* Franchitti wins mad scramble to the finish
* Sato crashes on last lap after pushing for win
(Recasts with quotes)
By Julian Linden
INDIANAPOLIS, May 27 (Reuters) – Scotland’s Dario Franchitti
won an emotionally charged 96th Indianapolis 500 on Sunday to
join an elite band of drivers to win the 101-year-old race three
times.
The 39-year-old Franchitti recovered after his car was
damaged in a freak pit-lane incident in the early stages of the
200-lap race, then survived a last-lap tussle with Japan’s
Takuma Sato to add to his wins at the Brickyard in 2007 and
2010.
Franchitti’s New Zealand team mate Scott Dixon, the 2008
Indy 500 winner, crossed the line second while Brazil’s Tony
Kanaan was third as the race finished under a yellow caution
flag when Sato crashed on the last lap.
“This means the world, this is Indianapolis,” said
Franchitti. “To be on this trophy either side of Dan (Wheldon),
that means more than anything.”
Wheldon, one of Franchitti’s closest friends, won the Indy
500 in dramatic circumstances last year but was killed in a
season-ending race in Las Vegas.
Sunday’s race was preceded by an emotional tribute to the
popular Englishman. After the race, Franchitti embraced
Wheldon’s widow, Susie, who was present with her two sons.
“What a race. I think Dan Wheldon would be proud of this
one,” said Franchitti.
“Vegas last year was the lowest of the low but the reason we
all got back in the cars, the reason the mechanics got back in
pit lane, the reason why the fans came back to the races, is the
emotion of days like today.”
Franchitti became just the 10th driver with at three wins in
the race, which was first held in 1911. Only A.J. Foyt, Al Unser
and Rick Mears, with four wins each, have been more successful
in America’s greatest motor race.
Franchitti was one of 10 drivers to lead Sunday’s incident
packed race which featured a record 35 lead changes and eight
cautions, including one just before the end that resulted in a
six-lap scramble to the chequered flag.
Ten of the original 33 starters were not running at the end
of the three-hour event on a baking hot day where the
temperatures rose to 91 degrees Fahrenheit (32.7 degrees
Celsius), turning the race into a gruelling test of stamina for
both the drivers and their cars.
HARD LUCK
While Franchitti enjoyed the spoils of victory, including
the traditional kissing of the bricks and drenching himself in
cold milk, plenty of other drivers had hard luck stories.
Australia’s Will Power, the IndyCar series leader, retired
after just 80 laps when Mike Conway, who had earlier run into
one of his own mechanics in pit lane, spun in front of him.
Power did not have enough time to avoid a collision, which
saw Conway’s car frighteningly catapulted on to the wall. Both
men walked away from the incident unharmed.
American Marco Andretti led the race for 59 laps, more than
any other driver, but spun out near the end, while Dixon, who
led for 53 laps, was unable to mount a last-lap charge when the
caution flag was unfurled.
Sato, bidding to become the first Japanese driver to win the
race, blew his chance of victory when he tried to cut inside
Franchitti on the last lap.
But he went into the bend too low and spun wildly out of
control, slamming into the outside wall.
“I was going for the win,” Sato said. “I had a good tow from
Dario and I thought I had the job done.
“But he kept pushing and didn’t give me enough room.”
Franchitti, who is married to Hollywood actress Ashley Judd,
only narrowly avoided colliding with Sato and had another lucky
escape during his first stop when he was hit in pit lane by EJ
Viso.
Brazil’s Rubens Barrichello, who moved to IndyCar this
season after a long career in Formula One, came 11th, the best
place of the seven rookies in the field.
“I didn’t have many expectations,” he said. “People were
racing hard, it’s just madness out there sometimes.”
(Editing by Gene Cherry)
