Scotland's Dario Franchitti won an emotionally charged 96th Indianapolis 500 Sunday to join an elite band of drivers to win the 101-year-old race three times. The 39-year-old Franchitti recovered after his car was damaged in a freak pit-lane incident in the early stages of the 200-lap race, then survived a last-lap tussle with Japan's Takuma Sato to add to his wins at the Brickyard in 2007 and 2010. Franchitti's New Zealand teammate Scott Dixon, the 2008 Indy 500 winner, crossed the line second while Brazil's Tony Kanaan was third as the race finished under a yellow caution flag when Sato crashed on the last lap. “This means the world, this is Indianapolis,” said Franchitti. “To be on this trophy either side of Dan (Wheldon), that means more than anything.” Wheldon, one of Franchitti's closest friends, won the Indy 500 in dramatic circumstances last year but was killed in a season-ending race in Las Vegas. Sunday's race was preceded by an emotional tribute to the popular Englishman. After the race, Franchitti embraced Wheldon's widow, Susie, who was present with her two sons. “What a race. I think Dan Wheldon would be proud of this one,” said Franchitti. “Vegas last year was the lowest of the low but the reason we all got back in the cars, the reason the mechanics got back in pit lane, the reason why the fans came back to the races, is the emotion of days like today.” Franchitti became just the 10th driver with at three wins in the race, which was first held in 1911. Only A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears, with four wins each, have been more successful in America's greatest motor race. Franchitti was one of 10 drivers to lead Sunday's incident packed race which featured a record 35 lead changes and eight cautions, including one just before the end that resulted in a six-lap scramble to the checkered flag. Brazil's Rubens Barrichello, who moved to IndyCar this season after a long career in Formula One, came 11th, the best place of the seven rookies in the field. “I didn't have many expectations,” he said. “People were racing hard, it's just madness out there sometimes.”
