Franchitti makes it first in exiciting Indy 500 fnish
Regional Sports-- Dario Franchitti overcame adversity to win Sunday's Indianapolis 500 for the third time in his already illustrious racing career.
Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Dario Franchitti overcame adversity to win Sunday's Indianapolis 500 for the third time in his already illustrious racing career.
Franchitti, the three-time defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion, bounced back from an early-race pit-road mishap when E.J. Viso bumped Franchitti from behind and spun him around in his pit stall. The Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver suffered a damaged front nose and fell back to 28th in the field.
But Franchitti made his way to the front before battling for the lead with his teammate, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan and Takuma Sato multiple times in the late- stages of this race that featured a record 34 lead changes among 10 drivers.
Franchitti grabbed the lead for good with less than two laps remaining, while Sato moved ahead of Dixon for second. On the final lap, Sato made contact with Franchitti and spun into the wall between turns one and two, ending the race under caution.
Franchitti became the seventh different driver to win the historic 500-mile race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway three or more times. He dedicated his victory to the late-Dan Wheldon, who won the Indy 500 last year after taking the lead from then-rookie J.R. Hildebrand when Hildebrand crashed coming out of the final turn on the last lap.
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