Franchitti wins his 2nd Indy 500
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Dario Franchitti completed a dominating afternoon by winning his second Indianapolis 500. He took the checkered flag under the yellow caution as Mike Conway car flipped into the fence on the final lap after colliding with the car of Ryan Hunter-Reay.
The Indianapolis 500 race aired on KATU Channel 2 on Sunday. The Indianapolis 500 is the world's most famous and prestigious auto race and has taken place annually since 1911 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The win by Franchitti, who is married to American actress Ashley Judd, gives owner Chip Ganassi an unprecedented sweep of the two top races in North America in the same year. He was also the winner of the Daytona 500 in February when Jamie McMurray took the checkered flag.
Franchitti led 155 of the 200 laps and coaxed his car home with a scant tenth of a gallon of fuel left to match his winning ride in 2007. He got some help when Mike Conway went airborne on the final lap after colliding with Ryan Hunter-Reay to bring out the caution.
Dan Wheldon finished second. Defending champ Helio Castroneves was running in the top three before he stall coming out of the pits late in the race. The three-time winner finished ninth.
In other motor-cross news, Southwest Washington NASCAR racer Greg Biffle – who drives a Ford – placed 16th out of 46 cars in the qualifying round at Saturday's NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway Concord, N.C. He then placed 13th in the main event. Biffle was the lap leader twice, in laps 127 to 129. At one point he led by as many as four laps. He'll take home a $16,175 prize for his 13th-place finish.
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