Dario Franchitti going for the championship
IndyCar Series racer Dario Franchitti has shrunk Will Power’s 59-point lead to a mere 17 points. With just two races left in this season, Franchitti believes it’s never too late to go for the top spot on the podium.
Franchitti has been dominating the tail end of this season. On August 28 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, just southwest of Chicago, Franchitti started his rise in the ranks driving past Will Power who had to pit for fuel in the final five laps
from the finish. In a brilliant show of faith, Franchitti’s Target/Chip Ganassi crew decided not to change his tires in his final pit stop. It was a gamble that paid off.
At Kentucky the following week, Franchitti finished fifth, ahead of Power who finished in eighth position.
Franchitti is the king of end-of-season comebacks. In 2007 he was behind Scott Dixon by four points and in 2009 he trailed Ryan Briscoe by 25 points as he entered the season’s last two events. In both seasons he surpassed his dominating rivals to win the
Indy Racing League’s year-long championship title. This time he’s 17 points behind Will Power with, as is now custom, two races left.
In further bad news for Power, both upcoming races are on the ovals. Over the course of their career, Power has rarely finished ahead of Franchitti on the ovals.
Technically speaking, Scott Dixon is still in the race as well. At 83 points behind Power, it’s still possible for him to rise above his two competitors. But when asked about what he thinks of the upcoming race on September 19 in Japan, Dixon says, “Dario
has been there before and raced well in Japan and had a shot at winning the race in Japan. It’s Will’s first time racing at Motegi. Will is aggressive and is with a great team and with Ryan and Helio Castroneves, Team Penske has had some great results there
in the past. I think Will surprised a lot of people this year and I think he will keep on surprising.”
Franchitti said, “We know it’s doable. Every single person at Team Target knows it’s doable, from Chip Ganassi right on down. People say things about it, but my focus is so tight on doing the job and what we have to do in order to win it, I don’t even think
about outside issues like that right now.”
This year Power scored 412 points in nine races that weren’t ovals. Franchitti had 105. But on the ovals, where it’s nothing but slight left turns, Franchitti has 228 points in six events against Power’s 140. And that’s not the only thing going in Franchitti’s
favour.
The 37-year-old Scotsman has experience on his side. As Dixon mentioned, he’s been in this exact situation before, twice. Another factor is his ability to dominate on the ovals. However all is not lost for Power.
Franchitti has never won an IndyCar Series race at Motegi, he has however finished twice in the top five and three times in the top ten.
At 29 years old, Power is going for an IndyCar Series Championship for the first time. His poor record at converting the ovals into a victory over his career will surely be the determining factor as to this season’s champion. But he knows that if he can
win this race, he can win the championship.
“We have to have a good finish,” Power said. “I can’t afford to have another bad one. We’ve had difficulty on all the ovals this year. We’re due for a good result on a 1.5 mile oval. We have to have one. When you are coming to a race you think of the points,
but when you are in a car you are trying to win. We need a podium result, but we have to beat Dario.”
What it really comes down to is Power’s ability to beat out his rival Franchitti in the final two races on the ovals; it’s no longer a question of victory or defeat, just a matter of who gets there first between these two top spot racers.
The first of the final two races will be held at Motegi, Japan on September 19, and the grand finale of the season is at Homestead-Miami Speedway on October 2.
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