@Speed • Your Interactive News Home

[dave carr]

Many things were in abundance for the 2010 Indianapolis 500: lead changes, cautions, penalties, and even degrees on the thermometer, but winner Dario Franchitti needed to ration every last drop of fuel to hold on for his second Indy win.

“Up until 10 laps to go, I was pretty relaxed,” explained Franchitti, “Then all hell broke loose with the fuel savings and all.”

Franchitti’s Target Chip Ganassi team fueled the red and white #10 for the final time on lap 163 and he rejoined the field in fifth behind Mike Conway, Justin Wilson, Helio Castroneves and Graham Rahal, all of whom elected to stay on the track. Franchitti eventually found himself in the lead when Castroneves pitted for fuel on lap 192, the final car to come in for a splash of fuel of the cars that stayed out. Franchitti then nursed his dwindling fuel to hold evaporating leads first over Tony Kanaan who needed a splash of his own on lap 196 and finally over second place finisher Dan Wheldon.

The race finished under yellow for a scary last-lap crash. Ryan Hunter-Reay’s car ran out of fuel going into turn three and Mike Conway collided with Hunter-Reay’s stricken car. Conway’s car climbed over Hunter-Reay’s rear tire, flipping his car several feet in the air and into the catch fence between turns three and four landing on Hunter-Reay’s car before hitting the track. According to track doctors, Conway suffered a broken left leg and two male spectators were treated for minor injuries after being struck by debris from the crash.

“I’m fine,” said Ryan Hunter-Reay, “It became a fuel race toward the end, and I had no idea how much I had left in the tank. And it came down into turn three and it just died. The car died and that’s when Mike latched over me.”

Franchitti led from the green flag as he passed Team Penske’s Will Power and pole sitter Helio Castroneves on the first lap before the first of nine cautions came out for Davey Hamilton’s crash in turn two. It appeared that Hamilton lost control when he moved up the track to give room to a streaking Tomas Scheckter who had gained six positions in the first half lap.

The National Weather Service reported Sunday’s high temperature as 89 degrees at the Indianapolis International Airport, just a shade cooler than the 92 degrees recorded during the 1937 Indy 500. With apologies to George Carlin and the cities of Edmonton and St. Petersburg, no one races at the airport. Firestone engineers reported the air temperature at the track was 90 degrees and climbing at the start of the race with a track temperature a blistering 126. By the 300 mile mark, the mercury had eclipsed the 96 degree mark with track temperature at 130.

The track may not have been hot enough to fry an egg, but it was definitely hot enough to scramble the running order in the early going. Graham Rahal, Danica Patrick, Mario Moraes and Sarah Fisher lost positions as fast as Tomas Scheckter, Tony Kanaan and Raphael Matos were gaining them.

Power passed Franchitti on lap 31 but his lead was short lived as he pulls out of his pits with the fuel nozzle still attached during a lap 37 green flag stop and is assessed a drive-through penalty. This penalty is the first of five for the day including three drive-through penalties for blocking.

Power served his penalty as the green flag came out on lap 42 and came out of the pits 25th, the last car on the lead lap and only a short chute ahead of Franchitti.

John Andretti shatters his Window World sponsored car into the turn two wall on lap 64 bringing out a yellow that may have saved Power, E.J. Viso and Sarah Fisher from going a lap down. Scott Dixon loses his left front wheel on pit road during the pit stops under the Andretti caution and Raphael Matos leaves his pit without the left rear tire attached causing a half spin and making light inside pit wall contact with the nose of his car. Both teams are able to get their cars going and they rejoin the field at the back of the pack.

There are now 24 cars on the lead lap. Tony Kanaan has come from 33rd position to fourth. Graham Rahal who started seventh, ran near the back of the pack early in the race and is now running eighth.

Lap #75:
1. #10 Dario Franchitti
2. #3 Helio Castroneves
3. #6 Ryan Briscoe
4. #11 Tony Kanaan
5. #20 Ed Carpenter
6. #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay
7. #23 Tomas Scheckter
8. #30 Graham Rahal
9. #99 Townsend Bell
10. #4 Dan Wheldon
11. #77 Alex Tagliani
12. #22 Justin Wilson
13. #24 Mike Conway
14. #26 Marco Andretti
15. #78 Simona De Silvestro
16. #12 Will Power
17. #7 Danica Patrick
18. #5 Takuma Sato
19. #19 Alex Lloyd
20. #34 Mario Romancini
21. #8 E.J. Viso
22. #67 Sarah Fisher
23. #9 Scott Dixon
24. #2 Raphael Matos

Tomas Scheckter inherits the lead when he pits just as Vitor Meira hits the wall on lap 106 and the rest of the field pits. Scheckter is followed by Franchitti, Castroneves, Kanaan and Briscoe on the restart. Two laps later Scheckter is passed by Franchitti who is followed closely by Kanaan, relegating the South African to third place. Kanaan is now running second after starting the race last.

