INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Dario Franchitti's first win at Indianapolis, in 2007, made him more than just Ashley Judd's husband.
His second win, in 2010, was about pure dominance — he led 155 of the 200 laps.
This year's victory was about standing among the all-time greats. He earned $2,474,280 from an overall purse of $13,285,815 for Sunday's win. The four-time series champion from Scotland became just the 10th driver to win IndyCar's signature event at least three times.
Helio Castroneves, the only other current driver with three wins at Indy, already was promoting next year's race.
"Dario, well done, man," Castroneves said Monday during the victory awards celebration at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "Three times. Now, we're going to be racing, so who gets four? That'll be cool, huh? That'll be really cool."
Now that Franchitti has basically done it all, there's only one thing left.
Dancing.
Castroneves won 'Dancing with the Stars,' so a few of the drivers had a little fun with Franchitti now that he's joined Castroneves as a three-time winner.
"Three times," Alex Tagliani said. "I think the drivers think you need to step it up. We think if you come and try to do it four times, you should try 'Dancing with the Stars.' I think that's the only thing you can try to do to step it up."
Castroneves continued the joke.
"You want to do it? I know the people. I have people," he said as Judd gave the cutoff sign.
Franchitti prefers to let his car do the dancing. He started 16th, took the lead for good in the No. 50 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda car from his teammate, Scott Dixon, on lap 199. He overcame a spirited passing attempt by Takuma Sato in turn 1 on the final lap. Sato spun and hit the SAFER Barrier while Franchitti hung on to win the race under caution.
Sato explained the reasoning behind his aggressive inside move.
"There's only one podium, which is the winner," Sato said matter-of-factly.
Sato joked that Franchitti wouldn't want to see the No. 15 car next to him in the future.
"I'm small, but I need a little bit more room," Sato said, drawing laughter from Franchitti and a thumbs-up from Judd.
When asked if everything was OK between himself and Franchitti, Sato said "I think so. I hope,'" as Franchitti nodded affirmatively.
Justin Wilson recalled getting hopeful for a moment when he saw that Franchitti and Sato nearly connected.
Then again, it was Franchitti.
"Dario's a wily old cat," Wilson said. "He had something up his sleeve."
Dixon, who won the race in 2008, earned $1,102,280 for finishing second. It was his seventh consecutive top-six finish at Indianapolis.
Franchitti expects a tougher Dixon the rest of the year.
"I'm a little upset here," Franchitti said to Dixon. "I know you're going to come back stronger."
Franchitti's move to elite status nearly didn't happen. E.J. Viso, who rear ended him in the pits early in the race, acknowledged that he was a bit too close.
"Well, it didn't cost him much," Viso said. "Happy, man, that you won the race. You deserve it."
Unfortunately for Franchitti, he learned Monday that three-time winning status often comes with jokes about your age.
"Dario, you are a legend," Ryan Briscoe, the polesitter who finished fifth, said. "You were a legend to me when I was racing go carts."
James Hinchcliffe wouldn't mind if Franchitti opted for early retirement.
"I hope someday, you get sick of all this winning and let the rest of us do it," he joked.
All kidding aside, the theme of the night was the acknowledgement of Franchitti's new place in Indy history.
"You're a legend, in my opinion," fellow driver Ed Carpenter said. "You're up there with the all-time best, and it's an honor to work with you."
Alternative lenders enticed to North West - bdaily.co.uk
Challenging market conditions are fuelling growth in the asset based finance industry and the number of debt funds in the North West.
That is according to Deloitte’s head of debt advisory in North West, Nigel Birkett.
Figures from the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA) show that the share of facilities above £10m in the overall market has more than doubled from 4% to 9% between 2001 and 2011.
The trend demonstrates the growing maturity of the industry and its acceptance as a form of finance with larger corporates.
Recent years have seen the introduction of US financial heavyweights Wells Fargo and PNC to the UK market through Burdale Financial and KBC Business Capital.
Together with the established lenders in the market, this form of funding is becoming more accepted in the mid-market arena.
Mr Birkett, Partner, said: “The North West has a sizeable asset based lending industry which will only get stronger in the years to come.
“We recently advised on the £80m refinancing of WT Burden, which generated significant appetite from asset finance lenders.
“The number of debt funds is also increasing and can offer an alternative to traditional bank finance.
“Whilst debt funds to date have typically targeted larger companies, recent funds launched such as Metric Capital and Encina are focusing on the mid market.
“As banks continue to focus on strengthening their own balance sheets, increased liquidity appears some way off.
“The increased availability of alternative funding, including asset based lending and mid market debt funds, is therefore good news for corporates in the region.”
Finance Ministry, Bank Indonesia Not Dismayed by Recent Economic Slump - thejakartaglobe.com
The Finance Ministry and Bank Indonesia are optimistic that the recent slump in the financial markets will be just temporary, given that the country’s economy is in solid condition.
Investors scared off by events in Indonesia and abroad on Friday led the country’s benchmark stock index to its biggest single-day fall in almost seven months.
The rupiah also weakened overseas as investors reduced their holdings in Indonesian assets amid concern that the government’s regulatory framework would deter foreign investment. There were also fears that Greece’s withdrawal from the euro zone would siphon money from emerging markets.
Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said he was optimistic that the nation’s economic growth was to remain strong, referring to the recent report issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
He said robust investment and a pick up in investment would be the key drivers in the domestic economy.
The Paris-based organization said in a report on May 22 that Indonesia’s economy “has continued to grow at a rapid pace, despite signs of slowing elsewhere in Asia and its impact on regional trade.”
The OECD predicted Indonesia’s economy will expand 5.8 percent this year and 6 percent next.
Hartadi Sarwono, a deputy governor at the central bank, acknowledged there had been a reallocation of assets from emerging market assets into safe-haven assets.
He also denied talk that Bank Indonesia would impose tight controls in foreign exchange, replacing the nation’s current free-floating foreign exchange system, which ensures the free movement of capital in and out of the country.
Investor Daily
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