Franchitti Wins IndyCar Championship
(JOLIET, IL) - Dario Franchitti won Sunday’s IndyCar series finale at Chicagoland speedway and with the victory claimed his first series championship.
The battle for the championship came down to the final lap as Franchitti entered the race with a three-point lead over Scott Dixon. Dixon held a slight lead over the 2007 Indianapolis 500 champion at the white flag, but Dixon's car ran out of fuel coming off the backstretch and entering turn three.
Franchitti made an evasive move to the outside to get around Dixon's slowing car and went on to take the checkered flag for his fourth win of the season.
Dixon was the only other car on the lead lap and coasted home in second place for both the race and the championship. Sam Hornish Junior, Helio Castroneves and Scott Sharp rounded out the top five.
Sunday's race could have been the last for Franchitti in the IndyCar series. Several reports have Franchitti joining Chip Ganassi's Nextel cup team, replacing South Bend native David Stremme in the number-40 Dodge.
Ironically, Ganassi is the owner of Dixon's car in the IndyCar series.
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