Dario Franchitti appeared to be as surprised as anyone when he took the chequered flag to claim victory in the rain-interrupted 91st Indianapolis 500, becoming the second British winner in three years after Dan Wheldon's triumph in 2005.
Franchitti, who also becomes the second Scotsman to win the 500 after
Jim Clark, inherited the lead on lap 155 when Andretti Green Racing team-mate Tony Kanaan pitted under yellow, and splashed across the finish line under a yellow/chequer combination eleven laps later as rain returned to the Brickyard for the second time.
The Scot had run solidly in the top five throughout the first half of the race, before proceedings were delayed for the first time. When the action resumed after several hours, and with no work being permitted during the downtime, the #27 Canadian Club Dallara-Honda was forced to make an unscheduled pit-stop on the parade lap due to a cut tyre. However, despite the early stop dropping Franchitti from fifth to twelfth, he quickly moved back to the front of the field, taking the lead on lap 137 and remaining there for seven laps until the pit-stop cycle worked through again.
Having returned to the front following Kanaan's stop on lap 155, Franchitti remained in charge while, all around, chaos reigned.
First, Jaques Lazier crashed, trying to leave Kanaan room coming to the lap 157 restart. Kanaan spun without damage, but Lazier's contact with the wall saw the restart aborted. Six laps were needed to clear up the mess, but the green was short-lived as Dan Wheldon and Marco Andretti made contact, causing Ed Carpenter and Buddy Rice to crash in avoidance. When the yellows came out this time, they coincided with the return of the rain, confirming Franchitti's victory.
"Who would have thought it?" the Scot said, as amazed as anyone at his turn of fortune, "I can't believe it.
"I have thank my team. The reason we went for that strategy was because we cut a tyre on some debris - we had to make the pit-stop. But these guys called a great race. I was saving fuel under the yellow, so much fuel. I can't believe it."
