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Franchitti claims victory in Iowa

Sun 21st, June 2009

Newton, IA (Sports Network) - Dario Franchitti took the lead following the final round of pit stops and never looked back during the last 50 laps to capture Sunday's Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway. The No. 10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver crossed the finish line 5.0132 seconds ahead of Ryan Briscoe.

Franchitti scored his second victory of the season and 10th of his IndyCar career. He picked up the win in April at Long Beach, CA.

The Scot won the inaugural race here in 2007 before making the switch to the NASCAR Sprint Cup series last year. His Sprint Cup team at Ganassi ceased operations due to lack of sponsorship in the middle of the season. He returned to IndyCar in September.

"The pit stops were awesome. It was a track position race," Franchitti said. "Happy Father's Day Dad. This one is for you."

Briscoe, who was leading the race at the time, started the final round of pit stops under green with 55 laps to go. But Briscoe's stop took 7.1 seconds.

Franchitti, who was second before pitting, found himself in the lead once the cycle of green flag stops were completed. Briscoe, Hideki Mutoh, Dan Wheldon and Scott Dixon followed behind.

It became Franchitti's race to lose, as he held over a one-second margin and cruised along. Briscoe never got close to Franchitti, who crossed the finish line with ease after leading 68 laps.

"What a day. It was hard work out there," Briscoe said. "It was a lot of fun. We had a lot of side-by-side racing here today."

Mutoh, Wheldon, last year's winner at Iowa, and Dixon completed the top-five.

Since qualifying was rained out on Saturday, entrant points determined the startling lineup. Thus, Helio Castroneves led the field to the green flag for 250 laps around the 0.875-mile track.

The race got off to a fast and wild start, to say the least. Not even one lap was complete before a multi-car wreck involving E.J. Viso, Robert Doornbos, and Ryan Hunter-Reay brought out the caution flag.

Things heated up for the first position on lap 17. Dixon used the inside lane to pass Castroneves, but Castroneves didn't back down. He ended up bumping into the back of Dixon's car, giving him a flat tire in the process. The caution flag came out and pit strategies started to play out.

Briscoe, Tomas Scheckter, Marco Andretti, Wheldon and Mutoh took over the top-five spots by opting not to pit. They would make a round of pit stops following Justin Wilson's crash on lap 34.

Danica Patrick led Mike Conway, Franchitti, Tony Kanaan and Dixon when the race went back to green. Patrick and Conway pitted on the sixth lap, following the first caution of the day.

On lap 55, Mario Moraes brought out the caution flag to allow for more pit strategies. Kanaan, Wheldon, Scheckter, Briscoe, Mutoh and Andretti inherited the top-six spots by not stopping.

Kanaan gave up the lead on lap 106 when he came down pit road to make a green flag stop. But Kanaan's day came to a sudden end when he crashed into the turn two wall on lap 111. It marked the third year in a row that Kanaan wrecked at Iowa.

The pit strategies were nullified when everyone came down pit road during the caution period.

Briscoe led Franchitti, Wheldon, Mutoh and Scheckter to the restart. Franchitti would take over the top spot for a few laps, but Briscoe made his way back to the front on lap 138.

There were five cautions for 46 laps. In the end, only 13 of the 20 drivers finished the race.

Briscoe, who led a race-high 85 laps, finished second for the third consecutive race. He remained atop the point standings with just a three-point cushion over Franchitti.

The next IndyCar race is set for Saturday, June 27 at Richmond International Raceway.