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Franchitti catpures Iowa Corn 250 win

Dario Franchitti was able to outlast a crash festival at Iowa Speedway to win the Iowa Corn 250.  Franchitti showed that he loves the little 7/8 mile track outside of Des Moines that is a liltle like “flying fighter planes in a gymnasium.   The Indy Cars were running blistering laps at the the banked D-shaped oval, pushing speeds into the 180’s.

A number of drivers had problems between turns one and two all day, problems that seemed to be caused by bumps that have formed in the area of the tunnel that connects the infield to the outside of the track.  Tony Kanaan was the most notable victim of the bumps when he crashed out after leading the race for a number of laps.  In the post-crash interview Kanaan said that he’s had a tough year in what was the official understatement of the day.

One person in the paddock that is never understated is Ashley Judd who was thrilled to see her hubby win in Iowa.  ABC’s Brienne Pedigo interviewed the hatted movie star where she said about Dario:

“I think that he has a fundamental courtesy and respect for his other drivers.  And I remember early on when I’d get to know him and racing, there’d be some beef on the track and someone had behaved in an sportsmanlike way.  And I saw that even as a young man he was a bit of an elder statesman, and the other drivers would come to him looking for counsel, sometimes even bearing gifts.  It was really quite special to see, and certainly endeared me to him.  The guy who interviewed him at the local rock station was saying that too, he’s just a very personable and lovely man, and I absolutely mean that in the best possible way.”

Ashely also gave a shout out to Fathers in the audience, and mentioned that it was the Solstice.  Her monologue was rather “interesting”.

The Iowa race was actually pretty good this year despite all the crashing, but this race track still seems to be a little bit too small for the Indy Cars to me.  Perhaps the surface will wear a little bit and the high groove will come in a bit during future races.   If it does, look out for Tomas Scheckter.    Tomas looked wicked-fast on the high side, and was running with the leaders for a good part of the race, and finished sixth.

We’ll get to find out if the racing gets better, because the IRL announced that they would be returning to Iowa in 2010.

Danica ran a solid race, and fought an understeering race car most of the day to come home with a 9th place finish.  The big news surrounding her weekend was the possibility of a bolt to NASCAR, at least ESPN made it sound that way.  I’m sure ESPN would love to have her running some Nationwide races.

The Hawk Eye has more on Dario’s win:  Franchitti overpowers Iowa field

INDY LIGHTS - Ana Beatriz wins at Iowa
Ana Beatriz got her second Indy Lights win at Iowa on Saturday night, leading Sam Schmidt Motorsports to a 1-2-3 finish.  Beatriz stole the win away from Wade Cunningham, who lead 103 laps, with an outside move coming out of turn four with 9 laps to go.

Des Moines Register: Beatriz first woman to win at Iowa Speedway

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