2012 MARKS ANOTHER SUCCESFUL SEASON FOR TCGR
2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Season Highlights
The 2012 season marked Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon’s fourth season as Target Chip Ganassi Racing (TCGR) teammates. Dixon posted two wins and a third-place finish in the overall championship standings, also earning the most laps led for the 2012 season (456). Franchitti placed seventh in the championship standings and won the Indianapolis 500, making him the 10th driver in history to win three Indianapolis 500’s.
Round 1, Streets of St. Petersburg - Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
• Finishing Positions: Dixon – Second, Franchitti – 13th
• Dixon’s finish of second marked his third second-place finish at St. Pete (2006, 2007) – each time to Helio Castroneves
• Dixon clinched two bonus points for leading the most laps, with 37 laps lead
• The top-five finish marked the 91st of Dixon’s career
Round 2, Barber Motorsports Park – Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama
• Finishing Positions: Dixon – Second, Franchitti – 10th
• This was the third time the IZOD IndyCar Series has raced at Barber
• It was Dixon’s third second-place finish in as many races at the track
• Dixon earned bonus points for the second week in row for leading the most laps
• It was only the second time Dixon had led laps in the first two races of the season, the first time was in 2003 when he won the series championship
• It was Dixon’s 17th podium finish on a road course in 40 starts
• Dixon gave TCGR its 47th podium finish on a road course in 150 starts
• It was Franchitti’s 46th top-10 finish since joining TCGR in 2009
Round 3, Streets of Long Beach - Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
• Finishing Positions: Franchitti – 15th, Dixon – 23rd
• Franchitti qualified on pole position
• This race marked TCGR’s 17th visit to Long Beach
Round 4, Streets of Sao Paulo - Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 Presented by Nestle
• Finishing Positions: Franchitti – Fifth, Dixon – 17th
• This was the third visit by the IZOD IndyCar Series to the Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil
• Franchitti entered the top-10 in points for the first time in 2012
• This was Franchitti’s second top-five in three trips to Sao Paulo (2011: fourth)
• Franchitti earned his 108th career top-five finish
• With the top-five finish, Franchitti now has 32 top-fives on street courses
• Both Franchitti and Dixon led at least one lap in the race
• Dixon has led at least one lap on two out of three trips to Sao Paulo
Round 5, Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Indianapolis 500
• Finishing Positions: Franchitti – First, Dixon – Second
• In celebration of Target’s 50th Anniversary in May, Franchitti ran the No. 50 instead of his usual No. 10
• Franchitti gave TCGR its fourth victory at the Indianapolis 500. (2000: Juan Pablo Montoya; 2008: Dixon; 2010: Franchitti; 2012: Franchitti)
• This win marked Chip Ganassi’s fifth Indianapolis 500 victory as an owner. He won his first Indianapolis 500 as a team owner after joining Pat Patrick to field Emerson Fittipaldi in 1989. Fittipaldi started third and led 158 laps to win the race
• Chip Ganassi is now tied with Lou Moore for second all-time in Indianapolis 500 wins as an owner behind only Roger Penske
• This was Franchitti’s third win at the Indianapolis 500 (2007, 2010, 2012)
• This win marked TCGR’s 87th win and CGRT’s 146th win overall
• This victory at the Indianapolis 500 was Franchitti’s 31st win in Indy car racing, tying him with Paul Tracy and Sebastien Bourdais for seventh on the all-time Indy car wins list
• There have been six three-time winners of the event. For all six three-time winners (Louis Meyer – 1928, 1933, 1936; Wilbur Shaw – 1937, 1939, 1940; Mauri Rose – 1941, 1947, 1948; Johnny Rutherford – 1974, 1976, 1980; Bobby Unser – 1968, 1975, 1981 and Helio Castroneves – 2001, 2002, 2009) none had the same car number in all three races. Franchitti joins the list winning with the No. 27 (2007), the No. 10 (2010) and the No. 50 (2012)
• In 40 starts at IMS, TCGR drivers have amassed three poles, 15 top-fives and 25 top-10s
• TCGR’s first and second-place finishes marked their 31st double podium and the 15th double podium for Franchitti and Dixon since becoming teammates in 2009
• This marked the second time Franchitti and Dixon finished 1-2, respectively, in the Indianapolis 500
• This win was Franchitti’s 16th victory on an oval, and came in his 237th start in Indy car racing
• There are only two drivers from Scotland that have ever won the Indianapolis 500: Jimmy Clark, from Kilmany, won the Indianapolis 500 in 1965 and Franchitti, from Edinburgh.
