Spectacular crash helps Franchitti win second Indianapolis 500

10:24 a.m. -- It's Race Day at the Indianapolis 500 and the stars have come out to watch the "World's Greatest Race."

As a crowd of over 350,000 fans file through the gates for the 94th running of this speed classic, the red carpet is out for a host of Hollywood celebrities and Pro Football Hall of Famers. Actor Jack Nicholson will wave the green flag to start the race at 1 p.m. but another actor will get a high-speed ride of a lifetime at the start.

Actor Mark Wahlberg will be the backseat driver in a Honda Two-Seater that is the "IZOD Fastest Ride in Sports." The car will be driven by Michael Andretti and will line up behind the four Parade Lap cars but in front of the Pace Car when the command is given "Gentleman, Start Your Engines."

At the end of the second parade lap, Andretti will hit the throttle, approaching 200 miles per hour and will catch up to the rear of the field when the green flag is waved. But as the field begins the Indy 500, Andretti and Wahlberg will head down pit lane.

Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian,Justin Timberlake, Lynn Swann, Dan Hampton and Anthony Munoz are just a few of the A-listers that have come to Indianapolis.

12:56 p.m. -- Jewel just nailed the National Anthem. We've got blue skies and an anxious crowd. Beautiful day for a race.

1:12 p.m. -- And they're green ..... but not for long. Davey Hamilton just spun out around turn two of the first lap. Who would have figured the oldest guy in the race would have trouble first. He was the comeback kid in 2007, when he returned to the Indy 500 for the first time since shattering his legs in 2001.

1:19 p.m. -- We're back to green flag racing. Dario Franchitti is the leader, with Helio Castroneves right behind him.

1:24 p.m. -- The only thing that has slowed Tony Kanaan's charge from the rear of the field has been two yellow flags in the first seven laps. He started last in the 33-car field and passed seven cars in the first half lap. Bruno Junqueira just hit the wall to slow Kanaan temporarily.

1:28 p.m. -- Back to green again. Will we have another caution before the first-round of pit stops? I'm guessing yes.

1:32 p.m. -- Danica Patrick is running 25th. During driver introductions, she was booed as loudly as she was during qualifications a week ago.

1:42 p.m. -- Not only can Jack Nicholson handle the truth, he is more than capable of handling his job as green flag waver. With 30 laps complete, the honorary starter has usually left the flagstand, but Jack is refusing to leave because he's having too much fun and has the best seat in the house. Meanwhile, Kanaan is up to 16th and Will Power is the new race leader.

1:48 p.m. -- Green flag pit stops returned to the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in four years as a long stretch of green flag racing has lasted a full fuel load. Franchitti and Power left the pits 1 and 2, respectively, but Power had to return after leaving with part of the fuel equipment dangling from his car. The loose debris has caused another caution.

1:53 p.m. -- Paul Blevins got his job back at the official starter of the IndyCar Series as he stands atop the flagstand with the yellow flag in his hand. After the latest round of pit stops under caution, Franchitti leads three-time Indy 500 winner and four-time pole sitter Castroneves heading to the green flag on lap 43.

2:06 p.m. -- Kanaan has fought his way from 33rd up to 12th in the most impressive charge since General Sherman stormed through Atlanta. He's on target to get to the front of the field as the Indy 500 is just a little past the 100-mile mark.

2:12 p.m. -- John Andretti's sponsor is "Window World." Well, Andretti just got the window slammed on him as he entered the second turn on lap 65. Sparks flew as Andretti's car skidded down the backstretch wall. Guess that means Andretti's co-car owner Richard Petty can shift his focus to tonight's NASCAR Sprint Cup Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

2:19p.m. -- So much for my pick that Scott Dixon would win his second Indianapolis 500 as he was told to leave the pits by his crew before the left front wheel was tightened on a pit stop on lap 67. As Dixon's wheel flew off, it bounded into Franchitti's pit area. Dixon had been running sixth at the time but has dropped to 23rd, although he remains on the lead lap. Raphael Matos also experienced a loose wheel when the right rear came off following his pit stop sending the Brazilian driver spinning on pit road. This only underlines how major mistakes can impact the leaders in the Indianapolis 500, where pressure is magnified. Matos dropped to 24th but remains on the lead lap.

