Scotsman Dario Franchitti has won the 91st running of the Indianapolis 500 in a shortened, yet dramatic edition of 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.' source: crash.net Following in the footsteps of his childhood idol the late Jim Clark, the 34-year old Andretti-Green Racing driver translated third starting position into his first '500 victory at his fifth attempt on a rainy Sunday afternoon at the world famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Franchitti took the chequered flag in monsoon conditions behind the pace car at the end of the 166th of 200 scheduled laps at 7pm local time, some six hours after the green flag was originally waved but the despite the chaotic, and frankly unexpected conclusion following an earlier deluge, there were few who felt that the former CART Championship runner-up had lucked in to victory. In total Franchitti led three times for more than 30 laps during the course of a race that saw no less than 23 lead changes among nine drivers. While no less than nine separate caution periods and the constant threat of bad weather gave much of the race a somewhat disjointed look, nobody can deny that the near 300,000 fans in attendance, the majority of whom persevered through the initial rain delay, were treated to a race filled with on-track passing, close calls and, eventually, spectacular crashes. Under leaden skies at 1pm polesitter Helio Castroneves led the eleven rows of three to the green flag in a somewhat tardy formation that may have been waved off had it not been for the imminent threat of rain. Castroneves wasn't destined to lead the opening lap, as second place starter Tony Kanaan passed the #3 Penske Dallara half way around the opening lap but the two Brazilian countrymen would soon settle into an intriguing game of cat and mouse throughout the first 40 laps.
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