- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
IndyCar
INDYCAR: Franchitti, Honda Wins Thrilling Indy 500
Target Chip Ganassi Racing's Dario Franchitti won his third Indy 500 in thrilling fashion today when Takuma Sato dove and spun under him on Lap 200.
The 96th running of the Indy 500 will go down as a day where a wily veteran drove from the middle of the pack to keep the young lions at bay for yet another year on the sport's biggest stage.
After watching Team Penske and Andretti Autosport garner most of the attention and interest prior to Sunday, Dario Franchitti and Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon delivered a 1-2 for down-on-its-luck Honda, and the first win for his team after Penske's drivers dominated the first four rounds of the championship.
The Indy 500 ended in thrilling fashion when Takuma Sato dove under Franchitti into Turn 1 while trying to snatch the lead on Lap 200, spun and hammered the wall. With the yellow flag coming out immediately and the running order being frozen, the Scot's victory was cemented as he passed under the checkered flag for the third time since 2007. Each of his Indy 500 wins, coincidentally, has ended under caution.
It capped a wild day where the lead changed hands an amazing 34 times among 10 drivers--a record--and the final sprint to the finish had hundreds of thousands of fans on edge as any one of five drivers had a realistic chance at victory.
The new Dallara DW12 chassis and small-displacement turbo engine formula not only delivered far above expectation, it provided passing opportunities that simply never existed with the old car.
The sprint to the finish after a restart on Lap 194 saw the lead change hands every lap, and with the white flag waving, Sato, who had a run on the four-time series champion heading into Turn 1, could not maintain control as Franchitti did the impossible by holding tight around the outside of Turn 1.
The Ganassi driver refused to cede the position and with Sato needing to unwind the steering wheel, the back of his car eventually broke loose.
Franchitti was fortunate to only receive a light hit as the Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver began to rotate, but his win was by no means gifted to him with Sato's crash.
"I just want to dedicate this to two of Indianapolis' finest, Dan Wheldon and Michael Wanser," said Franchitti, honoring the fallen 2011 Indy 500 winner and the son of his team manager, Barry Wanser. "Thanks to all of the Indianapolis fans for their tribute to Dan today. What a race. I think D-dub (Dan Wheldon) would be proud of that one."
With a full year ahead of him to reflect on what could have been, Sato might look back and take comfort that final-lap slingshot nearly paid off. But had he waited until Turn 3 or on the exit of Turn 4 on Lap 200, the worst he would have finished was second. Instead, he was credited with 17th.
"I moved over, and I saw he was coming," Franchitti continued. "I came back over and I moved up the track. He got loose under me. Kind of reminds me of Emerson [Fittipaldi] and Little Al [Unser] (in 1989) at the end there. I have to say thank you to Honda. They work so bloody hard. This means the world. This is Indianapolis. To be on this trophy on either side of Dan, that means more than anything."
To no one's surprise, the driver that ended up against the wall on Lap 200 saw the incident in a different light.
"We were completely side by side," said Sato. "Looking inside...diving into the inside, before turn-in, we were side by side. Into the turn 1, [I was] well below the white line. Then the car [started] to slide. I was almost on the grass. He could have given a little more space. Before turn-in, it was job-done. No need to back off."
Dixon was visibly crushed to have lost the chance to race Franchitti for the victory, yet made a beeline for Victory Lane to congratulate his stablemate.
“Credit to Dario," he said. "He had a bad start to the day and came through the field. It’s a 1-2 finish for Target on their 50th anniversary. You couldn’t have it a better way. I just wish the No. 9 was first. He drove a hell of a race and definitely deserved it. Real happy for Honda. What a way to win their first race of the year. They can forget about the other four. To come out and win Indy in their first attempt against Chevy is pretty cool.”
Franchitti's march to his third win looked like it had been halted almost before it started. Hit from behind and spun by E.J. Viso during a Lap 14 pit stop, Franchitti's first visit to pit lane lasted an eternity as his team had to point his car in the right direction before servicing the No. 50 car and replacing its broken nosewing.
