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Franchitti Edges Briscoe for Iowa Win

Dario Franchitti scored his second win of the season last weekend, as Iowa, as some late pit stop strategy boosted him ahead of race favorite Ryan Briscoe at the chequered flag. The Australian driver looked like the man to beat all day long, but once again had to settle for second place after a disappointing last stop at the pits.

The first part of the race was not chaos-free, as plenty of drivers exchanged lead due to a high number of yellow flags. From mid-race on, following Tony Kanaan's crash on Lap 108, the field regrouped under the same fuel strategy, as they've all visited the pits under yellow.

Franchitti and Briscoe went on to exchange lead 3 times to the finish line, although at one time it seemed like the Penske driver was not to be denied a second win this season. The Aussie drove away from Franchitti in the closing stages of the race, but pitted 2 laps earlier than the Ganassi driver, allowing him to close the gap on track.

The Scot had his crew to thank for his Iowa win, as he rejoined the track after his last pit stop a full second ahead of Briscoe. In the end, that proved to be enough to retain the lead to the finish line, while Briscoe's only satisfaction on Sunday remained stretching his overall lead to only 3 points from Franchitti.

Completing the overall podium was Andretti Green Racing's Hideki Mutoh, who ended the race almost 7 seconds ahead of Panther Racing's Dan Wheldon. Franchitti's teammate Scott Dixon had to be content with 5th place.

In the overall standings, Franchitti's winning effort at Iowa got him past his teammate Dixon for 2nd place, as 12 points now separates the two Ganassi drivers behind leader Ryan Briscoe. Helio Castroneves retains 4th place overall, some 14 points behind Dixon.
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