subject: Indy Racing League (IRL) Tickets – Dario Franchitti Wins 2010 Indy 500 [print this page] Indy Racing League (IRL) Tickets Dario Franchitti Wins 2010 Indy 500
Aside from a fiery crash at the end of the 500-mile race dubbed "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing," the 2010 Indianapolis 500 was relatively uneventful that is to say, Dario Franchitti had it in the bag the whole time.
Franchitti snagged his second career Indy 500 title on May 30, 2010, becoming one of 17 legendary IndyCar drivers to have ever won the prestigious race more than once (his last win was in 2007). The Target Chip Ganassi Racing superstar started in the first row of the grid after qualifying for the race in third place behind Helio Castroneves and Will Power, easily snaking an early lead and keeping it consistent throughout the 500-mile race.
IRL drivers Dan Wheldon, Danica Patrick and Tony Kanaan all made boisterous routes to the top of the pack during the 2010 Indy 500, but ultimately none could overcome the gaping lead Franchitti increasingly created throughout the day on May 30. The No. 10 Target car zoomed into Victory Lane under the yellow flag but almost didn't make it to the end at all as Franchitti began to run out of gas at the backstretch of the race. He took a big gamble by forgoing a late pit stop and ultimately coasted across the finish line at a measly 208 mph, barely fending off second-place finisher Dan Wheldon for the big win.
Franchitti's second Indianapolis 500 victory propels him into elite territory as one of very few drivers to win the prestigious Indianapolis race, but the modest driver expressed gratitude for the newfound comparisons after the May 30 race. He told ESPN, "They showed me a list of two-time winners [after the race], and those guys are legends. I'm so lucky to be driving for Chip [Ganassi] and Team Target, getting in good cars, especially having gone away [to NASCAR] after we won in '07. To be invited back was pretty cool."
Another Indy 500 title was perhaps not in his initial plans, but the 37-year-old driver is taking it all in stride. "To have won a championship and an Indy 500, I didn't expect any of this," Franchitti told ESPN. "I said before, I expected to be retired by the time I was 35. This is all bonus, and it's pretty cool."
Dario Franchitti now has two Indy 500 wins to match his two career IndyCar Series championships, and he's currently (after the Indy 500) in second place in overall point standings behind Will Power. Franchitti has also taken the early lead in the competition for the oval title, and his $2.75 million purse for winning in Indy is the icing on the cake for the 2010 season thus far.
Franchitti's clean racing and dignified demeanor have helped make him a fan favorite at IndyCar races, and the name Dario Franchitti has been selling Indy Racing League (IRL) tickets like crazy ever since his infiltration into open-wheel racing.
Franchitti's only year off from the IRL came in 2008, when he made a lukewarm foray into the wide world of NASCAR, and his reemergence last year as an IndyCar hero for Target Chip Ganassi Racing has proven wildly successful ever since. Franchitti is the defending IndyCar Series champion after winning the series in 2009, and his 2010 Indy 500 victory is one more big win to help propel him to the top of his game.
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