Canadian Club driver Dario Franchitti finished seventh at the XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. After running as high as third, a fueling problem during the first pit stop sent Franchitti back in the field where the Canadian Club car did not run well. Franchitti struggled with the car throughout the night despite running in the top ten the entire race. Franchitti's seventh place was the second highest finish for Andretti Green Racing. Teammate, Tony Kanaan took the checkered flag in fifth.
"I m very disappointed. It was a very difficult night in the Canadian Club car. I started off and I felt like we were in very good shape. I moved my way to the front and then we had a little problem with the fuel cell in the first stint. That put us back in traffic a little bit and then we really struggled. As soon as there was a car in front of us we just didn't have the grip. We struggled all night with grip and both with understeer and oversteer. I just fought my way as hard as I could to the finish."
The IndyCar Series returns to action next week at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on April 1. The event will be televised live by ESPN, beginning at 2:30 p.m. (EDT).
Dan Wheldon said his victory in the 2006 season finale was a statement of what to expect in '07 from Target Chip Ganassi Racing. Point taken, Dan, and thanks for the warning. Wheldon became the first IndyCar Series driver to win at the same racetrack three years in a row, dominating the season-opening XM Satellite Radio Indy 300 under the lights at Miami's Homestead Raceway.
The victory at Chicagoland Speedway last September allowed Wheldon to tie Sam Hornish Jr. in championship points, but Hornish claimed his third series title based on the first tiebreaker – victories (his four to Wheldon's two). There appears to be another spirited battle brewing, with two 1.5-mile ovals and a temporary street course race on the docket before teams set up shop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
"It's a great way to open up the season," said Wheldon, the 2005 series champion who started from the pole for the fifth time in his career. "I think with Ganassi Racing -- this is not a sales pitch, this is the truth -- we've worked very hard over the winter to try to perfect what we started last year.
"I think I definitely underestimated how difficult the transition would be coming to a new team. And I think some of what you saw tonight is just the experience.
"Hopefully, this bodes well for the rest of the season."
Wheldon is familiar with the omen: Four times in the previous six years the driver to win the opener went on to win the league title.
Wheldon's teammate Scott Dixon was runner-up – 6.4993 seconds behind. Reigning IndyCar Series champion Sam Hornish Jr., driving the No. 6 Team Penske Dallara/Honda/Firestone, finished third for the second year in a row. Delphi Panther Racing's Vitor Meira was fourth, followed by Andretti Green Racing's Tony Kanaan and Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter.
Dario Franchitti, who started third in the No. 27 Canadian Club car for Andretti Green Racing finished seventh, followed by Vision Racing's Tomas Scheckter and Team Penske's Helio Castroneves. Buddy Rice, making his first start for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, rounded out the top 10.
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