Fantastic Finale

Still on the topic of Indy Car Series ...

Among the major auto-racing series around the world, the Indy Car Series is the earliest to conclude its season this year, where Dario Franchitti emerged (barely) as the champion.

And what a dramatic finale it was.

With the margin between Scott Dixon and Franchitti being so minimal, whoever finished ahead of the other would be the champion. And at the restart with only two laps to go in the final race at the Chicagoland Speedway, Dixon and Franchitti were running one-two with every other driver at least a lap down.

Franchitti tried very hard to find a way through, but Dixon held on to his nerve and stayed in front. And with only half a lap to go, Dixon was still leading comfortably and Franchitti was all but consigned to defeat.

Then his luck changed.

Dixon and Franchitti last pitted for fuel simultaneously with some 40 laps to go. While Franchitti was still going strong, Dixon, with the chequered flag literally in sight, ran out of fuel.

Franchitti couldn't believe his luck as he drove by Dixon to claim his fourth victory of the season, and most importantly, the championship as well. Meanwhile, the despondent Dixon could only drag his car slowly across the line in second place.

It's been one heck of a season for Franchitti.

In May he won the prestigious Indianapolis 500 (shortened to 412.5 miles due to rain) for the first time. He then added to back-to-back wins in late June, while extending his lead in the championship to over 80 points.

Then luck deserted him, as he suffered two frightening high-speed flips in two separate races, and saw his lead vanish when his teammate Marco Andretti crashed into him at Sonoma.

But then in the final two races, he benefited from the fueling problem of his rivals (Buddy Rice in Detroit, and Dixon in Chicago) and reclaimed the lead he so deserved.

Which is not bad to a guy who's married to a Hollywood star.