Falling back to 29th, he would set off on a determined drive to regain the lost positions, posting fastest race laps over and over as he picked off drivers at a steady clip.
Franchitti and Dixon finally showed their cards once the race reached Lap 150, leading a combined 41 of the final 50 laps of the race. The two regularly swapped positions in Turn 1, the most popular place to pass all day, and quickly erased the notion that Chevrolet, which dominated qualifying, had the upper hand with horsepower and fuel economy.
Dixon looked like his second Indy 500 win was within reach, but was overrun by cars on the Lap 194 restart. Although he fought back to regain the positions he lost, a failed attempt to get by his teammate allowed Sato to get a run and take second. Sato's next passing attempt brought out the final yellow of the day, leaving Dixon's chances frozen in second.
Kanaan, who got the biggest jump on the last restart, passed Franchitti and received a huge roar from the crowd, but as the Hondas built momentum, the Brazilian didn't have the outright pace to keep the Target cars in his wake and was forced to settle for third.
“To lose the race this way, battling until the end … it’s not a loss," he said, putting a positive spin on another non-win that was clearly tough to accept.
"I had a lot of fun. I mean, the first thing I did when I passed the five cars on the restart, I looked at the grandstands because I wanted to see the people. They were all up and cheering for me. During the yellow flag, I can see it. People were screaming. It’s awesome. I love this place. I can’t thank enough the Hulman-George family and everybody."
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: 2012 Indy 500
With Franchitti, Dixon and Kanaan filling the top three spots, a fitting farewell to Dan Wheldon, the reigning Indy 500 winner, was achieved.
In addition to the Lap 1, 26 and 98 honors that IMS created to remember Wheldon, the beloved Briton was also heavy on the minds and hearts of his friends on Sunday.
“It’s pretty crazy how it all lines up," said Dixon. "Dan still owes me one, I think. Dario did a fantastic job. All of us wish Dan was still here racing with us. He’s a hell of a guy and left a big void and hole in all of our lives. I hope we put on a good race for the fans, and I’m sure he’s smiling down on us.”
Oriol Servia's run to fourth was possibly the most surprising result of the day after the Spaniard was forced to pit on Lap 23 to replace a damaged tire. The Panther DRR driver never factored at the front of the field, but kept pushing despite having so much ground to makeup and was rewarded with his best-ever result at the 500.
“We got a flat spot on our first stint and I was like, ‘Wow, a lap down already,’" he said. "Usually, you get a chance to get your lap back and it didn’t happen until the last pit stop. We were last, but on the lead lap. I knew it was our chance. Every restart, we moved forward. It was like non-stop. If there was one more restart, I think we would have had something for the win. But, I’m not complaining. Basically last to fourth. I’m super happy. We never gave up. I’m extremely proud of all of us.”
Pole-sitter Ryan Briscoe didn't have the speed to maintain his front-row position for long, but recovered to finish fifth, the best for the three-car Team Penske brigade which had an off day.
“I had a pretty good car," said the Aussie. "I was driving a lot in traffic. We were probably running a bit less downforce than the Ganassi cars. But man, they were fast. They were fast. It was good. I had a good race car that second-to-the-last one (pit stop.) I made a few positions and certainly got ourselves back in the game. It was a long and hot day. It was pretty tiring out there. I’m a bit upset. I really wanted to win this, and we had a good shot at it. Hopefully, we can come back next year and try again.”
The day started as a Chevrolet celebration, with the American manufacturer holding eight of the top nine positions in the field. Franchitti foreshadowed what he and Dixon were capable of during Friday's Carb Day activities when they put Honda's just-in-time upgrade for its 2.2-liter single-turbo V6 engine to good use.
