Target Chip Ganassi driver, Dario Franchitti, claimed his third win of the 2009 IndyCar Series at the Honda Indy Toronto on Sunday 12 July, vaulting the Scottish driver passed his team mate Scott Dixon into the series points lead.

Franchitti, who started from pole, led 45 laps of the 85 lap race, beating Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske) across the finishing line by 1.674 seconds. It is the fifth second-placed finish for Briscoe in the last six races. Will Power (Team Verizon Wireless and Penske Racing), who won the 2007 Champ Car race at Toronto, finished third, followed closely by Dixon, Watkins Glen winner Justin Wilson (Dale Coyne Racing) and Danica Patrick (Andretti Green Racing).

Sunday’s victory puts Franchitti two points ahead of defending series champion Dixon, with 347 and 345 points respectively. Briscoe is currently third in the standings with 334 points.

From race winner Dario Franchitti, #10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/ Firestone:

“I struggled with the reds, just toward the end of the stint. The Firestone black sidewalls were awesome. The longer you ran them, the better they got. It was tougher to get them up to temperature today, but the longer you ran and fuel burnt off, the faster you got.”

From Joe Barbieri, Manager, Firestone Racing:
“The fans absolutely got their money’s worth today with the return of Indy racing to Toronto. There was plenty of exciting racing and passing, many lead changes, and a race winner who’s almost made Canada a second home with all his wins in this country. Congratulations to Dario and the Target team. It was great to see Canadians Paul Tracy and Alex Tagliani battling at the front, too. The Firestone tires did just what they were supposed to do today, and they definitely played a role in the overtaking when some drivers were on fresher primary or alternate Firehawks. This is a tough circuit on tires but the Firehawks did their job and we’re happy.”