Franchitti pokes to Indy victory in rain-plagued race

~ Sunday's race ended 83 miles early under a caution flag.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The winner crossed the famed strip of bricks in a downpour, his high-powered machine poking along at about 40 mph. Heck, Dario Franchitti barely beat the tow truck that was lugging a teammate's battered car.

What an appropriate way to take the checkered flag in this wackiest of races.

Actually, the Indianapolis 500 seemed like two races Sunday, with a three-hour break in between and not enough daylight to get in the final 85 miles. It was confusing and difficult and dreary, finally going to the team with its eyes on the skies.

"Restart after restart," said runner-up Scott Dixon, who couldn't do a thing as Franchitti crept to the finish line under a yellow flag. "It's just one of those days where you feel like you haven't even raced. It's sort of being on the freeway and watching lots of people smash into each other. It's just a frustrating day in general."

Franchitti's crew relied on the weather radar as much as the speedometer, which turned out to be the best move on a long day. When the lead pack made its last round of pit stops under caution, the Scotsman remained on the track.

Eleven laps later, it was over. Another line of storms moved in, soaking a track that had been dried twice already.

Franchitti coasted across the line for the biggest win of his career, while actress wife Ashley Judd -- drenched in her summer dress -- ran barefooted to congratulate him.

When Franchitti pulled in to take the traditional sip of milk, he looked around in a daze, as if he couldn't believe it, either. Like everyone else, he probably wanted to say, "What just happened out there?"

Although the last two 500s were defined by seminal events -- Danica Patrick becoming the first woman to lead and Marco Andretti nearly winning as a 19-year-old rookie -- this one will be remembered for all the things that didn't go right.

Start with the weather.

The 2 1/2-mile oval was drenched by morning showers but dried in time for the race to get started on time. Another storm moved in, halting the cars after 113 of their scheduled 200 laps. At that point, Tony Kanaan was leading, and there were enough laps on the books to call it an official race.