| INDIANAPOLIS — Franchitti stamped his name in the record books by winning his third Indy 500 on Sunday, a day that started and ended as a tribute to Wheldon, who won the race a year ago but was killed in an October crash in the IndyCar season finale. As his three friends lined up with six laps remaining for the final restart -- Kanaan out front, Chip Ganassi teammates Franchitti and Dixon second and third -- they couldn't help but wonder if Wheldon was at play. Franchitti won a wheel-to-wheel, last-lap battle, sailing away to the checkered flag when Takuma Sato spun out trying to make one last pass on the inside and slammed into the wall. The last-lap pass attempt was Sato's for the taking, and he couldn't pull it off as he hugged the inside white line through Turn 1. His wheels appeared to touch Franchitti's, he spun hard into the wall, and Franchitti sailed past for the win -- this one, just like the first two, under caution. Dixon crossed the finish line in second, and Kanaan was third. |
