Sports
Dario Is Downtown Course Champ: 'It All Came Together,' but St. Pete Fans Are Clear Winners
The defending Indy 500 and IRL Champion finally conquers the downtown St. Petersburg course. Race-hungry fans lined every inch of the course, from the grandstands to any nook and cranny of open fence they could find.
ST. PETERSBURG - Dario Franchitti had a big year in 2010. He won the Indy 500 as well as two other IRL races on his way to his second consecutive Indy Racing League championship.
But in the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Franchitti’s fortunes could best be described as “close, but no cigar.”
Winless with five top-five finishes in six previous races downtown, Franchitti took home the checkered flag on a picture-perfect day for racing Sunday afternoon to capture his first Honda Grand Prix of St. Pete crown.
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“I’d been close here before, but something always seemed to happen,” Franchitti said after his victory. “Today it all came together in the end.”
It all came together in the beginning and middle as well, as the affable Scot led 94 of the 100 laps to easily beat second-place finisher and last year’s winner, Will Power.
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Fan favorite Danica Patrick finished a distant 12th after a couple of bumping incidents.
In addition to the winners on the track, fans and the city of St. Pete were big winners off the course.
After a severe storm forced a postponement of the race to Monday last year, the weather was absolutely gorgeous along the waterfront this year.
That allowed race-hungry spectators to line every inch of the course, from the grandstands to along any nook and cranny of open fence space they could find.
“This was a fantastic weekend of racing and we appreciated having Mother Nature on our side this year,” Mayor Bill Foster said after the race. “Attendance was even stronger than last year, proving just how important this event is to the City of St. Petersburg.”
The easy accessibility and close proximity of the drivers to the fans helped the race become a personal experience for many.
Deidre DeFrance of Palmetto was thrilled to get Patrick’s autograph on a T-shirt as she strolled to pit lane prior to the race.
“I had to chase her all the way down here, and then I didn’t have a pen,” the ecstatic 16-year-old exclaimed. “But I got it!”
