Franchitti Takes Overall And Oval Championship Lead

Indianapolis, June 8, 2010: Dario Franchitti's fifth place at Texas - combined with the finishes of some other drivers - moved the Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver into the IZOD IndyCar Series championship lead.

Through seven of the 17 events, the Indianapolis 500 winner has 246 points. Team Penske's Will Power, the pacesetter through six events, is three points behind after a 14th-place finish. He started third and led four laps, but a late-race stop for fuel dropped him in the order.

Scott Dixon is third with 235 points, and Helio Castroneves remained fourth with 211. Race winner Ryan Briscoe advanced two positions to fifth (208 points - 50 for the victory, 1 bonus points for winning the PEAK Performance Pole Award and 2 bonus points for leading a field-high 102 laps).

Franchitti leads in points for the A.J. Foyt Oval Championship Trophy by 11 over Dixon heading to Iowa Speedway on June 20. Power, who won the first two races of the season, has a 42-point lead over teammate Helio Castroneves in the Road/Street Championship standings. The trophy namesake will be announced during the Watkins Glen International race weekend.