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"The Milwaukee Mile Has it All, Big Time Races and Small
Town Friendly Manners....it doesn't get better than that." OPJ
© Oak Park Journal photos
Dan Peters Sports Editor
Car Racing Writer
Oak Park Journal
Dario Franchitti Holds off Rice to claim first Indy Racing League Win in Milwaukee
by Dan Peters
Oak Park Journal
West Allis Wisconsin.. In front of 37,821 race fans & nearly a cloudless sky, Scottish driver Dario Franchetti held off Indy 500 winner Buddy Rice to earn his first IRL Indy Car Win at the legendary Milwaukee Mile. Franchetti took the lead from Penske driver Sam Hornish, Jr on lap 155... and never looked back. A late race caution bunched the field when Jaques Lazier made contact into the turn 2 wall. Rice had no time to catch Dario. he cruised to a .6590 second victory... a wide margin compared to some of the earlier IRL races this season.
As is typical when a driver earns his first win.. Franchitti stopped his car on the main stretch near the start/finish line and began doing some victory "Donuts" needless to say, he stalled his car and his crew had to push his car into victory lane. Wife Ashley Judd & Car owner Michael Andretti and teammate Bryan Herta were there to greet the 1st time winner.
Franchitti became the fifth winner in the IndyCar Series this year, joining his teammates Tony Kanaan and Dan Wheldon, plus two-time race winner Buddy Rice, and Sam Hornish, Jr, who won the season-opening event at Homestead in Miami.
Winning car owner Michael Andretti was very pleased with Franchitti's performance, as there was no doubt in the owners mind about his drive to win.
"It's funny," Andretti said after the race. "I went through (some second-guessing by others as a driver) a lot in my career. It's just so funny to listen to people. Never once did we ever think that Dario's heart wasn't in it. I mean, this guy has been giving everything since he got back in the car. He's contributed so much for the team.
"There were so many races that nobody knew that he had a winning car, but he just didn't get the luck to get it done. You know, I'm so happy that he was actually able to finally get it done. To do it here in Milwaukee was special, as well," Andretti said.
As a driver, Andretti raced to five wins in open wheel competition, with an impressive 13 top-five finishes in 18 starts."I thought we had the car today to beat (Rice)," said Franchitti, who is one of four Andretti Green Racing drivers. "I just wanted to make sure I got that last restart right, and we did. The car was fantastic all day. It went off a bit as the run went on, but not as much as other people. I think the engineers got it right. Nothing went wrong today."
Andretti said of the 100 year old Mile oval. "I really love this track, you know," he said. "It's a driver's track. There's something about getting the car to handle. Dario knows what it takes to
get a good race car. Because of that, it paid off at a place like this. This place is all about handling."
Buddy Rice has been perfect since winning the Indy 500, and with his second place finish, moves him to second in points to Tony Kanaan, Franchitti's teammate.
"Almost all the short tracks we go to are very unique," Rice related. "And I think that's what's good. Because sometimes we go to all the mile-and-a-halfs, and it gets to be it's just a chess game, running in big packs.
"When you go to those small ovals, there's a lot more it takes to be with the driver and the engineer and the whole setup and the package because it's such a handling track. So I think it's good we come to these mile tracks. Sometimes it separates some groups, and I think it's good.
"Coming here with it being such a flat track, once again it's got its own little nuances in the ways you have to set the car up. I think some of the benefit definitely comes from running the (Toyota) Atlantic Series for three years here was also a benefit to me. I knew a little how the track was going to change and what to do for later in the race," Rice said.
Driver & 1999 Indy 500 Champion Kenny Brack was on hand this weekend to support his team. He hopes to get back to racing later this year, but long rehabilitation has made it a slow process to get into the driver's seat.
Franchitti earned $107,900 in his first series victory. His season best had been a second-place finish at Texas Motor Speedway in June. Joining Bryan Herta's win in relief of Franchitti last season, now all four Andretti Green teammates are race winners in the IndyCar Series.
