Dario Franchitti drove a magnificent race at Indianapolis on Sunday to score his third win in America’s biggest race in the past six years.
Dario made a superb recovery after he was knocked into a spin by EJ Viso as he came into the pits for his first stop. The incident required fitting a new nose to Franchitti’s car, dropping him to the tail of the restart line, but Dario worked his way methodically back through the field so that he and Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon were challenging for the lead by half-distance.
Over the race’s second half Franchitti and Dixon ran together at the front most of the way pursued by a long train of cars. Among those giving chase were Takuma Sato, Justin Wilson, Tony Kanaan and pole winner Ryan Briscoe resulting in some exciting closing laps as each of Kanaan and Sato fought their way to the front for short periods of time.
Going into the last lap Franchitti was leading with Sato making a serious run down the inside as they went into Turn One. For a few hundred yards they were side-by-side with Franchitti squeezing Sato but leaving him room until the Japanese ace lost control and spun, clouting the wall. Thus did the 96th Indy 500 finish under the yellow with Franchitti and Dixon scoring a resounding one-two for Chip Ganassi’s team and Honda engines.
“It was a crazy race, getting spun in the first pit stop and having to fight our way from the back to the front,” Dario said. “That was tough, but it also gave me a lot of confidence because I knew how good the car was. After the last pit stop they came on the radio and said you need to save fuel. I said, ‘been here before’. Off we went and Scott and I were fighting backwards and forwards and Takuma was in there and Tony too.
“Then Takuma came into the last lap and got a good run on the inside. I moved over a bit. I saw him coming and I said, ‘I’m too late’. I moved back up and we turned into the corner. I gave him a load of room but with the tight line he lost the rear and came around and hit us. I managed to catch it. That was it. A hell of a finish.”
After dominating qualifying it was surprising to see the Chevrolet teams, led by Penske and Andretti Autosport, struggle in the race. The Chevy engines appeared to lack the power advantage they showed in qualifying, and were unable to match Honda’s fuel mileage. A new ‘step two’ Honda engine was introduced after qualifying and the new engine clearly is a big improvement.
Despite sweeping the front two rows in qualifying the Penske and Andretti teams did not feature in the race. Pole man Briscoe was Penske’s best finisher in fifth place while Helio Castroneves finished a disappointing 10th and championship leader Will Power was eliminated in an accident with Mike Conway early in the race.
Through the race’s opening stages Andretti’s top three cars looked like serious contenders with Marco Andretti leading more laps than anyone else before his car’s handling went off and he fell back before crashing late in the race. Team-mates James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay also ran well but Hinchcliffe lost time in the pits before fighting his way back to take sixth place while Hunter-Reay dropped out with a suspension failure.
One of the race’s more impressive performances came from Oriol Servia who worked his way up from the ninth row to finish fourth only a few seconds behind winner Franchitti. Justin Wilson also turned in an excellent race aboard one of Dale Coyne’s cars. Wilson fought for the lead at one point and eventually finished seventh behind Briscoe and Hinchcliffe.
So Franchitti has established himself as one of the Indy 500’s three-time winners joining Louis Meyer, Wilbur Shaw, Maury Rose, Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Unser and Helio Castroneves. It was also his 31st IndyCar win moving him into a three-way tie with Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais on the all-time winners’ list.
After a tough start to the season Franchitti now has the chance to mount a proper defence of his championship. With five of 16 races complete Dario has moved into a tie with Simon Pagenaud for sixth in the championship while Power continues to lead the points from Castroneves, Hinchcliffe and Hunter-Reay.
A brilliant drive from Franchitti but I think the finest moment of the whole spectacle was seeing him choke back tears and wearing the Dan Wheldon sunglasses on the winners step.
We may not have a grid full of world champions and the new generation turbos are not the beasts of old, but that was surely one of the great 500s. The DW12 is an Indycar that is actually at its best at Indy, as it should be. All 33 drivers put on quite a show, the manic restarts proved that the current Indy field are a particularly professional bunch. The back-to-front charge from Franchitti was up there with Villeneuve’s 505 mile race or Danny Sullivan’s spin ‘n’ win in my book. It was easily the most thrilling of Dario’s trio of victories, a world apart from his first win. Like Dan, it’s shameful that all but the specialist media on this side of The Pond ignore Dario’s considerable achievements. Glad to see that you included Tracy and Seabass in the Indy stats as I despise when the TV coverage acts like Champ Car never happened.
Indy 2012 was like 1982….each closing lap more exciting than the previous….outcome in doubt until……and the driver who prevailed not my choice. If only!
However, a classic race regardless. An ending that will be in highlight reels and sports intros for years to come.
