Dixon And Franchitti IndyCar Winners At Homestead

Homestead, Fla. – Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti added to the laurels of Target Chip Ganassi Racing when the New Zealand native raced to victory in the Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway and the Scottish driver captured his third IZOD IndyCar Series championship.

A small crowd turned out on a warm evening to witness the end of open-wheel racing on the Homestead’s 1.5-mile oval after a 15-year run.

Franchitti dominated the early race action leading 53 of the first 57 laps and Dixon powered to the front shortly thereafter, leading 38 of the closing 48 laps. At the checkered flag, the winner had a comfortable 2.7587 margin of victory.

“It’s a great day,” Dixon said of his third victory of the season and 24th of his career. “I’m happy for Chip (Ganassi), happy for Dario (Franchitti) and happy for everybody who did a good job. I think both cars were great, although I was a little bit loose in traffic. We definitely had the speed all night.

“I was just waiting for the opportunity to move to the front. With so many yellow flags, it was hard to monitor our fuel supply, which made it tough. We saved our push-to-pass allotment, to use it at the end. And it was a nice way to end our year, although it felt strange not to be racing for the championship.”

Going into the race, Will Power led Franchitti by 11 points but when the final tally was completed, the reigning champion took the coveted crown by five points after the Australian driver fell by the wayside.

Franchitti became just the second driver to win three IZOD IndyCar championships, joining Sam Hornish Jr. He also tied Hornish by winning two consecutive championships. For achieving the 2010 series crown, Franchitti won $1 million and the keys to a new Honda of his choice.

The championship is the fourth for Target Chip Ganassi Racing, a series record, and the third in a row. Ganassi credited his team for the victory and the championship, saying he was blessed with those who work and support the team, but he added, “It was not a perfect night for the No. 10 car as they didn’t win the race.”

Said the newly crowned champion, “The competition in the Series has gone up and neither Scott (Dixon) nor I had the speed the others had. But nobody on the Target team gave up, and it couldn’t be any better than this. My car was strong all night and I didn’t want to point race after Will (Power) had his problems.”

Franchitti slowed his pace after Power dropped out, endeavoring to save fuel in lieu of a late-race pit stop. In doing so, he ended up running with slower but more aggressive drivers farther back in the field. The cautious approach yielded him an eighth-place finish.

An accident happened near Franchitti, one that he narrowly missed. “I heard the noise when the car hit the wall, and I tried to wheel banging, and doing other crazy things,” he stated. “It was a little too action-packed (for me) at the end of the race.”

Franchitti said he puts a lot of pressure on himself. “I am under pressure to win; I want to be successful for my team. The team works under pressure and Chip takes it personally when he doesn’t win.”

Power’s championship hopes were wiped out on the 134th lap when he swiped the foruth-turn wall, forcing his team to replace a broken wishbone. He returned briefly only to fall by the wayside after 143 laps.

“It’s disappointing,” he said. “I really wanted to win the championship, and I was at a point in the race where I felt I really had to push because Dario had led the most laps. I was trying to get around Ryan Hunter-Reay, got high and brushed the wall, bending the suspension.”

Said team owner Roger Penske, “It was a tough ending to a good season. Will and the Verizon team did a great job all year, and we will be back strong next year.”

Penske also congratulated Franchitti for winning the championship.

Second place wasn’t settled until the finish line when Danica Patrick bested teammate Tony Kanaan. The pair waged a spirited battle for the runner-up spot as the race wound down, acting more like arch-rivals than teammates.

Said Patrick about her strong finish, “I think the end of the race was my best oval racing. The race was fast and you had to keep your foot in it, ride out the washouts, and be calculating at the same time. Hopefully, Tony (Kanaan) and I put on a good show. It was definitely a workout there — a hard 19 laps.”

Patrick and Kanaan did brush wheels at least once. “He pushed wide up wide, and I came down low. I had the momentum and got underneath him. And his left front wheel was right behind my right front wheel. It is what it is.”

Kanaan said he didn’t see Patrick until it was too late. “I clearly didn’t see Danica on the inside,” he commented. Regarding the overall race, he stated, “It was a good weekend for the team, and we put on a good show for the fans tonight. And I am looking forward to next year.”

Ryan Briscoe carried the lead flag for Team Penske, garnering fourth place with teammate Helio Castroneves earning fifth place.

Sixth through 10th were Vitor Meira, Marco Andretti, Franchitti, Dan Wheldon and Graham Rahal.

Alex Lloyd won the rookie-of-the-year honors, the first driver for Dale Coyne Racing to do so.

Five caution flags slowed the race for 41 laps. In addition to Power’s wall incident, Lloyd and Ana Beatriz also struck walls in separate incidents.

IZOD IndyCar Series
Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Results Saturday of the Cafes Do Brasil Indy 300 IZOD IndyCar Series event on the 1.485-mile Homestead Miami Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):”
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

Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 158.905
Time of Race: 1:52:08.5580
Margin of victory: 2.7587 seconds
Cautions: Five for 39 laps
Lead changes: 18 among 7 drivers
Lap Leaders: Franchitti 1-42, Briscoe 43, Franchitti 44-52, Briscoe 53, Franchitti 54-55, Briscoe 56, Franchitti 57, Briscoe 58-61, Dixon 62-68, Kanaan 69-72, Franchitti 73-95, Dixon 96-97, Tagliani 98-100, Franchitti 101-151, Dixon 152-157, Andretti 158-167, Dixon 168-172, Castroneves 173, Dixon 174-200.
Point Standings: Franchitti 602, Power 597, Dixon 547, Castroneves 531, Briscoe 482, Kanaan 453, Hunter-Reay 445, Andretti 392, Wheldon 388, Patrick 367.

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