul, isn't it?" said Franchitti, who also won in 2007 before an abortive switch to NASCAR.
"We had to car to win. I just had to play it conservatively to win the title," added the 37-year-old, who also became only the fifth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 on his way to overall series success.
Franchitti was anything but conservative at the start of the race and had picked up two crucial bonus points for the most laps led by lap 117.
He therefore knew the title was his if he stayed out front, regardless of where Power finished. However, the latter's retirement gave him the chance to take his foot off the gas.
Evasive action
Even so, the closing laps were not without incident and Franchitti had to take quick evasive action with 24 laps to go after Milka Duno hit the wall directly in front of him.
"(Her) car crashed and almost took me out," he said. "There was a lot of traffic back there. It was certainly a lot better up at the front than it was at the back."
"Very disappointed," reflected Power, who was running fourth at the time of his retirement. "I was trying to get around a couple of backmarkers and I got up into the grey area.
"We definitely weren't quick enough," he admitted. "I thought it would be very tough to pass Dario."
Power had led for most of the season after proving the driver to beat on road and street courses. However, Franchitti hauled him in during the final rounds, which were held on oval tracks.
"At no point did I freak out," Franchitti said. "I was very aware that I might not win the championship, but there was no point in freaking out about it."
Danica Patrick finished second on Saturday behind Dixon, with Tony Kanaan claiming the final podium position.
Franchitti ended the season with 602 points to Power's 597. Dixon finished third overall, 55 points adrift, while Helio Castroneves was fourth, 16 points further back.
Result
1. (2) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
2. (11) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
3. (8) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
4. (4) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
5. (10) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
6. (21) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
7. (16) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
8. (1) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
9. (5) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
10. (18) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
11. (20) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
12. (22) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
13. (7) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
14. (19) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
15. (14) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
16. (24) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
17. (23) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
18. (9) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
19. (12) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
20. (26) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
21. (6) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
22. (17) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
23. (25) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
24. (27) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 170, Contact
25. (3) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 143, Contact
26. (15) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 42, Contact
27. (13) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 25, Mechanical
Dario Franchitti claimed his third IndyCar championship and second in as many years on Saturday after title rival Will Power hit the wall in the Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The Scot finished eighth in a race won by Chip Ganassi Racing team-mate Scott Dixon while Power, who came into the race holding a 12-point lead over Franchitti in the overall standings, scraped the outer wall of the oval track on lap 135 of the 200-lap race.
His Penske Racing-run car suffered a broken right rear suspension in the incident and despite the efforts of the team to rectify the damage, the Australian driver eventually stepped from the cockpit of his car.
Franchitti, who started the race from pole position, was leading at the time but with Power out of the race, he only needed to finish in the top 10 to retain the title.
"It's a pretty good haul, isn't it?" said Franchitti, who also won in 2007 before an abortive switch to NASCAR.
"We had to car to win. I just had to play it conservatively to win the title," added the 37-year-old, who also became only the fifth driver to win the Indianapolis 500 on his way to overall series success.
Franchitti was anything but conservative at the start of the race and had picked up two crucial bonus points for the most laps led by lap 117.
He therefore knew the title was his if he stayed out front, regardless of where Power finished. However, the latter's retirement gave him the chance to take his foot off the gas.
Evasive action
Even so, the closing laps were not without incident and Franchitti had to take quick evasive action with 24 laps to go after Milka Duno hit the wall directly in front of him.
"(Her) car crashed and almost took me out," he said. "There was a lot of traffic back there. It was certainly a lot better up at the front than it was at the back."
"Very disappointed," reflected Power, who was running fourth at the time of his retirement. "I was trying to get around a couple of backmarkers and I got up into the grey area.
"We definitely weren't quick enough," he admitted. "I thought it would be very tough to pass Dario."
Power had led for most of the season after proving the driver to beat on road and street courses. However, Franchitti hauled him in during the final rounds, which were held on oval tracks.
"At no point did I freak out," Franchitti said. "I was very aware that I might not win the championship, but there was no point in freaking out about it."
Danica Patrick finished second on Saturday behind Dixon, with Tony Kanaan claiming the final podium position.
Franchitti ended the season with 602 points to Power's 597. Dixon finished third overall, 55 points adrift, while Helio Castroneves was fourth, 16 points further back.
Result
1. (2) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
2. (11) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
3. (8) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
4. (4) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
5. (10) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
6. (21) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
7. (16) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
8. (1) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
9. (5) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 200, Running
10. (18) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
11. (20) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
12. (22) Alex Lloyd, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
13. (7) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
14. (19) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
15. (14) Bertrand Baguette, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
16. (24) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
17. (23) Raphael Matos, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
18. (9) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 199, Running
19. (12) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
20. (26) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
21. (6) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 198, Running
22. (17) Sarah Fisher, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
23. (25) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Honda, 197, Running
24. (27) Milka Duno, Dallara-Honda, 170, Contact
25. (3) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 143, Contact
26. (15) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 42, Contact
27. (13) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 25, Mechanical
Well done Dario!
I'm not one for jumping on the spoiler bandwagon normally, but...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I'm not one for jumping on the spoiler bandwagon normally, but...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Mikey G said:
Well done Dario!
I'm not one for jumping on the spoiler bandwagon normally, but...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Sorry! I'm not one for jumping on the spoiler bandwagon normally, but...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
the picture in this story kind of sums it up. Three time Indycar champion, Indy 500 winner, film star wife....oh and one of the good guys... 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/9055918...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/9055918...
mistercvee said:
the picture in this story kind of sums it up. Three time Indycar champion, Indy 500 winner, film star wife....oh and one of the good guys...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/9055918...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/9055918...
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