FRANCHITTI WINS IOWA CORN INDY 250
NEWTON, IOWA (Sunday, June 21, 2009) - Dario Franchitti is two-for-two
at Iowa Speedway. The 2007 winner at the track found his way back to
victory lane Sunday, winning the Iowa Corn Indy 250 by 5.0132 seconds
over Ryan Briscoe.
Franchitti gave the credit to his Target Chip Ganassi Racing crew, which
turned in a quick pit stop on Lap 196 of 250 as the leaders cycled
through green flag stops.
Franchitti trailed Briscoe by less than a second as the stops began
and led by more than a second when they were completed. As the drivers
worked through lapped traffic over the final 50 laps, Franchitti was
able to build his lead to a comfortable margin.
Franchitti's second victory of the season moved him within three points
of Briscoe, who remains the IndyCar Series points leader. For the third
consecutive race, Briscoe led the most laps but finished second.
Andretti Green Racing's Hideki Mutoh finished third, one spot lower than
his career-best finish at the track last year, and Panther Racing's Dan
Wheldon finished fourth as the top four finishers came from different
teams.
Helio Castroneves, who started on the pole based on entrant points after
qualifying was cancelled due to water seepage on the track, finished
seventh. He made contact with Scott Dixon early in the race, forcing
both cars to pit for repairs. Dixon finished fifth.
The race got off to a rough start with four caution periods in the first
55 laps but finished with stints of 56 and 127 consecutive green-flag
laps.
***
Rusty Wallace, a former NASCAR driver and the designer of Iowa Speedway,
was at the track.
RUSTY WALLACE: (About the weepers): "There are a lot of things we
can control, but unfortunately we can't control the weather. We were
really upset that we had a couple of weepers yesterday that cancelled
qualifying. As you know, we've been inundated with rain here, so much
rain it's unbelievable. It finally stopped, and we got the race in last
night. We're going to do some research after this event is over and see
if there's anything we can do to help that. Almost all of the tracks
on the NASCAR series have suffered that. A lot of problems at Pocono,
at Michigan, Texas. It's not an excuse. We've got to figure out what's
causing it at our racetrack. It's the first time we've ever seen it. It
just popped up unbeknownst to us. The area is just so saturated with
water due to all the rain in the Midwest." (About the track): "I was
just talking to a lot of the drivers in the driver's meeting. They're
just so excited. They said, 'We just love coming here, we love the
racing, we love the shape of the track, the three different angles of
the track, the multi-groove banking. It's neat when you come in and see
these guys."
***
Iowa Speedway and IndyCar Series executives announced that they are
nearing completion of a two-year extension for the series to compete at
Iowa Speedway.
STAN CLEMENT (Chief Executive Officer, Iowa Speedway): "Today is the
third IndyCar Series race at Iowa Speedway. From the very beginning the
Iowa Corn Indy 250 has been the premier event on our schedule. We have
a record crowd this weekend, and all the additional seating in place is
sold out. We are working to finalize a multi-year agreement. We continue
to develop this event and are excited about its potential and feel great
about the current agreement we're working on." (About Iowa's location):
"The fans around here have always gone to the Indy 500. We just bring it
closer to them with a different type of track."
JERRY JAURON (President and Chief Financial Officer, Iowa Speedway): "I
want to thank the IndyCar Series for their commitment to Iowa Speedway.
What excites me is when you look out there, Iowa Speedway is going to
hopefully continue to be part of the exclusive racing venues that host
the IndyCar Series. That will solidify Iowa Speedway as one of the top
motorsports venues in the world. That's exciting. We have actually
sold tickets to our race today in 24 states. I think that says a lot
about Iowa Speedway and our future. We look forward to many years with
the IndyCar Series." (About the success of the Speedway): "There are
studies done around the country by different independent groups, and
in the upper Midwest 70 percent of all people are race fans are out
here. We are the heart of America and the heart of race country. The
state of Iowa has 68 or 69 tracks alone, so I think it's built in the
perfect spot. We're in open-wheel country. These drivers are going to
average 180 mph, they're going to do laps in under 18 seconds. But
beyond that, it's all about entertainment value. I believe Iowa Speedway
has benefitted from the economy. People now are really scrutinizing
where they're going to spend their entertainment dollars. When you can
come out to Iowa Speedway on a season ticket basis on an average of $25
or $30 for the best seat in the house, you get world-class racing, you
get nationally acclaimed concert acts, fireworks, tailgating, racing
simulators, a midway like the state fair. You can't get that anywhere
else in Iowa except here."
