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INDYCAR: Dixon Romps To Richmond Win
Written by: Marshall Pruett   
06/27/2009
Richmond, VA
 
Target chip Ganassi Racing concluded the first half of their oval campaign in style Saturday night as Scott Dixon led teammate Dario Franchitti home after the two champions covered the field from the outset. Franchitti looked on pace to win his second race in six days but lost his lead to Dixon in the pits when he required a splash of fuel during a caution.
Scott Dixon led a Target 1-2 as teammate Dario Franchitti followed closely in his wake. The two drivers led 226 of the 300 lap race as Ganassi's team took their 5th win from 8 races in 2009. (Getty) ยป More Photos

Dixon's wins at Kansas, Milwaukee and now Richmond have the 2008 Series winner second in points, two behind Franchitti, and tied with Sam Hornish for the all-time IndyCar Series win record with 19. "Today was about patience," he said. "It was tough to pass and I’ve got to hand it to Dario. He made it exciting in the pits. We saved more fuel than him and jumped ahead on that pit stop.”

Franchitti, with wins at Long Beach and at Iowa last weekend, put Ganassi's oval win tally at four of six in 2009 as the calendar moves to three consecutive road courses -- a place both drivers thrive. "It was a huge day for points for us. Both Penske cars didn’t finish so it’s certainly helped us. To have a 1-2 for Team Target is great. But to lose it on a fuel thing wasn’t what we’d hoped. The points lead is definitely a bright spot and a lot of people had a worse day than we did."

That would be Team Penske, who've managed to fizzle over the last two races, losing the form brought them wins at Indy and Texas. Both drivers ended their day in the turn two wall, but even if those incidents hadn't happened, The Captain's cars were no match for Target's. Ganassi made it clear their oval program is a notch above Penske's.

Dixon and Dario commanded the race from the outset, followed closely when Hideki Mutoh led his first laps in the Series in the early going. Dario Franchitti made a strong start from pole, jumping ahead of teammate Scott Dixon by a car length into turn one. The Scot would see a yellow flag thrown before he reached turn three as a result of Jaques Lazier’s solo crash.

The race resumed on lap eight with Dario, Dixon, Castroneves and Briscoe at the front. Ryan’s string of second place finishes came to an end on lap 26 as the Aussie made moderate contact with his left rear into the turn two wall. The #6 car got loose on corner exit as he applied power, suffering his first DNF in almost a year.

Briscoe emerged unscathed, but the crash dropped him from first to third in the points after his nineteenth place finish.

The first round of pit stops after Briscoe’s crash would see the Target team get Franchitti and Dixon out ahead of Castroneves. AGR’s Mutoh and Patrick stayed out, earning Hideki his first opportunity to lead an IndyCar race. Tony Kanaan pitted for fuel only, moving up five spots during the abbreviated stop.

Franchitti quickly passed Patrick on the lap 39 restart, but spent a number of laps trying to get by the Japanese driver. After being chopped on one passing attempt when Mutoh was balked by traffic and unable to get close enough to safely make another try, Franchitti settled into a fuel saving rhythm about half a second off of Mutoh’s rear wing.

Mutoh’s poise was impressive. After being hounded by Franchitti for almost seventy laps, Hideki was forced to pit under green on lap 105, handing the lead to Dario and losing a lap. Patrick would follow Mutoh six laps later, also going down a lap as AGR’s fuel strategy gamble looked like a bust.

Franchitti’s lap times dropped by almost a half second with Mutoh out of the way, navigating traffic decisively during the extended green flag running. Kanaan pitted on lap 136 for fuel and his first set of new tires as did teammate Marco Andretti.

Franchitti and Dixon were scheduled to pit on lap 138 but veered off the pit entry lane when Dreyer & Reinbold’s Mike Conway brushed the wall, bringing out a yellow. With most of the field having just pitted, the Target cars found incredible luck as they nearly lapped the entire field by pitting during the yellow flag.

But Franchitti’s fuel tank was too dry to continue during the yellow, forcing a quick splash while the pits were closed. That splash, while legal, meant the 2007 IndyCar champ needed pit again once the lane was opened, taking the rest of his fuel load and four new tires. Teammate Dixon was able to stretch his tank, pitting only once during the yellow and moving ahead Franchitti to take the lead. Franchitti's fate was sealed from that point on.

