May 27, 2007 6:10 pm US/Eastern
Franchitti Wins Indy 500; Andretti Denied Again
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ―
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Dario Franchitti, driver of the #27 Canadian Club Andretti Green Racing Dallara Honda, celebrates with the traditional bottle of winner's milk in victory lane after winning the 2007 Indy 500. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Dario Franchitti gambled on approaching rain and won an abbreviated Indy 500 Sunday, driving slowly to the checkered flag in a downpour as teammate Marco Andretti's battered car was carried alongside down the final straightaway on a wrecker.
The race was interrupted by rain for three hours shortly after the halfway point and then, after a restart, was stopped after 166
of the scheduled 200 laps.
Franchitti, one of five Andretti Green Racing drivers, won it with pit strategy.
The Scotsman inherited the lead after staying on track when the two drivers ahead of him, teammate Tony Kanaan and defending champion Sam Hornish Jr., pitted during a caution on the 156th lap.
Kanaan appeared to have the race won when rain poured down the first time on lap 112, just four laps after he took the lead with a pass on Andretti.
Andretti, who lost this race last year as a rookie when Hornish passed him on the final straightaway, had slipped into the pack and was trying hard to move back into contention when he tried to make a pass in traffic and came together with 2005 Indy winner Dan Wheldon on the back straightaway.
Andretti's car veered hard into the outside wall, slid back across the track in traffic and flipped on its top after it hit the
infield grass. It finally came to rest on its wheels and the 20-year-old Andretti was able to climb out uninjured.
"I'm one lucky guy," Marco said. "I'm so proud of Dario Franchitti."
Franchitti made a victorious lap of the 2.5-mile oval in the heavy rain as actress wife Ashley Judd, soaking wet in a summer dress, climbed the pit wall and dashed toward the victory celebration.
Once Franchitti got out of his car, he was mobbed, hugged and kissed by Kanaan, his best friend, and his other two teammates, Danica Patrick and Michael Andretti.
"It hasn't sunk in right now," Franchitti said. "To be a member of this club is fantastic. I kind of have half of an idea of
what it means to win this race. I'm so happy."
It was a bittersweet day for the Andrettis, who haven't had much luck at Indy since Mario Andretti, Marco's grandfather and
Michael's father, won in 1969. But this is Andretti Green Racing's second victory in three years.
Franchitti was fifth when the red flag came out on lap 113. After the restart, he drove into the pits, falling all the way to
14th.
"We cut a tire on debris and we had to make the pit stop,"
Franchitti said. "I can't believe it. It's the Indy 500."
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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