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Indy Champ Franchitti Joins NASCAR

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By TONY FABRIZIO, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 3, 2007

TAMPA - Former Formula One star Juan Pablo Montoya has struggled. Three-time Indy Racing League champion Sam Hornish Jr. can't even qualify for a race.

But 2007 Indy 500 winner and IRL champion Dario Franchitti, at age 34, is headed to NASCAR, confident he will be able to make the transition.

Chip Ganassi Racing made it official Wednesday: Franchitti will drive the No. 40 Dodge in Nextel Cup in 2007. The Scotland-born Italian becomes the first European driver to race full-time in NASCAR's top level.

'It is going to be a heck of a challenge to learn everything,' Franchitti said. 'You know, just sitting here with the experience of zero, and I am going to be relying a lot on my new teammates.'

Franchitti will replace David Stremme and team with Montoya, who joined Ganassi from F1 last year, and up-and-comer Reed Sorenson. Montoya and Franchitti took the 1999 CART championship to the wire, with Montoya winning on a tiebreaker.

As Montoya did last year, Franchitti will take part in a development program that will include ARCA and Busch Series races and testing. He will make his debut in Friday's ARCA race at Talladega.

'Any time you can sign a driver of Dario's caliber, you have to be thrilled,' Ganassi said. 'Dario is a world-class driver. He is a proven winner, an Indianapolis 500 champion and an accomplished individual that will be a super teammate to both Juan Pablo and Reed.'

Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman are former open-wheel drivers who became NASCAR stars, but open-wheel transplants have had a tougher time in recent years.

Montoya won on the Sonoma, Calif., road course and finished second at Indianapolis, but he has had only one other top-five finish. Hornish is 0-for-2 in trying to qualify for Nextel Cup races, and his average finish in six Busch starts is 29th.

Franchitti, though never one of the biggest stars of open-wheel racing, has totaled 18 wins and 63 top-five finishes in CART and the IRL. He also won the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring this year in the LMP2 class.

Nationwide To Sponsor NASCAR's No. 2 Series

Nationwide Insurance has signed a seven-year deal to become the title sponsor of NASCAR's No. 2 series beginning in 2008.

Nationwide replaces Anheuser-Busch, which has sponsored the second-tier Busch Series for 26 seasons.

The series will be called the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

NASCAR chairman Brian France, who made the announcement Wednesday, said the decision to go with Nationwide came after 'a very thorough process of trying to find the right partner, adding up what we think is important for the series and all the things that you would expect us to be thinking about. We know this is going to propel the series even further.'

Neither France nor Nationwide chief marketing officer James Lyski would reveal the numbers involved in the agreement, but it is believed to be between $10 million and $12 million a year, similar to what Anheuser-Busch was paying.

But Lyski said the company will not hesitate to spend money to back its sponsorship.

'We plan to put a lot of resources into supporting this sponsorship and advancing the profile of the NASCAR Nationwide Series,' he said.

CREW CHIEF FINED: Mike Bumgarner, crew chief for the No. 5 Chevrolet driven by Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Busch Series, has been fined $10,000 for an infraction last weekend at Kansas Speedway.

After Busch won the race, NASCAR inspectors discovered an unapproved intake manifold. The part was taken to NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., where the violation was confirmed. Car owner Rick Hendrick said the team will appeal the fine.

RIGGS TO HAAS: Scott Riggs was hired to drive for Haas CNC Racing, in a car to be determined. Riggs will replace Jeff Green in the No. 66 or Johnny Sauter in the No. 70.

Information from Tribune wires was used in this report.

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