Dario Franchitti wins Iowa 250
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Dario Franchitti, of Edinburgh, Scotland, drives his car during practice for the IndyCar Series’ Iowa Corn Indy 250 auto race, at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Dario Franchitti was disappointed that Saturday’s qualifying for the Iowa Corn Indy 250 was canceled. He felt that a few late tweaks made to his No. 10 car had turned it into a “rocket ship.”
Franchitti settled instead for Sunday’s checkered flag - his second victory in two tries at the Iowa Speedway. Franchitti took the lead with 50 laps to go and cruised to victory in the Iowa Corn Indy 250. Franchitti beat Ryan Briscoe by just over five seconds to grab his first victory since the Streets of Long Beach in April and move into second place in the IRL standings.
It was the 10th career IndyCar win for the Scot, who took the lead three laps after making his final pit stop on the 7/8-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 finished second for the third straight race despite leading for 85 laps. Hideki Mutoh took a season best third after notching a career best of second in
Dan Wheldon was fourth, while pole-sitter Helio Castroneves took seventh.
Briscoe maintained his lead in the point’s race - becoming the first driver this season to do so for more than one race. He is 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.
Kanaan crashed for the third time at
Worse yet, Kanaan has crashed in the same corner three straight years at
“I think it was a combination of the cold tires and me pushing a bit too hard,” Kanaan said. “It’s been quite a different year for me, so I guess I have a lot of catching up to do.”
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 trying to avoid him, drawing the fourth caution of the day just 55 laps in.
Dario Franchitti, center, of Scotland, celebrates on the victory stand with second-place Ryan Briscoe, left, of Australia, and third-place Hideki Mutoh, of Japan, after winning the IndyCar Series’ Iowa Corn Indy 250 auto race. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Patrick led for 24 laps but wound up ninth, her worst finish since taking 19th at the Streets of St. Petersburg.
Castroneves hit
The race was reminiscent of the inaugural event in 2007, which also featured a number of cautions and Franchitti on the podium. Water on the backstretch had forced IRL officials to call off qualifying Saturday and start the field on entrant points. That put Franchitti on the second line with
“I’m lucky enough to be in good cars,” Franchitti said of his success in
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