Not only did the Ganassi cars end Friday 1-2 on the speed charts, but the Scot was rather cheeky in his public praise for the faster and more fuel efficient motor he had to use in the race. Starting 15th (Dixon) and 16th (Franchitti), the duo declared their intent early as they generated lap speeds that surpassed most of the pre-race favorites.
Andretti's Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe led at certain points, as did Sato, but once the race started to establish a rhythm, the red Target cars displayed a relative comfort and ease when turning up the wick was required. It took a little while for Franchitti and Dixon to play their hand, but when they did, it became apparent that the rest of the field was battling for third.
Sunday's Indy 500 came in one degree shy of matching the all-time temperature record, but the 91-degree conditions still posed a major challenge for pit crews and fans to endure. Most teams piled on downforce to deal with the thin air, and Firestone, whose tires withstood track temperatures that hit 130 degrees, did not fall off as some predicted. It all added up to a much cleaner race than was expected, with only a handful of serious crashes slowing the action.
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing's Bryan Clauson brought out the first caution when he spun on his own on Lap 13, but the first show stopper was an unnecessary crash that found A.J. Foyt Racing's Mike Conway flying through the air for the second time in three years at the Speedway.
After locking his brakes and hitting a few of his crew members during a pit stop, Conway also managed to damage his left front wing. After getting him back out--with the damaged wing in place--Conway managed to spin on his own in Turn 1, taking an innocent Will Power with him. The scary crash saw Conway flying backwards at a right angle, Power submarining beneath him to initiate the launch and Power's right front wheel and tire, which had been ripped off in the crash, nearly hitting the cockpit of his teammate Helio Castroneves.
Once the drivers had been checked and released from the medical care center, Conway and Power shared their views on the situation.
After watching Team Penske and Andretti Autosport garner most of the attention and interest prior to Sunday, Dario Franchitti and Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Scott Dixon delivered a 1-2 for down-on-its-luck Honda, and the first win for his team after Penske's drivers dominated the first four rounds of the championship.
The Indy 500 ended in thrilling fashion when Takuma Sato dove under Franchitti into Turn 1 while trying to snatch the lead on Lap 200, spun and hammered the wall. With the yellow flag coming out immediately and the running order being frozen, the Scot's victory was cemented as he passed under the checkered flag for the third time since 2007. Each of his Indy 500 wins, coincidentally, has ended under caution.
It capped a wild day where the lead changed hands an amazing 34 times among 10 drivers--a record--and the final sprint to the finish had hundreds of thousands of fans on edge as any one of five drivers had a realistic chance at victory.
The new Dallara DW12 chassis and small-displacement turbo engine formula not only delivered far above expectation, it provided passing opportunities that simply never existed with the old car.
The sprint to the finish after a restart on Lap 194 saw the lead change hands every lap, and with the white flag waving, Sato, who had a run on the four-time series champion heading into Turn 1, could not maintain control as Franchitti did the impossible by holding tight around the outside of Turn 1.
The Ganassi driver refused to cede the position and with Sato needing to unwind the steering wheel, the back of his car eventually broke loose.
Franchitti was fortunate to only receive a light hit as the Rahal Letterman Lanigan driver began to rotate, but his win was by no means gifted to him with Sato's crash.
"I just want to dedicate this to two of Indianapolis' finest, Dan Wheldon and Michael Wanser," said Franchitti, honoring the fallen 2011 Indy 500 winner and the son of his team manager, Barry Wanser. "Thanks to all of the Indianapolis fans for their tribute to Dan today. What a race. I think D-dub (Dan Wheldon) would be proud of that one."
With a full year ahead of him to reflect on what could have been, Sato might look back and take comfort that final-lap slingshot nearly paid off. But had he waited until Turn 3 or on the exit of Turn 4 on Lap 200, the worst he would have finished was second. Instead, he was credited with 17th.
"I moved over, and I saw he was coming," Franchitti continued. "I came back over and I moved up the track. He got loose under me. Kind of reminds me of Emerson [Fittipaldi] and Little Al [Unser] (in 1989) at the end there. I have to say thank you to Honda. They work so bloody hard. This means the world. This is Indianapolis. To be on this trophy on either side of Dan, that means more than anything."
