By Patrick Reynolds

Indianapolis, IN- The spirit of Dan Wheldon was alive and well at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.The day began with pre-race Wheldon tributes, continued with thrilling action from a new chassis that Wheldon helped develop, and ended

with good friend Dario Franchitti winning his third Indy 500.

The new DW-12 chassis, named after the late 2011 race winner, punched a large hole in the air and allowed for dramatic drafting and passing, contributing to an event-record 34 lead changes.

The exciting contest turned into a dramatic finish after a restart with just six laps to go as Franchitti and Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, and another good friend of Wheldon’s, Scott Dixon battling for the lead. The final time Franchitti took the point from Dixon, third running Takuma Sato followed Franchitti through to second place with just under two laps to go.

Sato closed on Franchitti and made his move for the lead to the inside as the last lap began. Sato spun and crashed into the turn one wall, the yellow flag waved, and Franchitti cruised through the final three-quarters of a lap to victory.
Read On!