----It wasn't a classic race in the sense of dramatic passes and exciting on-track action, but after 85 laps on the 2.2-mile Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course, Target Chip Ganassi driver Dario Franchitti added more weight to Chip Ganassi's trophy case for the weekend after leading home Team Penske's Will Power.
With most of the passing happening in the pits, the Scot overtook Power on the first stop as the two streaked towards pit-out. After nosing ahead at the line, the two-time Indy 500 winner was never seriously challenged for the lead, crossing the start/finish line 0.5234 ahead of the Aussie. With his runner-up finish, Power clinched the inaugural Mario Andretti Road Championship Trophy.
"It's fantastic," Power said. "[I've] got a Mario Andretti trophy, fantastic, one of the best IndyCar racers of all time but we're going for that world championship. You know we couldn't get Dario today but I gave everything I got, but yeah it was still a strong day. He got us in the pits and we couldn't get him back, and I was hoping to get a lap longer than him, get him on the next stop, but couldn't get him, he didn't make a mistake and I couldn't get by."
For team owner Ganassi, Franchitti's win made for a clean sweep of racing activities over the weekend, as Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas kicked things off with a win during Saturday's GRAND-AM Rolex Series race at Watkins Glen.
Juan Pablo Montoya took the NASCAR Sprint Cup win at The Glen while the IndyCar race was at half distance, and the team capped off a perfect two days of competition with Franchitti's second win of the season, also his 25th open-wheel victory.
“I don't distinguish between one [win] or the other,” he said, “to win 25 I'm quite surprised by that, that we got there and I'm really proud and it's a lot to do with driving great equipment throughout my career and I couldn't be happier to be part of Team Target. That first pit stop today, that won us the race. So it's good we [won] for Team Target and Chip Ganassi; Montoya won one, and one in the GRAND-AM race last night...so in Scotland, that's what we call a hat trick!”
Helio Castroneves was almost as strong as he'd been at Edmonton, keeping the rest of the runners at bay to finish third, albeit 3.5649 seconds behind his teammate Power. A gamble on strategy by Rob Edwards boosted Alex Tagliani's chances, as the only owner/driver in the field let a significant portion of the race before finishing fourth. Franchitti's teammate, Scott Dixon, was one of few drivers to make meaningful passes on the track, and vaulted himself up to fifth at the checkered flag ahead of Ryan Briscoe. The Kiwi, rather nonplussed at his result, said "We had a pretty good run go, a solid 3rd place car. We tried a few things strategy wise, but 5th place wasn't too bad in the end."
Briscoe's chance at victory, like he'd encountered at Edmonton two weeks ago, was hampered by early contact. This time it came in the form of a three-way shunt involving his teammate, Helio Castroneves, and Ryan Hunter-Reay as the trio rocketed out of their pit stalls.
With the tighter Mid-Ohio pit boxes -- shortened to accommodate a 27th car -- the three drivers launched for the same piece of track, with RHR pushing Castroneves into the outside pit wall while Briscoe hit RHR's left front suspension. The Aussie suffered a cut tire and would eventually finish sixth while the American returned to the pits to replace a bent a-arm, dropping him to the back of the cars on the lead lap.
The IZOD-sponsored driver went from the lead pack to having to make up more than 20 positions to regain what he'd lost in the incident. He'd claw his way back up to 10th, passing three of his five teammates in the process, with only Marco Andretti ahead of him in ninth, .8104 up the road. With the amount of ground he had to reclaim on a track where passing is nearly impossible, RHR's performance once again stood out as the best of the Andretti Autosport camp.
Another driver on the charge in the final laps was de Ferran Dragon's Rafa Matos, who overtook Andretti and Simona De Silvestro to finish seventh. The young Brazilian is finally starting to deliver on his potential, executing a fast and clean race without making any of the desperate moves that usually ended his day in tears.
Behind Matos, Simona De Silvestro made up for the result that was lost at Edmonton when her fuel pump seized with a strong finish in sight. After running in the shadow of Briscoe towards the end of the race, and while on Firestone Blacks, the Swiss rookie conceded spots to Dixon and Matos, settling for a still impressive eighth-place result.
With Andretti in ninth and Hunter-Reay in 10th, another rookie gave a strong showing as Belgium's Bertrand Baguette gave every indication that he's gotten the hang of an IndyCar on the road and street courses, placing 11th for Eric Bachelart's Conquest Racing outfit. Behind Baguette, the rest of the finishers had little or no impact on the race, with exception to those who spun, crashed or got in the way of the leaders.
Tony Kanaan's day went awry on the opening lap after a trip across the grass dropped him to last. An alternate pit strategy failed to get the 2004 Series champion's race back in order. He'd eventually finish 17th. Teammate Adam Carroll, highly impressive during his debut at Watkins Glen, never factored, coming home 19th. The fifth and final member of the Andretti Autosport clan, Danica Patrick, did another disappearing act, earning more camera time for her TV commercials than for her on-track performance. The IZOD IndyCar Series' most popular driver finished 21st, the final pilot on the lead lap.
Graham Rahal's unsuccessful overtaking attempt on Dan Wheldon sent the NTB-sponsored driver lightly into the tire wall at the Keyhole, dropping the Newman/Haas driver back in the field. He'd rejoin the race, but would finish 20th.
Of the two rookies making their first series start, 2009 Indy Lights champion J.R. Hildebrand had an eventful day as the Dreyer & Reinbold driver ran in and out of the top-20, settling for 16th after an almost error-free race. Italy's Francesco Dracone, on the other hand, lived up to his reputation, causing two separate yellows for back-to-back spins. He would finish three laps down in 22nd, one spot ahead of his inspiration, Milka Duno.
Duno, as shown repeatedly by the television cameras, wandered aimlessly and off the pace for the majority of the afternoon, blocking the leaders and almost taking out Danica Patrick. Beyond being placed on probation, the Venezuelan driver's total lack of situational awareness continues to serve as a public embarrassment for the IZOD IndyCar Series.
(Mod's note.......back in the late 90's CART pulled the licence of Shigeaki Hattori for similar trouble; why they haven't done so to Duno is a mystery to me.........)
After running in third, Takuma Sato threw away his best performance to date by out-braking himself at the end of the back straight, nosing into the tires and ending his day on Lap 57. The only other major crashers of the day came in the form of Justin Wilson and EJ Viso. Viso, for once, wasn't at fault, as the Briton failed to draw far enough alongside the KV Racing driver, hitting Viso's right rear wheel with his left front. Both were out on the spot.
For the defending series champion, earning just his second win of the year with twelve races in the books has been a bit surprising, but with the victory at Mid-Ohio, Franchitti closed the points gap to 41 behind Power. The championship is far from decided, but as long as Will Power can stay close to the leaders for the remaining races, his Team Penske teammates and the Target Chip Ganassi duo will have to work miracles to take the Verizon Wireless driver out of contention for his first IZOD IndyCar title.
Top-10 from Mid-Ohio
1} #10 Dario Franchitti, 85 laps
2} #12 Will Power, -0.523 sec
3} #3 Helio Castroneves, -4.088 sec
4} #77 Alex Tagliani, -5.642 sec
5} #9 Scott Dixon, -5.915 sec
6} #6 Ryan Briscoe, -6.510 sec
7} #2 Raphael Matos, -6.752 sec
8}(R)#78 Simona de Silvestro, -10.145 sec
9} #26 Marco Andretti, -10.955 sec
10} #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay, -13.234 sec