Franchitti Wins First Dual IndyCar Texas Race

FORT WORTH, TX – Dario Franchitti held off teammate Scott Dixon in a 10-lap shootout Saturday night to win the first of two races at Texas in the first doubleheader in major open-wheel racing in 30 years.

Franchitti finished 0.0527 seconds ahead of Dixon, with the Target Chip Ganassi teammates ahead of Will Power and polesitter Alex Tagliani.

The 114-lap race on the 1½-mile track was on a blistering pace of more than 207 mph, which would have been the fastest in IndyCar Series history, before the Indianapolis 500-winning car driven by rookie Wade Cunningham, not Dan Wheldon, was involved in a crash to set up the final sprint.

There was an abbreviated celebration between races for Franchitti’s 28th career victory.