TERRY ANGSTADT (President of the Commercial Division, Indy Racing
League): "We are very excited about being here. We're excited to be
here every year. I think this year is even more special because of the
opportunity to extend this into the future. When we show up from people
at the airport, to people at the hotels, to fans in and around the
grounds, you're made to feel very welcome, and that doesn't happen in
every market. We love the configuration, the distance of the track. It
works so well for us. It works for us on every level."
***
Medical update from Dr. Michael Olinger, medical director for the Indy
Racing League: #44 Gustavo Yacaman was released from Mercy Hospital
this morning. A CT scan showed no appendicitis. Yacaman was admitted to
the hospital following the Miller Lite 100 after he began experiencing
abdominal pain during the race.
***
Olympic gold medalist and "Dancing with the Stars" champion Shawn
Johnson met three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 2007 "Dancing with
the Stars" champion Helio Castroneves at the start/finish line this
morning. Castroneves gave her an insider's tour of the racetrack with
some high-speed laps in the pace car. She also got a garage tour of the
No. 7 Boost Mobile/Motorola car driven by Danica Patrick.
SHAWN JOHNSON: "I've been home for about a week and it's great to be
home, and now to come out to the track to watch the race and meet Helio
is fantastic."
***
INDYCAR SERIES POST-RACE NOTES:
* Dario Franchitti earns his 10th career victory and his second victory
of the season. He also won at Long Beach.
* Franchitti has won both of his starts at Iowa Speedway. He also won
the race in 2007.
* This is the 28th IndyCar Series victory for Target Chip Ganassi
Racing. This is the team's fourth win of the season.
* The top four finishers came from four different teams. The top six
finishers came from five teams.
* Ryan Briscoe finished second for the third consecutive race. Briscoe
has led the most laps in each of those races (Milwaukee, Texas, Iowa).
* Briscoe remains the points leader and is the first driver to hold the
points lead for two consecutive races this season.
* Hideki Mutoh finished a season-best third. His career-best finish of
second came at Iowa last year.
* Dan Wheldon finished fourth, his sixth consecutive top-10 finish.
* Scott Dixon finished fifth, his fourth top-five finish of the season.
* Tomas Scheckter finished sixth, his best finish since fifth at
Kentucky in 2007. It is the best finish for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing
since a fourth last year at Watkins Glen with driver Buddy Rice.
* Mike Conway finished a career-best eighth. It's also his first top-10
finish of his career.
* The last time Dreyer & Reinbold had two cars finish in the top 10
was at last year's Indianapolis 500 when Buddy Rice finished eighth and
Townsend Bell finished 10th.
* Danica Patrick finished ninth. She and Dan Wheldon lead all drivers
with six consecutive top-10 finishes. Patrick led her first laps since
Kentucky 2008.
***
INDYCAR SERIES POST-RACE QUOTES:
DARIO FRANCHITTI (No. 10 TOM TOM, first): "I like driving here. We
tested at Iowa last Wednesday. The Target guys did a really, really good
job coming up with a setup, and they were awesome in the pits. I just
went out, did my job and hung on, made some good moves in traffic and
here we are. More than anywhere, today is a team win because those pit
stops moved us up in track position."
RYAN BRISCOE (No. 6 Team Penske, second): "It was a great day for Team
Penske. Dario (Franchitti) had a bit more than us when on cold tires. On
the restarts, he was a bit better than us. We were quickest throughout
the middle of the stint. I was hoping I would be able to catch him in
traffic, but he just got a bit more luck with those guys and actually
opened up the gap. It was a tough one but a great day. The car was
awesome. We had to make a bit of changes on the first pit stop, but from
there the car was great."
