Franchitti joins the club

Scotland's Dario Franchitti has placed his name among the immortals of racing by winning his first Indianapolis 500.

Running fifth when the race was interrupted by rain on lap 113, Franchitti overcame a cut tire to triumph over Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves when a second storm ended the race on lap 166.

"I can't believe it," said a jubilant Franchitti. "To be a member of this club is fantastic. It's a dream come true. When the first red came out and I hadn't won it, I was so disappointed."

Franchitti was saluted by the gathered throng who remained in their seats to cheer for the champion despite heavy rainfall falling on both fans and drivers alike.

Starting at 1:10pm local time, the race was halted the first time at 3:02pm with Tony Kanaan in front. He had just taken the lead from Marco Andretti on a lap 111 restart.

"I may have just lost the race by restarting too slow," said Andretti during the rain delay. His day would get worse.

With drivers scrambling for any spot they could get as rain approached from the northwest, Andretti and Dan Wheldon made contact, with Andretti spinning then rolling once down the back straightaway.

The rain came out during the resultant yellow, handing the win to Franchitti who had fought back from an extra pit stop on lap 114 caused by a cut tire found under the red flag.

Dropping to 20th, Franchitti sliced through the field to become the first Scotsman to win the Indy 500 since Jim Clark in 1965.

Unofficial Results after 166 laps:

1 Dario Franchitti
2 Scott Dixon
3 Helio Castroneves
4 Sam Hornish Jr
5 Ryan Briscoe
6 Scott Sharp
7 Tomas Scheckter
8 Danica Patrick
9 Davey Hamilton
10 Vitor Meira
11 Jeff Simmons
12 Tony Kanaan
13 Michael Andretti
14 AJ Foyt IV - 1 lap
15 Alex Barron
16 Kosuke Matsuura
17 Ed Carpenter - 2 laps Accident
18 Sarah Fisher
19 Buddy Lazier
20 Darren Manning
21 Roger Yasukawa
22 Dan Wheldon - 3laps Accident
23 Richie Hearn
24 Marco Andretti - 4 Accident
25 Buddy Rice Accident
26 Al Unser Jr - 5 laps
27 Jaques Lazier - 11 laps Accident
28 Marty Roth - 18 laps Accident
29 Phil Giebler - 60 laps Accident
30 John Andretti - 71 laps Accident
31 Milka Duno - 101 laps Accident
32 Jon Herb (19) - 115 laps Accident
33 Roberto Moreno (77) - 130 laps Accident

ORS / CAPSIS International