• Franchitti led at least one lap in seven of his nine starts at IMS
• Franchitti led seven times for 23 laps
• Dixon led nine times for a total of 53 laps
• This was the seventh race, in 10 starts, at IMS where Dixon has led at least one lap
• Dixon’s lap 177 pass for the lead broke the record for lead changes in the Indianapolis 500, with 30
• Dixon’s second-place finish marked his third podium at IMS (2007, 2008, 2012) and the 68th podium of his career
• Dixon’s top-five finish was his fifth at IMS and the 93rd of his career
• This second-place finish marks Dixon’s 135th career top-10
• Dixon has completed the last 1,366 consecutive laps of Indianapolis 500 competition, which represents the most consecutive laps completed by a driver in Indianapolis 500 history
• This was the 96th win for the Target Racing Program, which incidentally came during 96th running of the Indianapolis 500
Round 6, Streets of Belle Isle – Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix
• Finishing Positions: Dixon – First, Franchitti – Second
• Dixon qualified on pole position
• This was the first race at the Streets of Belle Isle since 2008
• Dixon led every lap in the race (60/60)
• This was Dixon’s 28th win in Indy car competition
• This marked Dixon’s third win on a street course
• With the win, Dixon passed Johnny Rutherford for sole possession of 11th on the all-time Indy car wins list. He was now one win away from tying Rick Mears for 10th with 29
• Dixon gave TCGR its second win at the Streets of Belle Isle (Alex Zanardi, 1998)
• This was TCGR’s 88th win and CGRT’s 147th win overall
• This win was also the 97th win for the Target Race Program
• The last race Dixon led every lap in was in 2003 at Richmond International Raceway
• This was the 15th 1-2 finish for TCGR and the eighth for Dixon and Franchitti since becoming teammates in 2009
• This was the 32nd double podium for TCGR and the 16th for Dixon and Franchitti since becoming teammates in 2009
• This was Franchitti’s fifth top-five finish in seven starts at Belle Isle
Round 7, Texas Motor Speedway – Firestone 550
• Finishing Positions: Franchitti – 14th, Dixon – 18th
• In 13 starts at TMS, Dixon has one win (2008), one pole, six podiums and has led 256 laps
• In 119 starts on oval tracks, Dixon had 17 wins, 15 poles, 46 podiums and had led 3,281 laps
• In 10 starts at TMS, Franchitti has one win (2011), two poles, two podiums and has led 236 laps
Round 8, The Milwaukee Mile – Milwaukee IndyFest
• Finishing Positions: Dixon – 11th, Franchitti – 19th
• Franchitti qualified on pole position
• This was Franchitti’s second pole at Milwaukee and his 27th overall in Indy car racing
• Franchitti led 63 laps at the event
Round 9, Iowa Speedway – Iowa Corn Indy 250
• Finishing Positions: Dixon – Fourth, Franchitti – 25th
• Franchitti qualified on pole position
• With his fourth-place finish, Dixon earned TCGR’s seventh top-five in six visits to Iowa Speedway
• Dixon led two times for a total of 76 laps
• Dixon earned his 95th top-five of his career
Round 10, Streets of Toronto – Honda Indy Toronto
• Finishing Positions: Franchitti – 17th, Dixon – 25th
• Franchitti qualified on pole position
• This was Franchitti’s fourth career pole at Toronto
Round 11, Edmonton City Centre Airport – Edmonton Indy
• Finishing Positions: Franchitti – Sixth, Dixon – 10th
• Franchitti qualified on pole position
• TCGR drivers made 10 starts from the Streets of Edmonton in five races, earning two victories (2008, 2011: Dixon), five podiums, nine top-10 finishes and leading 36 laps
• In four starts at Edmonton, Franchitti had completed all 345 laps, earning three top-fives and four top-10 finishes
• Franchitti earned the 154th top-10 of his Indy car career
• With a 10th-place finish, Dixon earned the 138th top-10 of his Indy car career
• Dixon celebrated his 32nd birthday on race day. In 11 starts in races on or the weekend after his birthday, Dixon has accumulated three wins (Mid-Ohio: 2007; Edmonton: 2008, 2010), four podiums, eight top-10 finishes and led 66 laps
• This was the first time the Edmonton Indy was completed caution-free
Round 12, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio
• Finishing Positions: Dixon – First, Franchitti – 17th
• Franchitti had earned his sixth consecutive front row start, qualifying second for the second race in a row
• With the win, Dixon was now tied with Rick Mears for 10th on the all-time Indy car wins list with 29
• With his victory at Mid-Ohio, Dixon is now the winningest driver at the course with four victories (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012)
• Every race in which Dixon has led a lap at Mid-Ohio, he has gone on to win
• This was Dixon’s ninth win on a road course and the 21st road course win for Team Target
• Dixon gave TCGR its eighth victory at Mid-Ohio (1996, 1997: Alex Zanardi; 1999: Juan Pablo Montoya; 2010: Franchitti; 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012: Dixon)
• This win marked TCGR’s 89th win and CGRT’s 149th win overall
• This win was also the 98th win for the Target Race Program
• TCGR drivers have made 35 starts at Mid-Ohio in 19 races, earning eight victories, two poles, 12 podiums and 21 top-fives
Round 13, Infineon Raceway – GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma
• Finishing Positions: Franchitti – Third, Dixon – 13th
• Since becoming Target teammates in 2009, Dixon and Franchitti now had a combined total of 60 podium finishes
• Franchitti scored his third podium of the season
• TCGR drivers have made 14 starts at Sonoma in seven races, earning nine top-five finished
Round 14, Streets of Baltimore - Grand Prix of Baltimore
• Finishing Positions: Dixon – Fourth, Franchitti – 13th
• Dixon scored his sixth top-five finish this season
Round 15, Auto Club Speedway – MAVTV 500
• Finishing Positions: Franchitti- Second, Dixon- Third
• Franchitti earned his fourth top-five finish this season and the 112th of his career
• Dixon led at least one lap in nine out in the 15 races this season
• Dixon finishes the 2012 season with the most laps led (456)
• Dixon earned his eighth top-five finish of the season and the 98th of his career
Championship Notes
• Final Points Positions: Dixon- Third, Franchitti- Seventh
• Scott Dixon led at least one lap in nine out of 15 races in the season, leading a total of 456 laps.
2012 By the Numbers
Number of Races: 15
Overall Points: Dixon- third (-33) Franchitti- seventh (-105)
Oval Points: Dixon, third (-24), Franchitti, sixth (-34)
Road/Street Course Points: Dixon, third (-88) Franchitti, seventh (-150)
Most Laps Led: Dixon (456)