Kanaan Wins Crash Filled Michigan Race
Tony Kanaan edged his Andretti Green Racing teammate Marco Andretti by 0.0595 of a second to score his third victory of the season at the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway, a race that was delayed by four hours, 37 minutes by rain. Scott Sharp finished a season-high third in the No. 8 Patron Rahal Letterman Racing car. Kosuke Matsuura also posted a season high (tying his career best) of fourth in the No. 55 Panasonic Panther Racing car, and Buddy Rice advanced 12 positions to finish fifth in the No. 15 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing entry. Those two were mostly the result of attrition. A spectacular crash on Lap 144 involving seven cars - including IndyCar Series points leader Dario Franchitti and his closest pursuer, Scott Dixon - partially eclipsed the results of the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway.
With Franchitti taking the outside line in overtaking race leader Dan Wheldon on the backstretch, the cars touched wheels and Franchitti's No. 27 Canadian Club entry became airborne, landing upside down on the asphalt. With nowhere to turn, the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing driven by Dixon and the No. 22 Vision Racing car driven by A.J. Foyt IV ran into (under actually) the No. 27 car. The debris field and spinning cars also caught up the cars driven by Sam Hornish Jr., Ed Carpenter and Tomas Scheckter. Two laps earlier, Scheckter's No. 2 Vision Racing car was 0.0538 of a second behind race leader Wheldon. Dixon returned to the race long enough to move ahead of Franchitti, who finished 13th, in the results. But with Franchitti gaining the three bonus points for leading a race-high 101 laps, he retained a 24-point lead headed to the twilight race in six days at Kentucky Speedway.
This is Tony Kanaan's third win of the season and his 10th career IndyCar Series victory. His last win was in June at the Milwaukee Mile.
This is Andretti Green Racing's 29th win in the IndyCar Series, the most by any entrant in the IndyCar Series.
Marco Andretti finished second, matching his season-best finish. He previously finished second at Iowa.
Scott Sharp finished third, matching his season-best finish. He previously finished second at Iowa.
Kosuke Matsuura finished fourth, his best finish this season and tied for his career-best finish. He last finished fourth at Kentucky in 2004.
Buddy Rice finished fifth, his third top-five finish of the season.
For full results...
(Speed News Now)
Franchitti On Michigan pole
IndyCar Series point leader Dario Franchitti earned his first AAMCO Transmissions Pole Award of the season, winning the pole for the Firestone Indy 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Franchitti recorded a lap of 32.9810 seconds, 218.309 mph, on the 2-mile oval. The reigning Indianapolis 500 winner will share the front row with three-time IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr., a native of nearby Defiance, Ohio, who is trying to win at MIS for the first time. Hornish recorded a lap at 218.024 mph.
Helio Castroneves (217.894), Scott Sharp (217.631) and Dan Wheldon (217.448) rounded out the top five. Scott Dixon, who is attempting to win a record fourth-straight race, will start seventh. Five Indianapolis 500 champions are expected to participate in the Firestone Indy 400: Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002), Buddy Rice (2004), Dan Wheldon (2005), Sam Hornish Jr. (2006) and Dario Franchitti (2007).
This is Dario Franchitti's first pole this season and the fourth pole of his IndyCar Series career. This is the second time he has started first this season. He earned the pole at Richmond (points) when qualifications were cancelled due to weather.
Sam Hornish Jr. will start second, his fourth front-row start this season.
Tomas Scheckter qualified sixth, his best start of the season.
For Starting Lineup...
(Speed News Now)
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