To no one's surprise, the driver that ended up against the wall on Lap 200 saw the incident in a different light.
"We were completely side by side," said Sato. "Looking inside...diving into the inside, before turn-in, we were side by side. Into the turn 1, [I was] well below the white line. Then the car [started] to slide. I was almost on the grass. He could have given a little more space. Before turn-in, it was job-done. No need to back off."
Dixon was visibly crushed to have lost the chance to race Franchitti for the victory, yet made a beeline for Victory Lane to congratulate his stablemate.
“Credit to Dario," he said. "He had a bad start to the day and came through the field. It’s a 1-2 finish for Target on their 50th anniversary. You couldn’t have it a better way. I just wish the No. 9 was first. He drove a hell of a race and definitely deserved it. Real happy for Honda. What a way to win their first race of the year. They can forget about the other four. To come out and win Indy in their first attempt against Chevy is pretty cool.”
Franchitti's march to his third win looked like it had been halted almost before it started. Hit from behind and spun by E.J. Viso during a Lap 14 pit stop, Franchitti's first visit to pit lane lasted an eternity as his team had to point his car in the right direction before servicing the No. 50 car and replacing its broken nosewing.
Falling back to 29th, he would set off on a determined drive to regain the lost positions, posting fastest race laps over and over as he picked off drivers at a steady clip.
Franchitti and Dixon finally showed their cards once the race reached Lap 150, leading a combined 41 of the final 50 laps of the race. The two regularly swapped positions in Turn 1, the most popular place to pass all day, and quickly erased the notion that Chevrolet, which dominated qualifying, had the upper hand with horsepower and fuel economy.
Dixon looked like his second Indy 500 win was within reach, but was overrun by cars on the Lap 194 restart. Although he fought back to regain the positions he lost, a failed attempt to get by his teammate allowed Sato to get a run and take second. Sato's next passing attempt brought out the final yellow of the day, leaving Dixon's chances frozen in second.
Kanaan, who got the biggest jump on the last restart, passed Franchitti and received a huge roar from the crowd, but as the Hondas built momentum, the Brazilian didn't have the outright pace to keep the Target cars in his wake and was forced to settle for third.
“To lose the race this way, battling until the end … it’s not a loss," he said, putting a positive spin on another non-win that was clearly tough to accept.
"I had a lot of fun. I mean, the first thing I did when I passed the five cars on the restart, I looked at the grandstands because I wanted to see the people. They were all up and cheering for me. During the yellow flag, I can see it. People were screaming. It’s awesome. I love this place. I can’t thank enough the Hulman-George family and everybody."
PHOTOS: Click Here or on the image below to view INDYCAR: 2012 Indy 500
With Franchitti, Dixon and Kanaan filling the top three spots, a fitting farewell to Dan Wheldon, the reigning Indy 500 winner, was achieved.
In addition to the Lap 1, 26 and 98 honors that IMS created to remember Wheldon, the beloved Briton was also heavy on the minds and hearts of his friends on Sunday.
“It’s pretty crazy how it all lines up," said Dixon. "Dan still owes me one, I think. Dario did a fantastic job. All of us wish Dan was still here racing with us. He’s a hell of a guy and left a big void and hole in all of our lives. I hope we put on a good race for the fans, and I’m sure he’s smiling down on us.”
Oriol Servia's run to fourth was possibly the most surprising result of the day after the Spaniard was forced to pit on Lap 23 to replace a damaged tire. The Panther DRR driver never factored at the front of the field, but kept pushing despite having so much ground to makeup and was rewarded with his best-ever result at the 500.
“We got a flat spot on our first stint and I was like, ‘Wow, a lap down already,’" he said. "Usually, you get a chance to get your lap back and it didn’t happen until the last pit stop. We were last, but on the lead lap. I knew it was our chance. Every restart, we moved forward. It was like non-stop. If there was one more restart, I think we would have had something for the win. But, I’m not complaining. Basically last to fourth. I’m super happy. We never gave up. I’m extremely proud of all of us.”
