A 51 point advantage for Dario

Dario Franchitti drove to victory lane for the second time in the 2007 season at Sunday's running of the Iowa Corn Indy 250.

Franchitti extended his lead in the IndyCar Series championship to 51 points over team-mate Tony Kanaan.

In an accident filled race, Franchitti kept himself in the top three for the majority of the 250-lap event to remain in contention for the win. Franchitti skillfully steered his way through a multi-car accident on lap 99 and came through the accident in third behind Vitor Meira and team-mate Marco Andretti.

After another caution came out due to debris, Franchitti quickly passed Buddy Rice on the restart to take the lead on lap 151 after a flawless pit stop by the Canadian Club team. Franchitti worked together with Andretti to extend their lead on the rest of the field.

On his last pit stop, Franchitti took fuel only, which allowed him to keep the lead and capture his second win of the season ahead of Andretti who secured his first oval finish of the season. Danica Patrick triggered a multi car accident on lap 99 of the race while Tony Kanaan spun on cold tyres and crashed out on lap 85.

Dario Franchitti
"It was just a great job here by the Canadian Club guys all day. We took a bit of a gamble there at the end just to extend our lead, and it worked. We didn't need that last yellow but the Canadian Club car was fantastic, and it was a fun race but pretty physical. This is different, this Iowa Speedway runs almost like a SuperSpeedway."

John Anderson, Franchitti Race Strategist
"Dario did a fantastic job today. The guys in the pits gave him flawless stops all day and Dario never missed a mark. It was a tough race but once we were able to get out in front, we knew we had a pretty good chance of staying there as long as we didn't make any mistakes. This was an especially good day for the Canadian Club car in terms of the championship. We just have to keep on finishing races and winning the ones we're able to."

Marco Andretti
"It was a good day for the NYSE team. It was a bummer on the last pit stop because I slid a bit long and missed my marks. There was some confusion because I thought I was only getting fuel. I'm not sure I would have beat Dario out anyway. It was definitely one of those survival races where you just have to make it through to be up front. It's great to get some points and great for Andretti Green Racing. I really couldn't be happier for Dario."

Kyle Moyer, Andretti Race Strategist
"We're not in the championship hunt unfortunately but this is a great finish for the NYSE team. Marco drove a great race and was rewarded with a second-place finish. We needed to finish a race well and this is the kind of racing we are expecting out of the NYSE team. It's a great day for Dario and he really extended his lead in the championship."

Danica Patrick
"We were coming to the green and it looked like whoever was on the outside of me passed me before the green even happened, and then underneath me was (Ed) Carpenter and I had nowhere to go. When I look at the replay, it looks like Dario (Franchitti) was the fourth one on the outside and he was right next to whoever was to the right of me. It looked like a matter of everybody squeezing down and there was nowhere to go. We all pinched together and I was the one that got pinched the most."

Kim Green, Patrick Race Strategist
"Our tactics thus far in the race had worked well and once we were up to speed the Motorola car was pretty good. It looked like some people jumped the restart and that is something we need to ask the IndyCar Series to take a look at. It's just an unfortunate situation. I think if the race had gone on, we would have had a good car and would have been sitting in a position to do very well."

Tony Kanaan
"I don't know what happened. I was having a good run in the Team 7-Eleven car and got into some turbulence and I got loose and hit the wall. It's a real shame for the 7-Eleven team. I think we had a good run, especially with so many of the cars still in the championship out of contention. It's racing so let's move on to the next one."

George Klotz, Kanaan Race Strategist
"It's a very disappointing day for the 7-Eleven team. Tony had a great drive going and unfortunately got a little loose. We're still in second place in the championship but we've got our work cut out for us if we expect to catch Dario. It was a good day for Andretti Green Racing with a '1-2' finish, though. We'll move on to Richmond and try to get one there."

E.A.
Source AGR