Ex-champ Franchitti is strong in return to IRL

By Mike Harris

Dario Franchitti wasn’t around American open-wheel racing when it finally became one series again last year.

But the 2007 IndyCar Series champion, once a star in the rival CART series, can certainly see the difference now that he is back.

“The competition level has gone up, even since 2007. It’s just so deep now,” Franchitti said Sunday after winning in Long Beach in just his second race back in IndyCar after an aborted shot at NASCAR in 2008. “Just about everybody is here and it really makes winning tougher and even more special when you do it.”

There was some surprise when the popular Scotsman decided to make the move to NASCAR.

He was a fixture with Team Green in CART from 1998 to 2002, then moved to the Indy Racing League’s IndyCar Series when Michael Andretti, Kim Green and Kevin Savoree bought the team from Barry Green, Kim’s brother, and renamed it Andretti Green Racing in 2003.

He was a regular contender through most of those seasons, but didn’t win a championship until two years ago in what was by far his best overall performance.

Franchitti won a career-best four times, including the Indianapolis 500, and had 13 top-fives and 16 top-10s in 17 races. He also came away without injury from a pair of spectacular crashes on consecutive weekends in midseason.

“The reason I went to NASCAR wasn’t anything to do with IndyCar. As I said at the time, it was like I needed to do something else.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time and I needed to try something else. I needed a break. I didn’t expect to be coming back.”

Franchitti took his shot at NASCAR with Chip Ganassi, a longtime friend who owns teams in IndyCar and NASCAR.

The transition was tough, but Franchitti appeared to be getting the hang of the 3,400-pound stock cars.

“I have no doubt that he would have been a winner in NASCAR,” Ganassi said. “It just didn’t work out the way we all hoped it would.”

When no sponsor turned up for his entry by July, Ganassi was forced to shutter Franchitti’s Sprint Cup team, putting the driver and close to 70 people out of work.

Franchitti wasn’t out of a job for long. When Dan Wheldon decided to leave Ganassi’s team to move to Panther Racing, that left open a spot for a veteran driver alongside 2008 Indy winner and series champion Scott Dixon at Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

Franchitti has picked up right where he left off in 2007. He opened with a solid fourth-place run at St. Petersburg and dominated in his win on the seaside street circuit in Long Beach.

“I couldn’t believe it when Chip starting talking about (me) coming back to drive the IndyCar. But here we are. I’m bloody glad I’m back, obviously,” Franchitti said. “But that year away showed me what I was missing.”

After a pair of street races, the series starts a stretch of six straight ovals on April 26 at Kansas, where Franchitti goes in leading the season points.