Andretti Grenn’s Dario Franchitti took first place in a rain-soaked Indianapolis 500. There were accidents aplenty, one of which affected South African Tomas Scheckter, who finished seventh.
Dario Franchitti of the Andretti Green Racing team won an eventful Indianapolis 500 on Sunday which included a three-hour rain delay, 24 lead changes amongst nine different drivers, 11 cautions, one penalty and just 166 laps as rain returned late in the day.
The win was the Scot’s first Indianapolis 500 victory.
“I can hardly believe it,” Franchitti said after the race. “Who would have thought it?”
Franchitti won the race under a yellow flag brought about by Marco Andretti’s late-race accident. The 20 year-old collided with another car in the Brickyard’s back straight and rolled for one hundred yards or more along the grass, bringing out a full caution on lap 163. Andretti underwent a medical checkup and was released from the Clarian infield hospital within minutes of the accident.
Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon took second as torrential rain poured down in on lap 166 onto the 2,5 mile oval.
“It was a strange day today,” said Dixon. “We were doing good at one point and then the rain came, the track lost grip and we were really bad in traffic…We had crash after crash, and obviously it rained twice. That’s not what people want to see in this race.”
Helio Castroneves of Team Penske came in third, having recovered from a couple of mishaps early in the race… A failed battery during the parade lap and a fuel nozzle glitch placed him well back in the field.
Last year’s winner, Sam Hornish Jr. took fourth place despite a mid-race tangle with Vision Racing’s Tomas Scheckter. Scheckter tried to pass Hornish’s car to take second position, but the American appear to squeeze the South African’s car into the pit wall. The ensuing collision caused damage to both drivers’ cars.
Scheckter started tenth for the third time at Indianapolis in six attempts and was running third at the time of the collision. Hornish suffered a deflated left rear tyre, which promoted Scheckter to second position for a lap, but the Capetonian had to make a pit stop so his team could fit a new front wing to his car.
The accidents came thick and fast throughout the race with Venezuelan Milka Duno colliding with the wall on lap 66. Roberto Moreno, Jon Herb, John Andretti and Phil Giebler also also fell foul of the tricky conditions and intense competition. Even the pit crew chalked up an injury as a car clipped the ankle of Al Unser Jr. crew member Dan Brown.
Despite the dismal weather, the unofficial attendance for the race was estimated to be in excess of three hundred thousand. A track official commented that the Speedway sold more tickets to the 500 this year than it has pre-sold to the NASCAR race later this year.
Scheckter’s eventual seventh place finish allows him to remain seventh in the IndyCar Series championship point standings.
For the winners video Click here.