FOUNTAIN, Colo. - Although Dario Franchitti was criticized for making the jump to the IRL from the former CART series, his decision is starting to look like a good one.
But it wasn't that way a year ago, when a bad back that needed surgery kept him from proving it wasn't a bad move.
Now, with two wins this year, including Sunday at Pikes Peak International Raceway, perhaps Franchitti will stop hearing the questions.
Franchitti shook off a potentially dangerous pit mishap and used a caution midway through the race to make up ground. He wound up leading the final 63 laps of the IRL's Honda 225.
"The only people that matter, the people who really know what's going on - my bosses, the guys on the team, the guys at Honda - they knew the way I felt," said Franchitti, who had the surgery after last year's race at Pikes Peak. "I'm enjoying my racing, next year's schedule is going to be even better for me and I have great teammates."
Franchitti, who held the lead four times for a total of 128 laps, went into the pits on Lap 85 for four tires and fuel. As he started to pull out of the pits, fuel man Mike Miller had trouble getting the hose disconnected from the car and was clipped by the rear tire. Miller wound up with a twisted knee and Franchitti lost about 10 seconds, allowing three drivers to pass.
The Scottish driver took advantage of a yellow flag to clear debris on Lap 120, caught up to the leaders and passed Sam Hornish 12 laps later. Adrian Fernandez stayed close for about 35 laps, then Franchitti pulled away after another caution.
Franchitti took the checkered flag 2.2429 seconds ahead of Fernandez. It was the 11th straight victory for Honda. Only Hornish, who won the season opener in Homestead, in a Toyota, has kept Honda from being 12-for-12 this year.
The winner averaged 142.182 mph for the 225 laps. He picked up 53 points in the IndyCar series standings and moved into fifth place.
INFINITI PROS: P.J. Chesson became the third driver in series history to win three straight races, taking the checkered flag in the Pikes Peak 100 by 1.0293 seconds over Paul Dana.
AMERICAN LE MANS: JJ Lehto and Marco Werner clinched the driver championship in Elkhart Lake, Wis., when they drove an Audi R8 to victory at Road America. Werner, the series champion last year when he co-drove with Frank Biela, became the first to win two championships in the series' top Prototype class. Lehto, who has raced in the series since its inception in 1999, won his first title with two races remaining.
MOTOCROSS: Jason Stewart clinched his second AMA Chevrolet 125cc title in Binghamton, N.Y., when he won for the ninth time this year. The victory was the 26th for Stewart on the 125cc circuit, tying him with Ricky Carmichael for the most all time.
