It was a good day for Chip Ganassi. His racers ran away from the field and finished first and second at Richmond International Raceway. The victory was Scott Dixon's 19th career win in IRL competition, which ties him with Sam Hornish Jr. for the most in the series. With Ganassi and Roger Penske dominating the Indy Racing League for the moment, it's a fair bet that he will sit alone at the top before long.
Dario Franchitti led most of the race, but was beaten in the pits on the final stop. In dirty air on a 0.750-mile track, he was never able to get around Dixon and recorded his worst IRL short track finish in his last four attempts—he won the three previous.
Danica Patrick continues to be one of the hottest drivers in the series. With a fifth-place finish at Richmond, she recorded her seventh consecutive top-10, of which five were also top-fives. She's been great on the ovals, but the series now turns its attention to a string of road and street courses. There is some hope; the last time the IRL was on a twisty track was at Long Beach and Patrick kicked off her streak with a fourth there after starting deep in the field in 22nd.
Results, with average finishFinish | Start | Driver | Laps | Status | Avg Fin |
1 | 2 | Scott Dixon | 300 | Running | 6.86 |
2 | 1 | Dario Franchitti | 300 | Running | 4.00 |
3 | 5 | Graham Rahal | 300 | Running | 10.50 |
4 | 8 | Hideki Mutoh | 300 | Running | 8.50 |
5 | 10 | Danica Patrick | 300 | Running | 8.40 |
6 | 17 | Tony Kanaan | 299 | Running | 8.29 |
7 | 16 | Marco Andretti | 299 | Running | 8.00 |
8 | 6 | Raphael Matos | 299 | Running | 8.00 |
9 | 12 | Robert Doornbos | 299 | Running | 9.00 |
10 | 13 | Dan Wheldon | 299 | Running | 5.71 |
11 | 9 | Tomas Scheckter | 299 | Running | 9.71 |
12 | 7 | E J Viso | 299 | Running | 11.00 |
13 | 14 | Ed Carpenter | 299 | Running | 11.67 |
14 | 15 | Justin Wilson | 298 | Running | 10.50 |
15 | 18 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 298 | Running | 15.50 |
16 | 19 | Mario Moraes | 297 | Running | 16.50 |
17 | 3 | Helio Castroneves | 245 | Accident | 7.88 |
18 | 11 | Mike Conway | 135 | Accident | 18.00 |
19 | 4 | Ryan Briscoe | 26 | Accident | 18.33 |
20 | 20 | Jaques Lazier | 0 | Accident | 18.33 |
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