INDIANAPOLIS – Dario Franchitti drove 199 nearly flawless laps, then got a huge break from a spectacular crash on the last lap to climb back on top of the open-wheel world Sunday with a win at the Indianapolis 500.
Two years removed from his failed try in NASCAR, Franchitti held on with a scant tenth of a gallon of fuel left in the tank – a victory made possible by a crash that sent Mike Conway airborne on the final spin around the Brickyard.
“Still running,” Franchitti told his crew over the radio as he crossed the finish line, while wreckers were moving out to scoop up debris from Conway’s accident with Ryan Hunter-Reay.
Franchitti’s second Brickyard victory in four years helped his boss, Chip Ganassi, become the first owner to win Indy and NASCAR’s Daytona 500 in the same year. It also validated his return to the IndyCar circuit, two years after celebrating his 2007 Indy victory by making an unsuccessful move to NASCAR.
Dan Wheldon was second, and Alex Lloyd third.