Franchitti won not by having the best car, but by having the best luck and the best pit strategy. When a full-course caution on lap 169 brought everyone into the pits, the Target-Ganassi crew laid out four tires, like everybody else, but it was a feint. They just gave their driver a splash of fuel, getting Franchitti back on the track ahead of the pack.
That gamble would not have been enough by itself, but fate, in the form of a faulty fuel hose, afflicted points leader Will Power. As Power left the pits, his crew radioed to him that he might not have enough fuel to finish. By the time the crew realized the fuel hose might have malfunctioned, the track was about to go green and the crew opted not to call him back in for another attempt.
Fortunately for Franchitti, the Penske crew’s worries were well founded. Five laps from the end of the race, Power was forced to pit for fuel, dropping him from third to 16th, earning only 14 points.
Power had the slight consolation that Franchitti had not gotten the bonus points for winning pole and leading the most laps; Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe earned those honors. Still, the points swing at 36, was about as bad as could be.
Power has the added consolation of knowing that he can no longer be considered just a road-racer. Power led a few laps and ran up front all night long. For a few more gallons of fuel he would have been top three and fighting for the win. Dario Franchitti’s perceived advantage as an oval master has evaporated; Power is a threat to win on any IndyCar track.
The next race at Kentucky is on an identical banked 1.5-mile oval. If the Penske cars once again run better than the Ganassi cars, and if fate chooses not to intervene on the side of Franchitti, Power could again pad his lead to comfortable proportions. But as Chicagoland shows, Power’s season-long dominance has not yet earned him safety.
The 2010 IndyCar championship could well come down to the season closer at Homestead—where Franchitti’s luck and pit strategy gave him a surprise victory over the faster Scott Dixon and Ryan Briscoe, gaining Franchitti the 2009 IndyCar Championship.
Wheldon, Andretti Shine
The 2005 Indy 500 winner raced for Andretti-Green (now Andretti Autosports,” and then Target-Ganassi Racing. His return to tiny Panther Racing, the team which gave him his IndyCar start, confused many. Perhaps he hoped to find some happiness there, and perhaps this latest result will being him a measure.
Andretti Autosports, once one of the “Big Three” with Penske and Gansassi, has fallen to be “one of the rest,” and the 2010 season has been their most dismal. Yet the team, led surprisingly by Marco Andretti, finished with three cars in the top five. Andretti finished third, followed by teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay and former champion Tony Kanaan. Perhaps they have found some remnant of their former driving and engineering skill, and can start to turn things around in the final three races.
As with Dan Wheldon, the AA team has talent, proven by past results (except in the case of Marco Andretti who has run well in several races but doesn’t yet have many wins to his name.) Perhaps Chicagoland will be the first step of their comeback.
Whatever magic Panther and AA found for Chicagoland, it ought to transfer will to the next race at Kentucky, which is another banked, 1.5-mile oval.
The 2009 Kentucky Meijer Indy 300 boasted the sport’s 7th-closet finish as Ryan Briscoe edged Ed Carpenter at the line by a mere .0162 seconds. The 2010 race should be just as exciting.
The 2010 Kentucky Meijer Indy 300 starts at 8 p.m. EDT on Satruday, September 4. Tickets are available through the Kentucky Speedway Tickets web page.
The race will be broadcast live in the United States on Versus-TV.
| 2010 IZOD IndyCar Points Standings | |||
|
| Driver | Points | Gap |
| 1 | Will Power | 528 |
|
| 2 | Dario Franchitti | 505 | -23 |
| 3 | Scott Dixon | 443 | -85 |
| 4 | Ryan Briscoe | 406 | -122 |
| 5 | Helio Castroneves | 398 | -130 |
| 6 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 392 | -136 |
| 7 | Tony Kanaan | 360 | -168 |
| 8 | Marco Andretti | 319 | -209 |
| 9 | Justin Wilson | 316 | -212 |
| 10 | Dan Wheldon | 309 | -219 |
| Peak Antifreeze and Motor Oil Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway | ||||||
|
| # | Name | Laps | Gap | Diff | Status |
| 1 | 10 | Dario Franchitti | 200 | --.---- | --.---- | Running |
| 2 | 4 | Dan Wheldon | 200 | 0.0423 | 0.0423 | Running |
| 3 | 26 | Marco Andretti | 200 | 0.0628 | 0.1051 | Running |
| 4 | 37 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 200 | 0.0580 | 0.1631 | Running |
| 5 | 11 | Tony Kanaan | 200 | 0.1777 | 0.3408 | Running |
| 6 | 3 | Helio Castroneves | 200 | 0.1460 | 0.4868 | Running |
| 7 | 22 | Justin Wilson | 200 | 0.1085 | 0.5953 | Running |
| 8 | 9 | Scott Dixon | 200 | 0.3184 | 0.9137 | Running |
| 9 | 14 | Vitor Meira | 200 | 0.0451 | 0.9588 | Running |
| 10 | 02 | Graham Rahal | 200 | 0.0253 | 0.9841 | Running |
| 11 | 6 | Ryan Briscoe | 200 | 0.0344 | 1.0185 | Running |
| 12 | 34 | Bertrand Baguette | 200 | 0.0648 | 1.0833 | Running |
| 13 | 06 | Hideki Mutoh | 200 | 0.2209 | 1.3042 | Running |
| 14 | 7 | Danica Patrick | 200 | 0.2616 | 1.5658 | Running |
| 15 | 67 | Sarah Fisher | 199 | 1 lap | 1 lap | Running |
| 16 | 12 | Will Power | 199 | 6.5685 | 6.5685 | Running |
| 17 | 32 | Mario Moraes | 199 | 3.0108 | 9.5793 | Running |
| 18 | 21 | Davey Hamilton | 199 | 0.1683 | 9.7476 | Running |
| 19 | 18 | Milka Duno | 197 | 2 laps | 3 laps | Running |
| 20 | 20 | Ed Carpenter | 179 | 18 laps | 21 laps | Mechanical |
| 21 | 66 | Jay Howard | 162 | 17 laps | 38 laps | Mechanical |
| 22 | 19 | Alex Lloyd | 162 | 8:06.4279 | 8:06.4279 | Running |
| 23 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | 150 | 12 laps | 50 laps | Mechanical |
| 24 | 24 | Ana Beatriz | 88 | 62 laps | 112 laps | Mechanical |
| 25 | 77 | Alex Tagliani | 85 | 3 laps | 115 laps | Contact |
| 26 | 5 | Takuma Sato | 80 | 5 laps | 120 laps | Contact |
| 27 | 8 | EJ Viso | 80 | 0.7097 | 0.7097 | Contact |
| 28 | 36 | Tomas Scheckter | 4 | 76 laps | 196 laps | Contact |
| 29 | 2 | Raphael Matos | 4 | 0.3097 | 0.3097 | Contact |
