Dario Franchitti led from start to finish to capture his first Sonoma Grand Prix Sunday in the final road course race of the year. Franchitti took the pole and led all 75 laps, beating runner-up and new points leader Ryan Briscoe on the way to his fourth victory of the year. Franchitti and Briscoe avoided a multiple-car crash early in Lap 1 on the tough 12-turn, 2.303-mile road course. Scott Dixon, the points leader coming in and Franchitti's teammate with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, finished a disappointing 14th after stalling in the wreck. He fell into third place in the points race. At least seven cars crashed in an accident heading into Turn 2 of the race, including ‘07 Sonoma champion Dixon after he started 10th. There's a quick elevation gain from the starting line to Turn 2. Debris was strewn all over the track. Franchitti, the Scot who moved into second in points at 493 and four points behind Briscoe, became the first flag-to-flag winner in an IndyCar race since Dixon did so in 2003 for 206 laps in a rain-shortened event at Richmond. All the top drivers know the 2009 title will come down to the wire with three races to go. The four points separating Briscoe and Franchitti equals the closest margin in IRL history with three weeks remaining. The race also was that close in 2002. Helio Castroneves, the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner of Team Penske who started third, dropped out in Lap 67 because of suspension problems. Franchitti had experienced a couple of near misses at Infineon – he placed second in 2006 and third in ‘07 after starting on the pole that year. Franchitti led late in that 2007 race but his car was damaged with eight laps to go in a collision with then-teammate Marco Andretti coming out of the pits. Dixon moved into the lead and went on to win. Danica Patrick, who qualified 11th, was part of the opening-lap accident and fell a lap down. She placed 16th.
