Dario Franchitti has won the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma. The Scotsman held off Penske's Ryan Briscoe in a pole to flag victory at Infineon Raceway. The two are seemingly battling it out for the IndyCar title, since Franchitti's Ganassi team-mate Scott Dixon ended up in thirteenth and lost a large amount of points.
In contrast to previous races at Infineon, this weekend's race provided a fair dose of action. On the opening lap, up to eight cars got involved in a mass collision. Most notable victims included Graham Rahal and Scott Dixon. While the latter was able to continue after a spin, Rahal had to pit for a new nose and then broke his driveshaft on his way out.
With Infineon being a notoriously hard track to pass on, many drivers were tempted to take risks. Despite several minor accidents, overtaking occured quite frequently. However, none of it was at the front, as Franchitti grabbed the race by its throat and made the most of his pole position. He pitted one lap later than Penske duo Briscoe and Castroneves and stayed in control of the race until the finish.
Eventually Castroneves crashed out, opening up an exciting battle for third. Mutoh originally claimed the position, but faded away on the final restart, allowing Conway and Moraes past. In the end, rookie Mike Conway took the spot after a fantastic comeback.
Behind Moraes and Mutoh, Oriol Servia finished in sixth in his second race for Newman/Haas/Lanigan, ahead of Justin Wilson and Tony Kanaan. Raphael Matos and Robert Doornbos complete the top ten. In the background, Franck Montagny made a disappointing debut for Andretti-Green. The Frenchman was hit by Antinucci and had to retire mid-race.
Drama continued until the checkered flag, as points leader Scott Dixon was catapulted off the track in the ultimate corner by an over-enthusiastic Marco Andretti. Dixon dropped down to thirteenth in the race and to third in the championship, behind Franchitti and Briscoe.
With three more (oval) races to go, Franchitti and Briscoe are going head to head for the title. Franchitti, who leads Briscoe by just four units, is looking to repeat his 2007 success at Andretti-Green. Aussie Briscoe is in the hunt for his first Indy crown after two wins and a bag of second places this season. However, it would be too early to rule out defending champion Dixon, who trails team-mate Franchitti by twenty points.
1. Dario Franchitti - Ganassi
2. Ryan Briscoe - Penske
3. Mike Conway - Dreyer & Reinbold
4. Mario Moraes - KV
5. Hideki Mutoh - Andretti Green
6. Oriol Servia - Newman/Haas/Lanigan
7. Justin Wilson - Dale Coyne
8. Tony Kanaan - Andretti Green
9. Raphael Matos - Luczo Dragon
10. Robert Doornbos - HVM
11. Ed Carpenter - Vision
12. Dan Wheldon - Panther
13. Scott Dixon - Ganassi
14. Marco Andretti - Andretti Green
15. Richard Antinucci - 3G
16. Danica Patrick - Andretti Green
17. Milka Duno - Dreyer & Reinbold
18. Helio Castroneves - Penske
19 Ryan Hunter-Reay - A.J. Foyt
20. Franck Montagny - Andretti Green
21. Graham Rahal - Newman/Haas/Lanigan
22. E.J. Viso
Filip Cleeren
Written: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:09:13
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- October 11, 2009Franchitti claims second IndyCar crown
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- September 23, 2009Piquet may seek race drive in America
- August 24, 2009Franchitti wins in Sonoma
- August 10, 2009Dixon dominates Mid-Ohio race
- August 09, 2009Briscoe claims Mid-Ohio pole
- August 07, 2009Servia takes second NHL seat
- August 06, 2009Doornbos confirmed at HVM
- August 05, 2009Doornbos out, Philippe in
- August 02, 2009Briscoe claims narrow Kentucky win
- (August 24, 2009)View all headlines from this date
