Cafes do Brasil Indy 300

October 6, 2010







Cafes do Brasil Indy 300

With a mere 11 points separating championship contenders Dario Franchitti and Will Power before the green flag dropped, the Indy Car season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday night turned out to be as exciting as expected, coming down right to the last few laps before the championship was decided.





Having pit passes with pre-race access, we stayed down on the grid until just before the race itself started, watching race preparations. It was cool watching the teams bring the cars out and line them up and then seeing the drivers coming out for the pre-race ceremony. We got to see my buddy Jason and his Venom Energy drink team prepping Marco Andretti’s car and see all the meticulous preparations that go into fielding one of the cars.

Jason & Michael



Kathy

Just before the command to start engines, we made our way to our seats high above the start finish line to watch the start of the race. The crowd was pretty dismal in size, an indication as to why this will be the last Indy Car race at Homestead for the near future. The good news is that we had plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy the perfect evening for racing. It was pleasantly warm, with a nice breeze and low humidity and a beautiful sunset during the early portion of the race.

Ashley Judd



Alex Tagliani

Needing to gain every possible point possible, polesitter Dario Franchitti lead early and often, darting off and dominating the first half of the race. Will Power needed to keep Dario in his sights and after falling back early, was steadily working his way back toward the front and was with-in sight of the championship and charging in 4th place when disaster struck on lap 135. Power drifted high in turn 4 while passing lapped cars and brushed the wall, damaging his suspension and eventually knocking him out of the race.







With his main competition gone, all Dario needed to do was get a decent finish and the championship would be his. Right away, he assumed a much more cautious approach dropping back to a conservative 10th place and letting others fight it out for the race win. The strategy almost cost him when Milka Duno crashed out in front of him, but he avoided disaster and brought the car home claiming the championship by a mere 5 points. It was Franchitti’s second straight Indy Car championship and 3rd in 4 years.

Franchitti, Dixon & Power

Franchitti & Power

Rafa Matos
With Franchitti playing it safe, the actual race became suddenly much more exciting as first Marco Andretti and then Scott Dixon leading as the laps wound down. Dixon would hold on for the race win and the most excitement reserved for the fierce battle for 2nd between Andretti teammates Tony Kanaan and Danica Patrick. It was lap after lap of darting and weaving as Patrick tried and tried getting around the suddenly very wide car of Kanaan. She finally got around with a great inside pass on the final laps as she took home 2nd place in what was probably her best drive ever.

Danica Patrick





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