Franchitti reaches 25 career wins in Mid-Ohio09/08/2010

Dario clinches second season win at Mid-Ohio

Dario Franchitti (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) took the chequered flag by 0.5234 of a second from Will Power (Team Penske) to win the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on Sunday 8 August, it was Franchitti’s second win of the 2010 IndyCar Championship.  

Franchitti beat pole sitter Power to the pits twice in the race giving him just enough room to beat the Australian driver over the finish line. It was the third-closest road/street course finish in IZOD IndyCar Series history. Helio Castroneves (Team Penske) finished third and Alex Tagliani (Fazzt Race Team) finished a season-high fourth. Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi Racing) was fifth.  

It was Franchitti’s 25th career open-wheel victory, tying him with Gordon Johncock in 12th place on the all time career wins list. Franchitti closed to 41 points of Power in the championship standings with only five rounds remaining.  

Prior to the race, during practice, Mario Moraes hit three pit crew members of his KV Racing Technology team, but reports state there were no serious injuries.

Fantastic to have won 25 races

"It's my 25th win with Honda, 25th with Firestone. Before I came to America I was driving on Bridgestone in Europe, so it's been a very long association. We used one of our sets of reds (alternates) yesterday for 10 hard laps in qualifying and then we ran them at the end again today (for the final 25 laps). So that set did a good hard stint-plus, and they were still there, still coming back. It was a great performance by the reds. They are there for that short, short burst of grip - almost like a qualifying tire - and we ran them today for those long, long distances and they held up very, very well. ... To get to 25 wins is a testament to driving for great teams and having great equipment like Firestone."
Dario Franchitti, #10 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara/Honda/Firestone

Congratulations to Dario for win in Mid-Ohio

"Congratulations to Dario on his landmark win today. He's been a loyal friend to the Firestone family for the better part of 15 years, and we are proud to play a role in his success that has included race wins at 21 different tracks. As Dario mentioned, the Firehawk alternate tires did an incredible job this weekend in this tire specification's debut. Many teams said the alternates held up as well as the primary Firestones. For Dario to put 35 extremely aggressive laps on one set typifies that thought. We must also tip the cap to Will Power for wrapping up the IZOD IndyCar Series road course championship. He has been spot on all season on these circuits and has shown what an excellent driver he is."
Joe Barbieri, Manager, Firestone Racing