Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Dario Franchitti has won his third IZOD IndyCar Series championship in as many seasons by finishing eighth in the Cafes do Brasil Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway — which was won by his TCGR teammate Scott Dixon.
Will Power entered the night with an 11 point lead on Franchitti, but on Lap 134, he whitewalled his No. 12 Verizon Team Penske machine in between Turns 3 and 4 to bend the right rear suspension on the machine. The car was taken back behind pit wall twice for the crew to try and fix the problem before word came that Power was done for the night. He finished 25th.
That left Franchitti to try and cruise to Victory Lane, which he accomplished despite Milka Duno wrecking in front of him with 25 laps to go. Franchitti won the championship by five points.
Andretti Autosport teammates Danica Patrick and Tony Kanaan engaged in a spirited duel for second in the final laps before Patrick beat Kanaan to the stripe for the runner-up spot. Ryan Briscoe finished fourth and Helio Castroneves rounded out the top five.
A full recap will come later tonight/tomorrow morning here on IndyRacingRevolution.com!
