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Franchitti Doubles At Homestead – Wins Race And IndyCar Championship

Homestead, Fla. – Dario Franchitti scored a double at the Homestead-Miami Speedway when he won the Firestone Indy 300 IndyCar Series finale and the coveted Series championship for the second time in three years.

The Scotsman and the other 22 drivers put on a dazzling display of speed and safe driving with the race being without a yellow flag, marking the first caution-free race in IndyCar Series history. The average speed of 201.420 miles per hour was the second fastest race in the IndyCar Series record books.

Franchitti and teammate Scott Dixon opened the race with a torrid dual before the winner dropped back, leaving Dixon and title contender Ryan Briscoe to battle for the lead. These two proceeded to dominate a majority of the 200-lap race, leading 173 laps between them with the victor heading 25 rounds.

Trailing Dixon and Briscoe in the waning laps, Franchitti took advantage of their need for fuel in the final eight laps and grabbed the lead and the victory, holding a 4.477 second advantage over Briscoe and Dixon when the checkered flag dropped.

“I can’t believe it; I can’t believe it,” Franchitti said in victory lane with a big grin on his face. “What a year this has been. I am so lucky to be with this team. These guys just want to win and win.

“My car wasn’t good at the beginning, and we just kept trying to make it better. Once the car got better and the track cooled off, we were already in a fuel conservations mode, which worked out for us. We (Dixon and I) split the strategy, and it was a great team effort.”

Asked if he was concerned about his fuel supply as the race neared an end, he said, “I kept thinking, “Come on baby — don’t run out of fuel.'” He even had sufficient fuel to do a burnout after taking the checkered flag.” And he ran the last 50 laps without a stop.

Franchitti drove the Target Chip Ganassi Racing entry and for the accomplished team, it won the IndyCar Series championship for the third time – 2003, 2008 and 2009 and claimed its 34th series victory, tying Andretti Green Racing for second place on the all-time victory list. CGR also won for the 10th time in 2009, and the 10th win came on the 10th day of the 10th month of the year.

Commenting on the championship honors, Franchitti said, “I never thought I would win five races and the championship in my first year back. I want to thank Chip (Ganassi) for giving me a job. Also, I had some luck, and you need a bit of luck to win a championship.”

Franchitti dedicated his championship to his late friend Greg Moore. “I thought about Greg on the cool-down lap, and this one is for him.”

Briscoe, who led 103 laps, had put on a spirited race with Dixon and Franchitti and was in the lead when he pitted for fuel on lap 194. Discussing the conclusion, he said, “It is pretty frustrating and this was one of the best races I’ve ever had. I hate it that it turned into a fuel conservation race.”

Dixon, who had his eyes on the championship crown, persevered to take third place. “The fastest cars don’t always win a race,” he said. “I had a great race with Ryan Briscoe, and I thought the race was going to come down to the two of us. And at one point, we almost lapped Dario (Franchitti), but he came back to win it.”

In the final point tally, Franchitti took the championship with 616 points followed by Dixon in second with 605 and Briscoe third with 604, the third-closest margin among the top three in series history.

And these three drivers were the only ones to complete the full 200 laps.

Fourth went to Tony Kanaan with Helio Castroneves third, and they completed 199 laps.

“It was a long race,” Kanaan said. “It looks like those three guys ahead of me were in another league. I think it was an A-league and a B-league, but we tried.”

Said Castroneves, “Our Penske boys and Ryan (Briscoe) did everything they could do to bring this championship home. It is a shame. Next year is going to be different.”

Sixth through eighth and with 198 laps completed were Hideki Mutoh, Mario Moraes and Alex Lloyd.

Tomas Scheckter and Justin Wilson rounded out the top-10 finishers, three laps behind the winner.

The race’s only incident occurred on the 152nd lap when Dan Wheldon and Danica Patrick made contact on pit road, forcing the latter into a half-spin.

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