Finishing third, and recording his second-straight podium position, was Sam Hornish. "It's a fun racetrack, but it really gets kind of -- you know, you've got to let the car hang out a little bit and slide. Sometimes that's a little bit nerve-wracking to drive the car. That's about how the last 60 laps were for us," the Scottsman said.
"You know, we are working away at it, trying to find a little more each time we go out on the racetrack," the Toyota-powered driver shared. "We're not quite there yet, but we feel comfortable. We finished second last weekend, we wanted to move it up one position. Instead we came down. We'll keep working away at it and see if we get a little bit better."
A J Foyt allows race to be named after him... Usually after a legend dies.. but not this time.
Foyt said, "I'm setting a precedent because most times when you name a race after someone, it's usually after they've passed away!"
Foyt gave the start command from his pit box... typical of the Texan.. Who always puts his racing team first. Unfortunately, The Foyt Racing Team didn't have a day to remember, as A. J. Foyt IV made wall contact early in the race and soldiered on to finish 16th.
Defending IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon did not compete in Sunday's Menards A. J. Foyt Indy 225 on the advice of Dr. Henry Bock, IRL senior director of medical services.
Dixon sustained a chipped bone in his right thumb and a severely sprained left ankle in a pair of accidents on July 24, one during qualifying. He also spun his Target machine during final practice Sunday morning. Dixon, who is currently sixth in IndyCar Series points, qualified 14th and will be credited with a 22nd-place finish. Teammate Darren Manning also had an off day when an accident took him out of contention today.
An interesting item from Sunday...
The "Sausages" again made their appearance at the mile before the start of the IRL race. The sausages have become very popular in the Milwaukee area, making appearances in the Nascar Races in June as well at many baseball games at nearby Miller Park.
1. (7) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 225, $107,900
2. (3) Buddy Rice, Panoz G Force-Honda,225,$82,900
3. (4) Sam Hornish Jr., Dallara-Toyota, 225, $69,600
4. (2) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 225, $56,500
5. (1) Vitor Meira, Panoz G Force-Honda, $61,600
6. (12) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Chevrolet, 225, $45,600
7. (15) Alex Barron, Dallara-Chevrolet, 225, $46,400
8. (6) Adrián Fernández, Panoz G Force-Honda, 224, $45,300
9. (11) Bryan Herta, Dallara-Honda, 224, $43,300
10. (20) Kosuke Matsuura, Panoz G Force-Honda, 223, $42,000
11. (14) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevrolet, 223, $40,800
12. (5) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Toyota, 222, $49,600
13. (13) Felipe Giaffone, Dallara-Chevrolet, 221, $39,500
14. (16) Mark Taylor, Panoz G Force-Honda, 221, $37,100
15. (19) Scott Sharp, Dallara-Toyota, 218, $36,500
16. (18) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Toyota, 214, $34,900
17. (9) Jaques Lazier, Dallara-Chevrolet, 205, Accident, $33,600
18. (21) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 147, Mechanical, $33,600
19. (10) Darren Manning, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 143, Accident, $32,400
20. (17) Tora Takagi, Dallara-Toyota, 110, Electrical, $31,800
21. (8) Tomas Scheckter, Dallara-Chevrolet, 32, Gearbox, $31,300
22. (22) Scott Dixon, Panoz G Force-Toyota, 0, Did not start, $31,300
Race Statistics
Winner's average speed: 128.272 mph
Time of race: 1:46:49.4110
Margin of victory: 0.6590 of a second.
Cautions: 5 for 39 laps.
Lead changes: 8 among 5 drivers.
Lap leaders: 1-16 Kanaan, 17-42 Hornish, 43-80 Herta, 81-105 Castroneves, 106-113 Franchitti, 114 Castroneves, 115-146 Franchitti, 147-154 Hornish, 155-225 Franchitti.
Point standings: Kanaan 357, Rice 293, Wheldon 276, Castroneves 260, Hornish 235, Franchitti 226, Dixon 200, Meira 200, Manning 199, Herta 199.
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© Oak Park Journal photo
