Bathgate’s Dario Franchitti will end 12 months of Nascar frustration and disappointment when he returns to IndyCar racing next weekend. The 35-year, who won the Indy title last year, will drive the No10 Target Chip Ganassi car at Surfers’ Paradise in Australia.
Franchitti will partner Kiwi Scott Dixon — the man he beat to both the 2007 IndyCar Championship and Indianapolis 500 — in the two-car team which will also form Ganassi’s IndyCar pairing for 2009.
“I’m really looking forward to getting into the Target IndyCar and to do it at Surfers Paradise, which is one of my favourite tracks, is a big bonus,” Franchitti, who won the Aussie race in 1999, said today.
“I’m excited to start working with the team, and having Scott as my new team-mate is certainly going to be fun. I think this will give us a good jumpstart on the 2009 season.”
And the Scot — whose return to single-seater action next Sunday coincides with his cousin, Paul Di Resta, bidding to overhaul his two-point deficit to win the German Touring Car Championship at Hockenheim — admits he’s missed the buzz of single-seater racing.
“I have to admit I knew battling it out so close over those final few races last season that I’d given it everything, and I knew I wasn’t going to be 100% for another year,” Franchitti continued.
“So I wanted to go do something else, and that’s why I tried Nascar. But just as we began to get momentum and started to think about results, the team was shut down due to sponsorship issues.
“It was pretty soon after that I realised just how much I missed IndyCars. That was further compounded when the unification of IndyCars and Champ Cars was confirmed, and that has made the series even stronger.
“I looked at the 2009 schedule and it looks terrific. The series is a lot different than 12 months ago, there’s 28 cars on the grid — which is awesome — and I think it’s in a lot better shape, so that’s great. I can’t wait to get ba ck into the action next weekend.”
JM