Franchitti Wins as all is not quiet at Mid Ohio
by Gary Becker
Sports Car Illustrated
After all the nonsense that made the Edmonton event more circus than race, it was good to see a Mid Ohio event that turned out to be all race and no circus. Well, almost.
The green flag fell on a field led by two of the usual suspects, Will Power and Dario Franchitti, followed by an ever increasingly impressive Takuma Sato. Power took the lead into the first turn followed by Sato and Franchitti. Tony Kanaan took a first lap off track excursion which for the most part ended his day as far as threat to win the race.
Sato was able to hold off Franchitti until the fourth lap when the Scot passed Sato pushing Sato back to third. On lap ten it was Power, Franchitti, Sato, Scott Dixon and Ryan Hunter-Reay.
On lap 23 Justin Wilson and E J Viso tried to put their cars in the same place at the same time going into turn four taking both out of the race and causing a full course yellow. A mild case of finger pointing occurred afterwards but nothing serious.
The field began their first round of pit stops and the tight confines of the Mid Ohio pit lane which took its toll as Hunter-Reay and Helio Castroneves got into each other as they both tried to exit pit lane. Castroneves went about his way unharmed; however Hunter-Reay suffered suspension damage and needed to pit again to receive repairs. Hunter-Reay fell to the back of the pack and was forced to fight his way through the field. After the race Hunter-Reay blamed Castroneves for not giving Hunter-Reay room. Castroneves knowing he is under probation for his anger management problems a Edmonton said little about the incident.
When the green flag once again shown on lap 29, Alex Tagliani with a pit earlier than the rest of the field strategy, was first followed by Kannan through the benefit of pitting earlier after his first lap off track field trip, Franchitti and Power. Sato fell to ninth after his crew experienced refueling problems during his pit stop.
Sato’s problem’s got much worse when he went off course and hit the tire wall in turn four after trying to pass Scott Dixon. Saato apparently forgot he was on cold tires and brakes.
On lap 35 it was Tagliani, Kanaan, Franchitti, Power and Castroneves.
Kannan fell to rear when he pitted on lap 44.
The leaders pitted again on Lap 56 through 60 assuring all of them plenty of fuel to finish the race. The big excitement of the final round of pit stop occurred when Milka Duno nearly took Power out while both went through the carousal. Milka also had a moment or two with Danica Patrick. When Is IndyCar going to rid us of this menace?
The final laps of the race were uneventful except for a few futile attempts by Power to pass Franchitti. When the checkered waved it was Franchitti, Power, Castroneves, Tagliani, Dixon and Briscoe.
| Race Results: | ||||||
| Fn. | St. | Driver | Team | Engine/Chassis | Laps | Average Speed/Notes |
| 1. | 2. | Dario Franchitti | Target Chip Ganassi | Honda Dallara | 85 | 100.542 mph avg.; led 29 laps |
| 2. | 1. | Will Power | Team Penske | Honda Dallara | 85 | -0.5234 seconds; led 25 laps |
| 3. | 6. | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | Honda Dallara | 85 | -4.0883 seconds |
| 4. | 14. | Alex Tagliani | FAZZT Racing | Honda Dallara | 86 | -5.6423 seconds; led 30 laps |
| 5. | 5. | Scott Dixon | Target Chip Ganassi | Honda Dallara | 85 | -5.9150 seconds |
| 6. | 7. | Ryan Briscoe | Team Penske | Honda Dallara | 85 | -6.5100 seconds |
| 7. | 19. | Raphael Matos | de Ferran Dragon Racing | Honda Dallara | 85 | -6.7518 seconds |
| 8. | 10. | Simona de Silvestro | HVM Racing | Honda Dallara | 85 | -10.1451 seconds |
| 9. | 9. | Marco Andretti | Andretti Autosport | Honda Dallara | 85 | -10.9555 seconds |
| 10. | 4. | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | Honda Dallara | 85 | -13.2344 seconds; led 1 lap |
| 11. | 15. | Bertrand Baguette-R | Conquest Racing | Honda Dallara | 85 | -14.8250 seconds |
| 12. | 16. | Mario Moraes | KV Racing Technology | Honda Dallara | 85 | -16.0461 seconds |
| 13. | 21. | Alex Lloyd | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda Dallara | 85 | -16.5570 seconds |
| 14. | 13. | Dan Wheldon | Panther Racing | Honda Dallara | 85 | -19.3518 seconds |
| 15. | 24. | Vitor Meira | A.J. Foyt Racing | Honda Dallara | 85 | -20.0782 seconds |
| 16. | 18. | JR Hildebrand | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Honda Dallara | 85 | -20.2169 seconds |
| 17. | 20. | Tony Kanaan | Andretti Autosport | Honda Dallara | 85 | -25.4286 seconds |
| 18. | 17. | Adam Carroll | AFS/Andretti Autosport | Honda Dallara | 85 | -26.5918 seconds |
| 19. | 12. | Hideki Mutoh | Newman Haas Racing | Honda Dallara | 85 | -27.3302 seconds |
| 20. | 26. | Graham Rahal | Newman Haas Racing | Honda Dallara | 85 | -27.6341 seconds |
| 21. | 22. | Danica Patrick | Andretti Autosport | Honda Dallara | 85 | -28.2099 seconds |
| 22. | 23. | Francesco Dracone | Conquest Racing | Honda Dallara | 82 | Running |
| 23. | 25. | Milka Duno | Dale Coyne Racing | Honda Dallara | 81 | Running |
| 24. | 27. | Jay Howard | Sarah Fisher Racing | Honda Dallara | 37 | Did not finish - contact |
| 25. | 3. | Takuma Sato | KV Racing Technology | Honda Dallara | 28 | Did not finish - crash |
| 26. | 8. | E.J. Viso | KV Racing Technology | Honda Dallara | 22 | Did not finish - crash |
| 27. | 11. | Justin Wilson | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Honda Dallara | 22 | Did not finish - crash |
Home | Automotive News | Features | Formula One | Indy Car | Sports Car | NASCAR | Photographs
Videos | Sports Cars For Sale | Schedules | Links | Archives | Contact Us
© 2010 Sports Car Illustrated Inc.
Treasure Island, Florida