It was a fast race, too (5th fastest), which was facilitated by one of the best starts since 1988/1989.
Just as I thought Sato had finally matured….It looked like he was 3/4 of the way down the front straight when he decided to go for it.
This year’s 500 was certainly more entertaining to watch than Monaco (zzz). But sadly, it’s still spec racing, but far better than NASCAR’s demolition derby.
Surprisingly safe, excellent driving, with most cars finishing. A notable exception was Marco Andretti, but who’s surprised he crashed all on his own?
Mike Conway’s crash with Will Power was extremely fortunate for Conway (again), if his car was facing the other direction against the catch fence poles at >200mph…
Poor Sato…not enough investigation was given into Franchitti’s move on him. I saw Sato clearly beside Franchitti before Franchitti forced him into the apron. One wonders what TV and Indycar response would have been if Franchitti was the one who hit the wall.
Post-race: I wished I had turned my TV off. The displays of affection for Wheldon came across as scripted, and cheap emotional TV. I really felt sorry for Dan Wheldon’s widow in the middle of that circus. The line between a tribute and exploitation was really blurred. Like most things Indy, it’s way overdone for TV, with a total loss of dignity.
What “demolition derby,” Ray? Why bother whining about racing you obviously don’t even watch?
Putting too many cars around a small track with the purpose of encouraging crashes for the audience is a demolition derby.
No shifting, no braking, one direction turning in spec cars is not motorsports. It’s entertaining. Pro Wrestling is also entertaining and enjoyed by millions. I don’t watch that either.
I have to agree with Ray T’s comments regarding the post-race broadcast here in the U.S. I truly felt bad for Dan Wheldon’s widow. The lines were definitely blurred by ABC and perhaps the IMS.
A slight feeling of anticlimax after seeing all those possible contenders lining up near the end – Sato, Kanaan, Wilson, Carpenter, Servia… and another win for the red cars. Had Sato’s spin taken them both out and gifted Kanaan the win the noise from that crowd would’ve been something to hear.
Felt sorry for Sato because he had such a good run going there, and nailed Dixon fair and square, and only needed a little more momentum to win the corner. Still ‘you gotta be in it to win it’ and Franchitti certainly earned it once it again, even if he had the luck to not be damaged by Viso hitting him earlier and more luck to be missed by Sato spinning.
The greatest relief is that after all the fallout last October Indycar racing managed to avoid any more calamity. The news media loves a narrative to run with and all the ‘dangerous Indycar racing’ talk would have been resurrected had Conway’s car hit the roll hoop on the fence or that loose wheel hit Castroneves in the head.
And hopefully Penske will stop his pouting and realise that the series needs some engine competition.
AJ: ditto on the “in it to win it.” There is an advantage to being out front when it really matters. Dario had point and it was up to somebody else to take the prize from him. Didn’t happen!
As far as vocal crowd support for TK, I think back to 1989 and the crowd on their feet, willing on Little Al. Yesterday, TK would have been King for sure, if only…..
It was a good race, but… Is it just me or did the Indianapolis 500 just become an open-wheel version of NASCAR’s Daytona and Talledega “plate racing”?
Nice guys do win!! And three times at that, I must say I was a little dubious about his Motorsport Hall of Fame induction, but ok the guy has done good!
I agree with Ray T about Dario Franchitti’s “stealth” moves, appearing clean but nonetheless dirty driving.
I was at Long Beach, where Franchitti had a choice in the first turn and chose to gently tap Josef Newgarden into the tire barrier rather than race cleanly.
Franchitti is talented enough to use subtle moves to achieve an unsporting advantage and have it appear otherwise.
For all you fans out there that are critical of Franchitti’s lack of providing an opening for Sato to cruise through, remember this was the last lap of the Indy 500. Sato could’ve waited for the backstretch and probably would’ve won the race. Only one result would have been better and that would’ve been for Kanaan to win. Great race, good move by Sato (would have been great had it worked), great ending. Long live the Indy 500!!!
Two guys racing… I think Dario would have had the inside covered until the flag, and personally i couldn’t see how Sato would get around the outside of him. For my money, he had to have a go at the first shot he got and he did, and if the Dixon move worked once… Dario wasn’t obliged to leave any more room than he actually did, although under different circumstances it could have cost him the race. Both took their own gambles, and only one of them paid out – i can’t blame either for doing it. Two guys racing.
Loved Sato and TK for at least taking it to the Ganassi boys (wouldn’t it be great for racing generally if TK actually won the thing?), but ultimately, the best on the day won. Shame there wasn’t that much mainstream media attention in Britain for what’s a great sporting achievement. Again.