Graham Rahal also benefited from pitting during the yellow, moving to third followed by Mutoh, Patrick, Castroneves and
Matos. The race resumed just after the halfway mark, with Dixon and Franchitti streaking to a solid lead on lap 155. Only seven cars remained on the lead lap at that point, with defending race winner Tony Kanaan being the first of the cars one tour behind.

AGR's two remaining cars ran eighth, and ninth (Andretti), one lap down at that point.

Both Target drivers continued working together, maintaining a pace near 18-second lap times without stressing their fuel or tires consumption. With the current specification of IndyCar not allowing drivers to run any close than 2-3 car lengths behind each other without losing large amounts of front downforce, Franchitti had little choice but to follow in Dixon's tracks to the checkered flag.

Franchitti apologized to the fans after the race for the lack of green flag passing, noting something needed to be done to allow the cars to pass one another.

Graham Rahal grabbed the final podium spot and was thankful for the well-timed pit stops that promoted the sophomore driver to third. "The breaks came our way. We made more changes this weekend than I can remember in recent history, so I’m glad it paid off for us.”

Patrick, who’s featured as the top American driver in the IndyCar Series in 2009, continued to assert her place amongst the IndyCar elite. Her final stop on lap 226 dropped the Boost Mobile car to fifteenth. Mutoh’s stop on lap 213 would also take him out of the lead pack, but he and Patrick would soon return to the top-10 as more cars pitted.

Fortune would smile on the Target cars and Rahal once more as Penske’s Helio Castroneves clouted the turn two wall as he followed a scrambling Tomas Scheckter up the track and onto the marbles. Scheckter barely avoided the barriers but Castroneves appeared to mimic the South African’s line, crashing on the spot Scheckter narrowly avoided. Castroneves would finish seventeenth and Scheckter eleventh.

Dixon held his position leaving pit lane, with Franchitti and Rahal right behind. AGR claimed fourth through seventh with Mutoh, Patrick, Kanaan and Andretti heading Rafa Matos, Robert Doornbos and Dan Wheldon.

Green flag racing resumed on lap 258 and all of the excitement happened behind Dixon and Franchitti as the red cars gapped Rahal by almost three seconds by lap 265. The Penske crashes saved AGR’s strategy call for Mutoh and Patrick as the two drivers used the yellows to get back in sequence, regain their lost laps, and hold onto fourth and fifth at the end.

Dixon and Franchitti maintained about a half second gap as the two counted down the laps running in tandem, with the Kiwi crossing the finish line .3109 ahead of Franchitti.

Tony Kanaan got his season back on track by moving from seventeenth to sixth at the end of 300 laps. The Brazilian spent most of the race down a lap and finished the race the first car off the lead lap. TK was chased home by teammate Marco Andretti, locking out fourth through seventh for the Andretti-Green team. After a sour day of qualifying on Friday, it was an impressive rebound for the team.

Rafa Matos and Robert Doornbos came home in eighth and ninth, the top rookies of the race. Both drivers looked aggressive throughout the race, and will surely use that momentum as they get back to their natural habitat on the road courses.

Dan Wheldon's National Guard car showed flashes of speed but was often found at the tail end of the second pack of runners or the head of the third pack. Tenth place was less than the 2005 Series champion had hoped for.

If Wheldon expected more, HVM's E.J. Viso was ecstatic to reach the finish line for the first time in 2009. After seven fruitless attempts, the Venezuelan didn't make the most of his seventh place starting spot, but coming home one lap down in twelfth was a marked improvement after finishing last at Iowa the previous Sunday.

Three of the four final runners had relatively unexciting days, with Ed Carpenter taking thirteenth ahead of Justin Wilson in fourteenth and Ryan Hunter-Reay in fifteenth. For Wilson, the oval speed of his Z-Line Designs Dallara didn't improve, but making it to the finish with the car in one piece was appreciated by the Dale Coyne Racing team.

RHR's race lasted longer than it did in Iowa, but the American ace never had the pace or comfort to duel with the other drivers with his ABC Supply/A.J. Foyt Racing car.

KV Racing had a frustrating day as their pit strategy seemed to be for a track other than the short .75 mile Richmond oval.

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