With temperatures soaring into the 90’s, the winner of the 96th Indianapolis 500 race was Dario Franchitti, the husband of actress Ashley Judd.
It was his third Indy victory — this one dedicated to last year’s winner, the late Dan Wheldon. The racer was killed in a horrific crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16, 2011.
On Friday Dario told Sports Illustrated that he wanted to win so that his face would bookend Wheldon’s face on the BorgWarner Trophy. Franchitti won in 2010 and made good on his goal to bring home the trophy this year too.
Standing in victory lane this afternoon Franchitti exclaimed, “What a race, what a race. I think D-Dub would be proud of that one.”
Both Ashley Judd and Wheldon’s widow Susie Wheldon accompanied Franchitti when he took a winner’s lap around the track in the pace car.
Check out another photo of the couple and view the race finish video below:
Photo: Video Screen Grab, WENN