THE CHAMP

The 34-year-old Scotsman enjoyed a dream season in the Indy Racing League.
Franchitti entered the 2007 season with four IndyCar Series triumphs in 50-career starts. He got off to a slow start but turned his season around when a rainy day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway played into his hands and Franchitti became the first Scot since Jim Clark in 1965 to win the Indianapolis 500.
From there, Franchitti’s season steamrolled as he picked up victories on the short ovals at Iowa Speedway and Richmond Int’l Raceway in consecutive weeks.
But a late-summer swoon that included violent upside-down crashes in consecutive races at Michigan Int’l Speedway and Kentucky Speedway led him to lose the point lead.
His Andretti Green Racing team fought back, and Franchitti clinched the championship when he passed title rival Scott Dixon on the final turn to win the season finale at Chicagoland Speedway.
“I don’t think if I was on this earth for five lifetimes I could ever one-up Jim Clark,” said Franchitti after becoming the first Scot to claim the IndyCar title.
Even before winning the championship in early September, Franchitti had begun making plans for a career change, and by early October, he had a new job as a stock-car driver.
In 2008, he will drive in the NASCAR Sprint Nextel Cup Series for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

MOMENTOUS OCCASIONS

WHOOPS: Despite leading the points and the race, Dario Franchitti tangled with teammate Marco Andretti at Infineon Raceway. The result, a third-place finish, handed the point lead to Scott Dixon with two races remaining.
HOT STREAK: Scott Dixon jumped into the title chase when he won three-straight races in the month of July.
TOP TYRO: Despite driving only the final six races of the season for Rahal Letterman Racing, Ryan Hunter-Reay still earned the Bombardier Learjet Rookie of the Year Award.
INAUGURATION: The series made its debut at three race tracks — Iowa Speedway, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and the Raceway at Belle Isle. It was the first race of any kind held on the Detroit island since 2001.
WARNED: Indy Racing League President of Competition Brian Barnhart placed all of the IndyCar Series drivers on probation following what he deemed an abundance of rough driving during the high-speed event at Michigan Int’l Speedway.
AND IN THIS CORNER: After Danica Patrick and Dan Wheldon were involved in a highly publicized confrontation at The Milwaukee Mile, Texas Motor Speedway General Manager Eddie Gossage seized the moment by promoting the next week’s race at TMS as if it were a prize fight between Wheldon and Patrick, using a poster titled “Rumble at the Speedway.”
SMACK DOWN: The IndyCar Series was on telecasts around the world after an on-track accident between Sam Hornish, Jr. and Tony Kanaan at Watkins Glen Int’l led to a pitlane confrontation. A verbal confrontation between the two drivers ended with Hornish’s father, Sam, and an associate of the Andretti Green team wrestling on the ground.
TWINKLE TOES: Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves received greater public acclaim for his fall appearances on ABC’s “Dancing with Stars” than his racing career.
GIRL POWER: Three female drivers — Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick and Milka Duno — started the Indianapolis 500 for the first time.

ON THE RECORD

“One of my best friends won, and if it couldn’t be me, I‘m glad it was him.” — Tony Kanaan on Dario Franchitti

“I would have rather had it be a proper race rather than come down to fuel mileage.” — Scott Dixon after losing the championship by 13 points

“It was raining like crazy, and I had to open my visor and I could see the fans were still in the grandstands. It was really special savoring that moment. The first thing was getting to the checkered flag because the car was hydroplaning on the racing slicks. It was so wet. I just wanted to get there.” — Franchitti on winning the Indy 500

“To bring your dad to the track to defend yourself, that is what happens. He’s an old man. I can’t beat up an old man, so I’m not going to do that.” — Kanaan after his confrontation with Sam Hornish, Jr. at Watkins Glen Int’l

“It all made sense when I turned around and looked at the trophy. I saw some of the names on that trophy today. Then, I was in awe. I really was, to see the great names that are on there, see some of the great guys that should be on there like Michael Andretti. It was a humbling experience.” — Franchitti

“I’m surprised it took that long to have an accident like that. They were driving like idiots out there.” — Dixon after the accident that sent Franchitti flipping at Michigan

LOOKING AHEAD

• IndyCar Series drivers will benefit from the use of a new paddle-shifting system, which will debut for the 2008 season. The mechanism will cost teams about $25,000 per chassis.
• The IndyCar Series will debut IndyCar TEAM, a new procedure that replaces the old purse structure that will reward teams for their participation in IndyCar Series races.
• The schedule falls from 17 to 16 races and there will not be an event at Michigan Int’l Speedway, marking the first time since 1970 there won’t be an open-wheel race at the two-mile superspeedway.
• Series champions Sam Hornish, Jr. and Dario Franchitti will each be gone from the series, as both will race full time in NASCAR.

STAT PACK

13     Points that separated champion Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon in the standings. It was the seventh time in 12 seasons the final margin was 20 points or less

5      Races won by Tony Kanaan, a series high during the 2007 campaign

TOP 10

Driver    Points    Wins    Top 5    Top 10    Poles
1. Dario Franchitti    637    4    13    16    4
2. Scott Dixon    624    4    13    16    2
3. Tony Kanaan    576    5    12    13    2
4. Dan Wheldon    466    2    6    11    1
5. Sam Hornish, Jr.    465    1    8    12    0
6. Helio Castroneves    446    1    6    11    6
7. Danica Patrick    424    0    4    11    0
8. Scott Sharp    412    0    3    10    1
9. Buddy Rice    360    0    3    11    0
10. Tomas Scheckter    357    0    2    9    0

WHO, WHAT, WHEN AND WHERE

    Date    Track    Winner    Car    Laps
    March 24    Homestead-Miami Speedway (Fla.)    Dan Wheldon    Dallara-Honda    200
    April 1    St. Petersburg (Fla.) Street Course    Helio Castroneves    Dallara-Honda    100
    April 21    Twin Ring Motegi (Japan)    Tony Kanaan    Dallara-Honda    200
    April 29    Kansas Speedway    Dan Wheldon    Dallara-Honda    200
    May 27    Indianapolis Motor Speedway    Dario Franchitti    Dallara-Honda    166
    June 3    The Milwaukee Mile (Wis.)    Tony Kanaan    Panoz-Honda    225
    June 9    Texas Motor Speedway    Sam Hornish, Jr.    Dallara-Honda    228
    June 24    Iowa Speedway    Dario Franchitti    Dallara-Honda    250
    June 30    Richmond (Va.) Int’l Raceway    Dario Franchitti    Dallara-Honda    250
    July 8    Watkins Glen Int’l (N.Y.)    Scott Dixon    Dallara-Honda    60
    July 15    Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway    Scott Dixon     Dallara-Honda     200
    July 22    Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course    Scott Dixon    Dallara-Honda    85
    Aug. 5    Michigan Int’l Speedway    Tony Kanaan    Dallara-Honda    85
    Aug. 11    Kentucky Speedway    Tony Kanaan    Dallara-Honda    200
    Aug. 26    Infineon Raceway (Calif.)    Scott Dixon    Dallara-Honda    80
    Sept. 2    The Raceway At Belle Isle (Mich.)    Tony Kanaan    Dallara-Honda    89
    Sept. 9    Chicagoland Speedway (Ill.)    Dario Franchitti    Dallara-Honda    200