Ryan Briscoe hits the turn four wall on lap 148. Wilson, Castroneves and Rahal pit for fuel under the caution. Some of the cars that struggled mightily early in the race are now running well including Danica Patrick and Graham Rahal who are on the lead lap and have been posting competitive speeds.

“We did struggle a little in the early going, we almost went a lap down,” said Patrick, “but we were able to get the GoDaddy.com car into the position it should have been in.”

Graham Rahal describes his race in a similar way, “You go forwards. You go backwards. We struggled a little bit on the initial start. We moved all the way back. We got back in it. That was our day.”

On lap 150 there are 18 cars still on the lead lap:
1. #10 Dario Franchitti
2. #26 Marco Andretti
3. #11 Tony Kanaan
4. #23 Tomas Scheckter
5. #99 Townsend Bell
6. #37 Ryan Hunter-Reay
7. #4 Dan Wheldon
8. #9 Scott Dixon
9. #12 Will Power
10. #24 Mike Conway
11. #77 Alex Tagliani
12. #7 Danica Patrick
13. #19 Alex Lloyd
14. #30 Graham Rahal
15. #3 Helio Castroneves
16. #20 Ed Carpenter
17. #22 Justin Wilson
18. #78 Simona De Silvestro

Sebastian Saavedra hits the wall in turn one bringing out a caution just at the distant edge of the fuel window. All cars pit on lap 163 except Conway, Wilson, Castroneves and Rahal who inherit the first four positions. Franchitti in fifth place is the first car to have pitted.
Conway leads the race until lap 178 when he must pit for fuel and tires. Wilson takes over and leads until he and Rahal must pit on lap 190. Castroneves takes the lead until he must pit for a splash of fuel on lap 192. Franchitti takes over the lead and holds off Kanaan who comes in for a splash of fuel on lap 196 and Wheldon.

Marco Andretti is originally scored as finishing sixth but is restored to third place when a video review reveals that last lap passes made by Alex Lloyd, Scott Dixon, and Danica Patrick occurred after the yellow light was displayed.

“I guess people decided to drive by me before the checkered,” said a frustrated Andretti, “It’s as simple as that.”

2010 Indianapolis 500 Finishing Order:

1. #10 Dario Franchitti 200 laps Running 161.623mph
2. #4 Dan Wheldon 200 laps Running
3. #26 Marco Andretti 200 laps Running
4. #19 Alex Lloyd 200 laps Running
5. #9 Scott Dixon 200 laps Running
6. #7 Danica Patrick 200 laps Running
7. #22 Justin Wilson 200 laps Running
8. #12 Will Power 200 laps Running
9. #3 Helio Castroneves 200 laps Running
10. #77 Alex Tagliani 200 laps Running
11. #11 Tony Kanaan 200 laps Running
12. #30 Graham Rahal 200 laps Running
13. #34 Mario Romancini 200 laps Running
14. #78 Simona De Silvestro 200 laps Running
15. #23 Tomas Scheckter 199 laps Running
16. #99 Townsend Bell 199 laps Running
17. #20 Ed Carpenter 199 laps Running
18. #37 Ryan Hunter Reay 198 laps Contact
19. #24 Mike Conway 198 laps Contact
20. #5 Takuma Sato 198 laps Running
21. #25 Ana Beatriz 196 laps Running
22. #36 Bertrand Baguette 183 laps Running
23. #29 Sebastian Saavedra 159 laps Contact
24. #6 Ryan Briscoe 147 laps Contact
25. #8 E.J. Viso 139 laps Handling
26. #67 Sarah Fisher 125 laps Handling
27. #14 Vitor Meira 105 laps Contact
28. #06 Hideki Mutoh 76 laps Handling
29. #2 Raphael Matos 72 laps Contact
30. #43 John Andretti 62 laps Contact
31. #32 Mario Moraes 17 laps Contact
32. #33 Bruno Junqueira 7 laps Contact
33. #21 Davey Hamilton 0 laps Contact

Minutiae:
• Chip Ganassi became the first car owner to win both the Daytona 500 (with Jamie McMurray) and Indianapolis 500 in the same year. Ganassi flew from Indianapolis to Charlotte to see McMurray finish second in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Coca Cola 600 behind Penske Racing’s Kurt Busch.

• This is the first time a car #10 has won the Indianapolis 500.

• This is the fourth victory for a car owned or co-owned by Chip Ganassi