Franchitti fights to preserve title hope

Dario Franchitti starts the Rockingham 500 today knowing he must win to reignite his dwindling hopes of winning the FedEx CART Championship title.

The 27-year-old Scot starts the 200-lap race around the 1.479-mile banked oval track near Corby, Northamptonshire, from the third row after qualifying fifth yesterday. The Edinburgh-born Team Kool Green driver's fastest lap took 25.001sec, an average speed of 212.967mph, in his Lola-Honda.

Franchitti is aiming for his third win in this year's 19-race series after victories in Vancouver and Montreal. But he knows that failure to finish first tomorrow would all but end his title dream as he goes into the race third in the standings, 69 points behind Cristiano da Matta and 17 points off second-placed Bruno Junqueira.

Darren Manning, from North Yorkshire, makes his CART debut in the 500-mile race. The 27-year-old recorded the 17th fastest time at the wheel of his Team St George Lola-Ford with a best lap of 25.441secs (209.284mph).