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In only his second Indy car race, Dario Franchitti scored his first PPG Cup points in Sunday's Sunbelt IndyCarnival Australia.
He drove Carl Hogan's Reynard Mercedes-Benz to a ninth place finish, the top rookie showing in the IndyCarnival. Franchitti moved up eight positions in the last eight laps of the race, and survived an event that had a variety of incidents.
Hogan Racing was not immune to the vagaries of this race. Franchitti was one of the first through the race's first incident, barely missing debris from Christian Fittipaldi's accident that could of quickly ended his race before it started.
During the remainder of the race, Franchitti had his car stall after a pit stop, received a drive through penalty for pit lane speed violation, and had an on track spin and stall. A confluence of events like these during a race are usually a recipe for a 25th place finish. Franchitti took all this in stride and never stopped fighting.
"I couldn't work on moving up the field until after the first pit stop," said Franchitti. "The second set of tires and a front wing change made the car much more driveable. Before that, the rear grip was pretty much non existent. The team made great calls on fuel strategy. I am happy to have survived and very happy to leave with points and the car in one piece."
"I am completely exhausted," said team owner Hogan. "I have never seen a race with such a variety of events. And to cap it off, to have the one lap to go white flag thrown twice! I was glad to see it the first time and doubly so the second. Dario drove a great race, a masterful job."
Franchitti was the fastest rookie in all practice sessions, the highest rookie qualifier by four positions, and the highest rookie race finisher by five spots. The land down under will always be held in high esteem, with up beat memories for Franchitti and Hogan Racing.
Source: CART News Service