Pole-sitter Ryan Briscoe didn't have the speed to maintain his front-row position for long, but recovered to finish fifth, the best for the three-car Team Penske brigade which had an off day.
“I had a pretty good car," said the Aussie. "I was driving a lot in traffic. We were probably running a bit less downforce than the Ganassi cars. But man, they were fast. They were fast. It was good. I had a good race car that second-to-the-last one (pit stop.) I made a few positions and certainly got ourselves back in the game. It was a long and hot day. It was pretty tiring out there. I’m a bit upset. I really wanted to win this, and we had a good shot at it. Hopefully, we can come back next year and try again.”
The day started as a Chevrolet celebration, with the American manufacturer holding eight of the top nine positions in the field. Franchitti foreshadowed what he and Dixon were capable of during Friday's Carb Day activities when they put Honda's just-in-time upgrade for its 2.2-liter single-turbo V6 engine to good use.
Not only did the Ganassi cars end Friday 1-2 on the speed charts, but the Scot was rather cheeky in his public praise for the faster and more fuel efficient motor he had to use in the race. Starting 15th (Dixon) and 16th (Franchitti), the duo declared their intent early as they generated lap speeds that surpassed most of the pre-race favorites.
Andretti's Marco Andretti and James Hinchcliffe led at certain points, as did Sato, but once the race started to establish a rhythm, the red Target cars displayed a relative comfort and ease when turning up the wick was required. It took a little while for Franchitti and Dixon to play their hand, but when they did, it became apparent that the rest of the field was battling for third.
Sunday's Indy 500 came in one degree shy of matching the all-time temperature record, but the 91-degree conditions still posed a major challenge for pit crews and fans to endure. Most teams piled on downforce to deal with the thin air, and Firestone, whose tires withstood track temperatures that hit 130 degrees, did not fall off as some predicted. It all added up to a much cleaner race than was expected, with only a handful of serious crashes slowing the action.
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing's Bryan Clauson brought out the first caution when he spun on his own on Lap 13, but the first show stopper was an unnecessary crash that found A.J. Foyt Racing's Mike Conway flying through the air for the second time in three years at the Speedway.
After locking his brakes and hitting a few of his crew members during a pit stop, Conway also managed to damage his left front wing. After getting him back out--with the damaged wing in place--Conway managed to spin on his own in Turn 1, taking an innocent Will Power with him. The scary crash saw Conway flying backwards at a right angle, Power submarining beneath him to initiate the launch and Power's right front wheel and tire, which had been ripped off in the crash, nearly hitting the cockpit of his teammate Helio Castroneves.
Once the drivers had been checked and released from the medical care center, Conway and Power shared their views on the situation.
Latest Gallery
LATEST HEADLINES: AUTO-RACING
-
LE MANS: Audi Leads Wednesday LM24 Qualifying
Audis 1-2-3 in incident-filled and shortened opening day of qualifying… -
LE MANS: Lotus LMP2 Returns To Track
Seized parts returned to Lotus LMP2, No. 31 car rebuilt and completes… -
SPEED, SPEED.com Plan Live & Continuous LM24 Coverage
In-car streaming of Corvette Racing highlights two-screen experience...… -
VIDEO: 8Star LM24 Wednesday vBlog
Rui Aguas checks into SPEED.com prior to the start of practice and… -
LE MANS: Corvette On-Board Pass Returns For LM24
Watch! Live in-car and garage cameras from Corvette Racing during… -
LE MANS: Lotus LMP2 Cars Seized By Court
BREAKING: Lotus T128 parts seized by local courts over financial… -
LE MANS: Taylor Brothers Continuing Family Tradition
Second-generation racers Jordan, Ricky Taylor seek victory at Le… - More News
