Close Finish at Indy Grand Prix

Dario Franchitti went wire-to-wire on Sunday to win the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma, his fourth win of the year and first-ever at Infineon Raceway.

Franchitti (driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing), who qualified on the pole, took the lead at the drop of the green flag and had nothing but open track in front of him for the 75-lap race. Equally consistent was the steady presence of Ryan Briscoe (Team Penske), who held second place throughout, finishing just under .25 seconds behind the winner.

Rookie Mike Conway (Dreyer & Reinbold) took third, his best finish of the year, after passing Hideki Mutoh with just two laps to go on the 12-turn, 2.303-mile track. It was the final IndyCar Series road course race of the year.

The race started with a bang — an eight-car crash on the first lap of Turn 2. Scott Dixon (Target Chip Ganassi), the overall IndyCar Series leader entering the race, finished 13th after stalling in the wreck. Danica Patrick (Andretti Green Racing) was also caught up in the accident, and finished in 16th place.

Briscoe leaves Sonoma with the IndyCar Series points lead (487) over Franchitti (493) with three races remaining. Dixon is now third (477).

Franchitti became the fifth different driver in five years to win in Sonoma – Tony Kanaan (2005); Marco Andretti (2006); Dixon (2007); and Helio Castroneves (2008).

Driver Will Power missed the race after a serious crash in practice on Saturday, breaking two vertebrae in his back and sustaining a concussion.