He had no other option but to floor the throttle and increase his fuel mix, unleashing maximum power so that he could open up a gap big enough to let him pit, then return to track in the lead. It was inevitable that he would have to stop and did so on lap 57. This saw Montoya drop to eight place. Having put in some terrific laps prior to his stop it was going to be a tall order to get the lead back, however, he was trying hard, too hard perhaps. On lap 63 he shunted with Roberto Moreno dropping him even further down the field.
Attentions now turned to the head of the field. Franchitti was in the lead. A dramatic accident on lap 65 involving Al Unser and Cristiano da Matta saw the course car on track again. The course car developed a fuel leak and had to return to the pitlane to be replaced by another. The leading pack of Franchitti, Tracy, Moore and Andretti were aware of the situation and kept slow pace awaiting the return of a replacement pace car.
An over eager Castro Neves understanding, that racing under green had resumed lunged forward taking out Juan Montoya. As the race approached it's two-hour time limit race officials brought out the chequered flag thus rewarding Franchitti with the race win. This is the second one-two for Team Kool Green in the last three races. The win sees Dario Franchitti take the series lead from Montoya.
Murph (Email)
Round 12