HIDEKI MUTOH (No. 27 Formula Dream, third): "I was hoping to be one
step up on the podium. This is one step down. But it's still a podium
finish, so I'm happy. The Formula Dream team gave me a very good car."
(On recording his best finishes at Iowa): "It seems like Iowa is my
favorite track because of the results. Maybe it should be."
DAN WHELDON (No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing, fourth): "It's a good
result for Panther Racing and the National Guard; to finish fourth here
with this level of competition is something we can build on. There's a
bunch of good guys on this Panther team, and they're all working very
hard, and I know we all want to get back to victory lane together. I
always tended to lose a few places on starts and restarts, but once the
car came in it was as good as anybody out there. Toward the end of the
race, I should have made some more aggressive changes with the front
wing, because I had some understeer. My race was relatively low key. I
was loose at the start of each stint, but once the car settled down it
was good. I'll take a top five, and it's some good momentum to build
upon. This is a good track. As it starts to lose even more grip, it's
going to become even more fun. I know a lot of people say that Iowa is
in the middle of nowhere, but you know what, we get such a great crowd
and they're so enthusiastic. As a driver you could put me in paradise,
but if there's nobody in the grandstands then it's not good racing."
SCOTT DIXON (No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing, fifth): "We tried to go
with two different strategies, and it looks like Dario (Franchitti) just
had a stellar day. Once we touched (with Helio Castroneves' car), we
cycled back. And once we got back in traffic, it was really tough. We
should have done much better, but at least one of the cars did well this
weekend."
HELIO CASTRONEVES (No. 3 Team Penske, seventh): "We just couldn't
get the Team Penske car quite right today. It's difficult to get the
car exactly how you want it on a short oval when you don't have the
opportunity to practice very much. It was a long day out there. Toward
the end of the race, I think I was a bit too conservative. I had a lot
of understeer, and we just didn't tweak the car enough on that last
stop. I don't think that the front wing was the problem because we were
back in the game for awhile, but we didn't have enough there in the
end. The good news is that it's not even halfway through the season and
we still have plenty of races ahead of us to improve and work towards
the championship. Now we just have to keep our heads down and focus on
Richmond."
DANICA PATRICK (No. 7 Boost Mobile/Motorola, ninth): "We started off
with a good car, but it just wasn't our day. We got a couple flat tires
at the beginning of the race, which was a bummer, but then we just
changed up the strategy a bit, which allowed us to lead a few laps. But
then the yellows started to come out, and we were at the wrong place at
the wrong time. But it was a top-10 finish for us, so if this is the
worst finish we have this season, I can't complain."
ED CARPENTER (No. 20 Menards/Vision Racing, 10th): "The bumps were a
factor. The car was loose over those bumps the whole race, and I had
understeer in Turns 3 and 4, especially in traffic. We were pretty
limited on what we could do to take understeer out of the car because I
was afraid of what that it would do over the bumps. It's disappointing,
because this is a great racetrack, and I'd really like to see them fix
that bump. I know they tried, but we'd like to see them try something
different. We're happy to be coming back the next two years, so I think
it would be in all of our best interests if they tuned it a bit to open
it up and make it a more exciting race. It's a top-10 but not one we can
be proud of since we didn't really feel like we beat anybody. We just
rode around and didn't crash like a lot of others."
***
The 2009 IndyCar Series season continues June 27 with the SunTrust Indy
Challenge at Richmond International Raceway. The race will be telecast
live in High Definition at 8 p.m. (EDT) by VERSUS. The race will air
live on the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 145 and Sirius channel 211.
The radio broadcast also will be carried on www.indycar.com. The 2009
Firestone Indy Lights season continues with the Toronto 100 on July 11
at the Streets of Toronto. The race will be telecast at 11 p.m. on July
13. The Miller Lite 100 will be telecast at 4 p.m. on June 22 by VERSUS.
-credit: irl
