Andretti claims Iowa Corn 250 for first win in almost five years

NEWTON - It's been a long time for Marco Andretti.

A long time since he has had a strong finish at Iowa Speedway and an even longer time since he visited victory lane.

Andretti battled the likes of Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan late, but raced to the win in the IZOD IndyCar Series Iowa Corn Indy 250 Saturday night in front of 35,118 fans at Iowa Speedway. The win was his first since a 2006 victory at Infineon Race in Sonoma, Calif.

Kanaan, Andretti's former teammate when he won in 2006, finished second and moved into fourth in the IZOD IndyCar Series points standings. Franchitti placed fourth, but his Target Chip Ganassi racing teammate Scott Dixon passed almost everyone in the field to place third.

Andretti, the son of Michael Andretti, proved it wasn't where you started but where you finish. Andretti started 17th but made his way to the front of the field early with a fast car. He passed Tony Kanaan with about 19 laps remaining and held off Kanaan, the 2010 race winner, pulling away for the 24-year-old's second IndyCar win.

"I had eyes in the back as you would say," said Andretti, who had top three finishes at Iowa Speedway in 2007 and 2008 but failed to crack the top 11 the last two years. "I made it difficult on him ... I needed it."

Franchitti and Andretti locked into a battle for the lead in the final 100 laps. Andretti snagged the lead on lap 158 only for Franchitti to reclaim it three laps later. The two jockeyed with each other, duelling as Franchitti kept Andretti at bay working around lap traffic.

Andretti followed Franchitti into the pits when that treacherous bump between turns 1 and 2 played another impact on lap 185. Pole sitter Takuma Sato crashed into the wall, forcing a fifth caution. Andretti beat Franchitti off the pits for the lead with Kanaan coming out in third.

"These guys did a great job in the pits," Andretti said. "They got me the lead back and it was good racing with T.K. It was good fun."

They exchanged leads with less than 50 laps to go before Andretti held on for good. Kanaan said it he loved the competition in the last part of the race.

"It was a great battle. it was fun," Kanaan said. "It was crazy at the end."

Changes occurred right from the drop of the green flag, setting the tone for a highly competitive race that watched cars run three-wide at more than 170 miles per hour on the .875-mile oval.

Sato, who became the first Japanese driver to earn an IndyCar pole position, held an early lead. Danica Patrick started in the front row for the first time since 2008 didn't get a good start and dropped back immediately. Kanaan, who started in the second row, joined his HV Racing teammate, Sato, in the front of the field.

Franchitti, who qualified sixth, charged the leaders early. He made a move on both Kanaan and Sato on the seventh lap, almost passing both with the same move. He moved into second as Sato clung to a lead that eventually slipped to Franchitti one lap later.

Scott Dixon also started strong for Traget Chip Ganassi Racing. Dixon started in an unusual position at the back of the field, tying his all-time low IndyCar start of 23rd. Dixon, who had started third or better each of the four races with four top-10 finishes at Iowa Speedway, maneuvered his way through the field. By lap 33, Dixon climbed to 12th in the field.

Dixon moved into the top 10 and finished third.

"It was a great run for us," Dixon said. "It felt like a win."

The race had just four cautions last year, but the track caused havoc early and hitting that mark before the halfway point. The infamous bump between turns 1 and 2 played a part in two early yellow flags. Rookie James Jakes collided with a wall on lap 24 and then Mike Conway suffered damaged when he tangled with rookie Ana Beatriz and wrecked on lap 45, only12 laps after the restart.

Rookie Sebastian Saavedra hit the wall in the very same spot on the track as well. Three of the first four cautions involved the critical stretch on the track and rookies.

It also knocked Will Power out of the race about 90 laps into the race. Power hit the bump between the turns and slammed the back of his car into the wall. It added to a rough evening for Power, who encoutered problems after he made contact with Charlie Kimball in the pits during the first caution.

"We shouldn't have been out there with a banged up car," Power said. "Once again we screwed ourselves in the pits like we always do. We have to stop that."

Not only did it affect his finish, but it made threw a monkey wrench in his work for a the IZOD IndyCar Series championship.

Power entered the raced tied with Franchitti for the season points lead. The combination of the his early exit and Franchitti's fifth-place performance gave the two-time defending champion a major advantage.