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Video credit: Indy Racing League.
After Saturday’s IZOD IndyCar Series qualifying session at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Dario Franchitti spoke of his current battle for the championship with Team Penske. While he dismissed the idea that it was desperation time, he made it clear that finishing behind Power was no longer an option.
“It’s all about us executing every week,” Franchitti said. “With the lead that Will’s got, if he does that, then he’s looking good. Our job is to get out there and beat him, beat him every race from now on.”
The two-time Indy 500 winner took care of that on Sunday, beating Power to the checkered flag by .5234 of a second in the Honda Indy 200. Franchitti’s second victory of the season also brings him within 41 points of Power as the series heads for the final road course event of the season at Infineon Raceway (Aug. 22, 5 p.m. ET, Versus).
Franchitti assumed the lead after Alex Tagliani pitted on Lap 56 for tires and fuel, then managed to beat Power out of pit road following their stops on Lap 60. Ryan Hunter-Reay pitted one lap later, which gave the lead back to Franchitti. He kept it for good and went on to notch his 25th victory in Indy Racing League and Champ Car competition.
And so, the championship remains up for grabs with five races left in the campaign.
“You can only do your best,” Franchitti said on Sunday. “We all want to win the championship…The only way we know how to do that is to do our best. If we can get it all together and we can start winning races, it’s going to make our job a lot easier. We’ve got to put pressure on Will…Watkins Glen, Toronto, Edmonton, we finished on the podium every time, but Will was always a place ahead.
“That wasn’t in our plan, wasn’t helping us win the championship. Then we look back at Iowa when we were leading the race and had that gearbox failure. You know, we’re still a fair bit behind, but it’s definitely doable. We’ll keep fighting.”
As for Power, he managed to wrap up the Mario Andretti Trophy as the series’ top road/street course driver in 2010. But the Australian has been aiming for a bigger prize — the overall series crown.
Unable to get ahead of Franchitti on pit road or get a decent passing opportunity on him, Power said his only chance was to try and induce the Scotsman into making an error.
I was trying really hard at the end to make him make a mistake, letting him see me in his mirrors, letting him know if he made one little slip-up, I’m going to get him,” he said. “That was the only way I was going to get by.”
Both men seemed to key on the first pit stop of the afternoon as the turning point of the race. Following a full course caution on Lap 23, the leaders came down Mid-Ohio’s notoriously tight pit road and made their stops on Lap 25. Tagliani and Tony Kanaan stayed on the track, but Franchitti managed to beat Power and Ryan Briscoe out of the pits.
“I drove every lap like it was a qualifying lap today, whether I was behind Will or ahead of Will,” said Franchitti. “But the key was that first pit stop by the Target boys to get me out ahead, especially a 35-foot pit box. It’s the tightest we run. In practice, we couldn’t get the [car] out of the box with Will parked in his, or get it in properly.
“But when the race win was on the line, it didn’t seem quite as difficult and managed to pass him. I think that was the key today, because we were incredibly evenly matched on the track.”
Power said he “couldn’t do anything” about the first pit stop.
“Obviously, [Franchitti’s crew] did a really good stop,” he said. “Initially, I thought they might have short-filled some. I’m not sure. He pitted on the same lap after that.”
From there, Franchitti was able to stay in front of his title nemesis. And now, with just a handful of races to go — including a season-ending stretch of four ovals that could be problematic for Power, who’s still evolving a bit on those tracks — there’s a singular goal for both of them now: Beat the other one.
“We got our sights set on winning the overall championship,” said Power. “That’s what I’ve been aiming for all year. I mean, can’t have Dario beating us if we’re going to do that.”
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IZOD IndyCar Series
Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
Final results
(Car #-Driver, Team, Deficit)
1. 10-Dario Franchitti, Ganassi, avg. speed of 100.542 m.p.h.
2. 12-Will Power, Penske, -.5234 of a second
3. 3-Helio Castroneves, Penske, -4.0883 seconds.
4. 77-Alex Tagliani, FAZZT, -5.6423 seconds.
5. 9-Scott Dixon, Ganassi, -5.9150 seconds.
6. 6-Ryan Briscoe, Ganassi, -6.5100 seconds.
7. 2-Raphael Matos, DFDragon, –6.7518 seconds.
8. 78-Simona de Silvestro, HVM, -10.1451 seconds.
9. 26-Marco Andretti, Andretti, -10.9555 seconds.
10. 37-Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti, -13.2344 seconds.
11. 36-Bertrand Baguette, Conquest, -14.8260 seconds.
12. 32-Mario Moraes, KV Racing Tech., -16.0461 seconds.
13. 19-Alex Lloyd, Coyne, -16.5570 seconds.
14. 4-Dan Wheldon, Panther, -19.3518 seconds.
15. 14-Vitor Meira, Foyt, -20.0782 seconds.
16. 24-J.R. Hildebrand, Dreyer & Reinbold, -20.2169 seconds.
17. 11-Tony Kanaan, Andretti, -25.4286 seconds.
18. 06-Hideki Mutoh, Newman/Haas, -26.5918 seconds.
19. 27-Adam Carroll, Andretti, -27.3302 seconds.
20. 02-Graham Rahal, Newman/Haas, -27.6341 seconds.
21. 7-Danica Patrick, Andretti, -28.2099 seconds.
22. 34-Francesco Dracone, Conquest, -3 laps down.
23. 18-Milka Duno, Coyne, -4 laps down.
24. 66-Jay Howard, Fisher, suspension, Lap 38.
25. 5-Takuma Sato, KV Racing Tech., contact, Lap 28.
26. 8-E.J. Viso, KV Racing Tech., contact, Lap 22.
27. 22-Justin Wilson, Dreyer & Reinbold, contact, Lap 22.
Race Statistics
Time of race: One hour, 54 minutes, 32.2568 seconds; Margin of victory: .5234 of a second; Cautions: Five for 15 laps; Lead changes: Four among four drivers; Lap leaders: Power 1-25, Tagliani 26-55, Franchitti 56-60, Hunter-Reay 61, Franchitti 62-85.
Point Standings
Power 461, Franchitti 420, Dixon 379, Briscoe 352, Castroneves 340, Hunter-Reay 336, Kanaan 304, Andretti 266, Wilson 262, Wheldon 259.
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Quotes used in this article were taken from Sunday’s post-race press conference transcript and trackside report.
