By OnMilwaukee Staff Writers   Published Jun 19, 2011 at 6:33 PM

Dario Franchitti pulled into a tie atop the IZOD IndyCar Series points standings Sunday with a victory in the Milwaukee 225 at the Milwaukee Mile.

Franchitti, who started the race on the pole, led 161 of 225 laps, including the final 26, and won for the third time this season – and the first time at the Mile since 2004.

He surpassed leader Helio Castroneves coming out of a caution on lap 195. Castroneves took advantage of a pit stop opportunity to service his left rear tire and take on fuel.

Tony Kanaan, in second at the time, crashed which allowed Franchitti to take back the lead and cruise to his third victory of the season.

"That was a hell of a run today," Franchitti said. "The first part of the race I thought I had a bit of an advantage on everybody. Very tough, as usual here. Tough on your own just balancing the car, but then you get in traffic and it gets really difficult. It's the same for everyone."

Franchitti won for the 29th in his career, tying him with Rick Mears for ninth on the all-time victory list. In 12 starts at the Milwaukee Mile, Franchitti has six top-five finishes including two victories.

Graham Rahal made the podium for the third time this season finishing second, 1.4271 seconds behind Franchitti. He took advantage of a couple double-file restarts to move up up from the No. 12 position.

"I gained at least one position, maybe two, per restart, and that was hugely beneficial to me," Rahal said.

Seeing a Rahal finish second might have triggered some deja vu among longtime Mile fans. His father, Bobby, took second three times during his IndyCar career. He was watching from the stands Sunday – Father's Day –  hoping his son could buck the dubious family tradition.

Oriol Servia took third while Will Power, who came into the race leading the series in points, finished fourth.

The series continues next week with the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at the Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. It will be the eighth of 17 races.