IRL News - Dixon Closes In On Franchitti
23/07/2007
Scott Dixon inched closer to Dario Franchitti in the IndyCar Series Championship race with his third win in a row at Mid-Ohio.
But Franchitti continued his consistent run, following Dixon home in second, and now holds a 24 point championship lead.
Dixon, celebrating his birthday, fought all race with pole-winner Helio Castroneves, but came out from the last pit stops in front, and held on to his third consecutive win.
“Dario was in my mirrors all day,” said Dixon. “And that makes it difficult for the championship! The second and third stints were flat-out, so intense. It was like qualifying every lap. That’s one of the toughest races I’ve been in.
“We’ve got to apply as much pressure as possible to Dario, but as you can see, he’s not making it easy for us,” said Dixon. “It’s tough, but at least we’re closing in. We’re trying to gain as much as possible, and make a championship race out of this.
“The Firestone tires were very good, very consistent. We actually ran them for two stints nearly on that last stop, so they were lasting a long time. I had no trouble with tires at all; it was just more about holding the other people off!"
“We brought our softest road course tire to Mid-Ohio, and it is the same tire we brought here last month for the open test,” said Dale Harrigle from Firestone.
“The tires performed well, but you can be sure that we will take the information we learned from this inaugural IndyCar Series event back to the lab as we consider which tire specification to bring here next year. These tires were good, but we are continually striving to make them even better."
Franchitti’s second place rescued what could have been a disasterous day for Andretti Green Racing. Having qualified four cars in the top five, Danica Patrick ran wide on the first lap, Tony Kanaan checked up to avoid her, collecting Marco Andretti who rose over Kanaans wheels and landed upside down.
Marco was out, but uninjured, Patrick was down to ninth, and Kanaan was last. Franchitti, too, was affected, braking hard to avoid the mess, and Dixon took advantage to go from sixth to second.
“I made a good start, then all hell broke loose in front of me,” said Franchitti. “I had to check up to avoid hitting Tony, and that let Scott by. After that, I was just playing catch up.”
The Scot went three laps longer than Dixon on his second stint, and was lapping at a speed which should have put him in the lead, but A.J. Foyt IV hindered his in lap, and it was enough to cost the lead. “I was a bit surprised,” admitted Franchitti. “One of those laps was my fastest of the race, so I was frustrated to come out and see Scott still ahead.”
Castroneves, who was a surprised pole-winner, controlled the race early on, but admitted he knew it wouldn’t last. “We had a third place car, no more,” he said. “I was doing everything I could, but I was a half second slower than those guys.”
Kanaan, after the first lap incident, ran out of sequence, and came very close to winning on strategy. “Track position was they key,” said the Brazilian. “ From the first lap we had, I guess you can say it was a nice recovery, and I have to say I’m happy. But on the first lap I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Kanaan now lies third in points, 111 behind teammate Franchitti and 87 behind Dixon. With five races to go, two of which are on road courses, the championship boiling down to a battle between Franchitti and Dixon.
And while both are regarded as road course specialists, Franchitti has yet to win on a road course, while Dixon has been the master. It’s going to be a close battle.