2:21 p.m. -- Kanaan's charge to the front is nearly complete as the last-place starter is up to fourth place behind race-leader Franchitti, pole-sitter Castroneves and Ryan Briscoe as the green flag waves on lap 71.

2:24 p.m. -- Trouble continues for Matos and this time it's the end of his race as he slammed into the wall in the first turn on lap 73. At one point, Matos had been up to third place. That means an early exit for both of the De Ferran Dragon Racing cars as his teammate, Davey Hamilton, was involved in a first-lap crash. Meantime, Ed Carpenter passed Kanaan on the restart and is now fourth. Carpenter is Tony George's stepson. George, of course, was ousted as the CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation by his three sisters and mother in an IMS Board of Directors meeting just two days after the 2009 Indy 500. Revenge would be sweet if this combination finishes in the top three.

2:34 p.m. -- Franchitti used the overtake assist button for the first time in the race on a restart on lap 79 to drive away from Castroneves. Each driver has 15 "push-to-pass" opportunities.

2:40 p.m. -- Danica Patrick is having a forgettable Indy 500. She is 17th after lap 85, having started 23rd. She is the highest of the four females in the race. Sarah Fisher is 19th followed by Simona de Silvestro, a rookie from Switzerland. Ana Beatriz, a rookie from Brazil is 26th. Looks like Race Day might not be Lady's Day. ... Dario Franchitti continues to lead.

2:45 p.m. -- Graham Rahal, who was blackflagged for blocking Dan Wheldon after the last restart, is currently holding up race-leader Dario Franchitti. Rahal is just ahead of Franchitti's car and is trying to keep from falling one lap down to the leader. By serving as an obstacle to Franchitti, Rahal is enabling Helio Castroneves (2nd) and Ryan Briscoe (3rd) to catch up to Franchitti.

2:47 p.m. -- The Indy 500 is at the halfway point with Dario Franchitti the leader after 100 laps, followed by Helio Castroneves, Ryan Briscoe, Ed Carpenter and Tony Kanaan. (ABC just noted that the leader at the halfway point has won only three times in the last 23 Indy 500s.)

2:59 p.m. -- Vitor Meira is out of the Indianapolis 500 after brushing the Turn 2 wall. Meira was injured in last year's Indy 500 when he was involved in a crash with Raphael Matos in the first turn with 25 laps to go. The impact of the crash last year broke several vertebra in Meira's back, but the popular driver from Brazil was able to return to racing this season. After pit stops on lap 109, Franchitti was able to beat Castroneves out of the pits. But the big gainer was Dixon, who improved four positions in the pits and is now in eighth.

3:05 p.m. -- Tony Kanaan passed Helio Castroneves on the restart on lap 112 to take over third position. He then passed Tomas Scheckter on lap 114 to move into second behind Dario Franchitti. Kanaan is attempting to become the first driver in history to start last and win the Indianapolis 500.

3:23 p.m. -- Marco Andretti has moved his way up to fourth place behind Franchitti, Kanaan and Scheckter. What makes Andretti's charge into the top five so interesting is he has used his "Push to Pass" button more than any driver in the race. That's ironic because Andretti downplayed the overtake assist device in the days leading up to the race, saying that five extra horsepower wouldn't make a difference. His crew is telling him to conserve the pushes he has left for late in the race. Meantime, Kanaan is making a green-flag pit stop. He is in and out in 8.8 seconds.

3:25 p.m. -- Helio Castroneves stalled on his pit stop and dropped from fourth to 16th. That certainly makes his task of repeating tougher.

3:29 p.m. -- Ryan Briscoe has smacked the Turn 4 wall on lap 147 on the out lap in his pit stop. He's the third driver of the three-driver Team Penske operation to encounter problems in the pits. Earlier in the race, Will Power left with the fuel hose still attached. Just before Briscoe's pit stop, Helio Castroneves stalled. Guess you could say "It's the pits" for Team Penske at the Indy 500.

3:38 p.m. -- A crowd estimated at over 300,000 fans are being slow cooked in the hottest Indianapolis 500 since 2006. The temperature has risen to 95 degrees, sending many of the 300,000 heading to a cooler area on the grounds. With a quarter of the race to go and still under caution, the top three are Dario Franchitti, Marco Andretti and Tony Kanaan. One week ago, Andretti Autosport was a much-maligned team with all five of its drivers qualifying outside of the top 15. But the team is poised to track down Franchitti in the final 50 laps.

3:47 p.m. -- Sebastian Saavedra, the 19-year-old rookie from Colombia, has just had a huge hit into the wall. He was the driver who was bumped out of the race twice last Sunday during Bump Day. His crash sent the car spinning and the yellow flag is out on lap 161.

3:54 p.m. -- Mike Conway, Justin Wilson, Helio Castroneves and Graham Rahal stayed out during pit stops, so that's the top four, with Dario Franchitti sitting in fifth. Those who just pitted are figuring they won't have to again.

3:59 p.m. -- Who would have thought that two cars from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing would be at the front of the field with 35 laps left in the Indianapolis 500? Mike Conway and Justin Wilson -- two drivers from England -- will need a yellow to come out to win this thing because they can't make it to the finish with the fuel they have.

4:03 p.m. -- Mike Conway's time as the leader at the Indianapolis 500 has come to an end after the driver from England had to pit for fuel on lap 178. That moved his teammate, Justin Wilson, into the lead ahead of Castroneves, Rahal, Franchitti and Kanaan. The first three on that list don't figure to have the fuel to finish without another pit stop either. Nineteen laps to go.

4:08 p.m. -- Pit strategy will be key to determining who wins the Indianapolis 500. Wilson is the leader but it has been 33 laps since his last pit stop. Castroneves is second but he pitted 28 laps ago. Graham Rahal last pitted 31 laps ago, so Dario Franchitti has the edge after pitting 22 laps ago. That has forced the drivers to conserve fuel with 14 laps left in the race. But if the yellow flag waves between now and lap 200, that will scramble the strategy once again.

4:14 p.m. -- With seven laps to go, Dario Franchitti leads the Indy 500.

4:16 p.m. -- Kanaan's drive from last to contention for the Indy 500 has come to an end because he had to pit with four laps to go for a splash of fuel. Franchitti is attempting to conserve fuel with three to go.

4:17 p.m. -- Franchitti has led 152 of 197 laps but the last three are the most important. Can he make it to the end? Franchitti has dropped to 202 miles per hour as he tries to save fuel.

4:19 p.m. -- Ryan Hunter-Reay has just crashed on the final lap of the race so race leader Dario Franchitti has won his second Indianapolis 500. It's the first where he actually traveled the full 500-mile distance because his victory in 2007 was rain-shortened to 166 laps. Dan Wheldon finishes second.

Franchitti drove a flawless race and gets to celebrate his second Indy 500 win, 45 years to the day when fellow Scotsman Jim Clark drove to victory at Indy in 1965.Team owner Chip Ganassi becomes the first team owner to win the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 in the same year. Jamie McMurray drove to the Daytona 500 win.

The race came to an end when Mike Conway's car hooked wheels with Hunter-Reay in the north chute between Turns 3 and 4 and went airborne. It tore into the fence and landed upside down. It's one of the most spectacular crashes in Indianapolis 500 history. Safety workers spent nearly five minutes getting Conway out of the car. He was airlifted to Methodist Hospital to be examined for leg injuries.

And believe it or not, Danica Patrick finished fifth after a miserable May that saw her get booed after qualifying 23rd on Pole Day. Defending champ Helio Castroneves ended up ninth, forced to pit for fuel while leading with eight laps to go.