Dario Franchitti Forced to Walk Away from Sport He Made Me Love

I’m saddened by the recent news that my favorite IndyCar driver Dario Franchitti, one of the all-time greats of the sport, will no longer be able to race due to injuries sustained in a horrific October crash at Houston. Doctors have told Franchitti that returning to racing action had too many risks and could be detrimental to his future. So, he made the wise and right decision to step aside.

A month and a half after the frightening accident, I’m still just thrilled that Franchitti, also one of the great all-around guys in sports, is still alive. But, his abrupt retirement on Thursday, Nov. 14, did come as a shock to me as I fully expected him back in a racecar by next season. It turns out that was a little too much wishful thinking, as none of us fully knew the extent the crash injuries had taken on him. As it turns out it’s not the severely fractured ankle or the multiple fractured vertebrae that’s mostly sidelining him, but the concussion sustained in the accident, which is the third or fourth concussion in his career. Franchitti is basically being forced to quit, because he’s suffered similar head trauma as numerous football players who suffer from debilitating head injuries after their playing careers.

The thing that’s the most shocking about all of this is that as he is my favorite driver I selfishly feel like I’ve been stripped of seeing the “Dario Franchitti Farewell Tour” and hate knowing that the last time I’d ever see Franchitti in a racecar will be the image of not knowing whether or not he was alive in a terribly mangled racecar sitting on the racetrack.

But, I know that won’t be the only image in my head from the legendary racing career of Dario Franchitti – I’ll just as easily remember the four championships and three Indianapolis 500 victories – the moments and things that made Franchitti a larger than life figure in the IndyCar Series.

Dario Franchitti plays a huge role in why I’m a fan of the IndyCar Series. I had long been a NASCAR fan and it was pretty much the only form of auto racing that I watched. But, I started to watch the Indianapolis 500 in 2005, the year the late Dan Wheldon won his first Indy 500, probably because I got caught up in the Danica Patrick mania. I continued to watch the 500 every year, watching Sam Hornish Jr. narrowly beat rookie Marco Andretti in 2006 in one of the closest and most exciting finishes ever. The next year I would watch as Dario Franchitti won his first Indy 500 in a rain-shortened event, he had won his first championship the year before. Something about Franchitti’s dominance on the racetrack, his likability off the racetrack and the sheer badassness of his entire look – the hair, the Scottish accent, the Hollywood wife, etc. made me like this guy, made him stand out to me from the rest.

The next year when Franchitti decided to leave IndyCar for NASCAR it made me like him even more. His NASCAR career was short and unsuccessful though, not even getting a half of a season under his belt before fracturing his ankle in a hard crash in a Nationwide Series race at Talladega. He would go back to IndyCar the next season and I couldn’t believe the transition was so easy for him. It looked as if Franchitti hadn’t missed a step and immediately dominated the series winning three championships in a row from 2009-2011 and winning two more Indy 500s in 2010 and 2012. Franchitti is one of only 10 drivers to win the most coveted trophy in motorsports three or more times. His 31 wins (21 in IndyCar and 10 in Champ Car) are eighth most all-time in American Open Wheel Racing. All of these numbers add up to Franchitti quite possibly being one of the 10 greatest drivers ever in his field.

He’s the biggest reason why I’ve become an IndyCar fan and I’ll always appreciate him as much for that, as for the greatness I witnessed from him on the track. He’s certainly going to be missed come March when engines are fired on the 2014 IndyCar season at St. Petersburg, but there’s no doubt he’s making the right decision to walk away from racing. It’s probably the hardest decision he’s ever had to make, but he’s done so like the true champion he is.       

Auto Racing Should Be An Olympic Sport (Just Imagine Jimmie Johnson, Dario Franchitti, Sebastien Vettel & Travis Pastrana All in One Race)

I know this is a pipe dream and something that will never happen, but I think auto racing should be an Olympic sport. 

Just imagine NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson (left) & IndyCar champ Dario Franchitti (right) racing for gold.

Think about it, auto racing is something that is done everywhere in the world and has successful and world champion drivers from a large group of countries. I know that this certainly doesn’t mean a sport will be an Olympics sport, just look at baseball and golf (which will be an Olympic sport starting in 2016).

However, how cool would it be to see the best drivers from around the world, stars of NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula 1 and others, competing in one big race or tournament of races to crown the top driver in the world?

There actually used to be a series similar to that called the IROC (International Race of Champions) Series from 1974 to 2006 where champion drivers from a multitude of series would compete in a four race series to determine a champion. It was mostly dominated by NASCAR drivers on mostly NASCAR tracks, with NASCAR stars (like Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin and Tony Stewart) winning every year from 1989 until the series folded in 2006, but other racing stars like Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt and Al Unser Jr. were crowned champions, as well. The series went out of business in 2007 due to financial problems.

While the IROC Series was mostly run on ovals, a potential Olympic event (again this is just a dream) would most likely have to be run on a road course or street circuit because most series around the world are exclusively run on those types of tracks.  

The series would also have to choose what type of car would be used in the event. My suggestion would be to use something like the Daytona Prototypes used in the Rolex Grand Am Series, because most drivers from around the world are already familiar with these cars from running in a race like the 24 Hours of Daytona (which often brings in big names from top series like NASCAR and IndyCar).

The format for auto racing in the Olympics is really something that I haven’t put a whole lot of thought into, but could easily be anything from just one big race with a qualifying process of either fastest laps or heat races or could be a series of races. The number of racers per race or the length of the race is also something that I haven’t put any thought into. As long as auto racing was involved in the Olympics I honestly wouldn’t care so much about many of the particulars.  

I have, however, compiled a list of 50 world class drivers from 19 different countries as proof of why auto racing in the Olympics would be such a great idea. Can you imagine some of these guys going up against each other for the gold?

1.       Fernando Alonso (Spain) – Formula 1 – 2x Formula 1 Champion, 30 wins

2.       Marcos Ambrose (Australia) – NASCAR - 1 Sprint Cup Series win, 2X V8 Supercar Champion

3.       Max Angelelli (Italy) – Grand Am – 1x Grand Am Champion, 17 wins

4.       Joao Barbosa (Portugal) – Grand Am – 2010 24 Hours of Daytona Champion, 3 Grand Am DP wins

5.       Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) – IndyCar – 11 Formula 1 wins, 1^st driver to have 300 starts in F1 history

6.       Sebastien Bourdais (France) – IndyCar – 4x Champ Car Champion, 31 Champ Car wins

7.       Ryan Briscoe (Australia) – IndyCar – 6 IndyCar wins, 3 American Le Mans Series wins

8.       Kyle Busch (United States) – NASCAR – 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup wins, 105 total NASCAR wins, 1x Nationwide Series champion

9.       Jenson Button (England) – Formula 1 – 1x Formula 1 champion, 13 Formula 1 wins

10.   Helio Castroneves (Brazil) – IndyCar – 3x Indianapolis 500 champion, 21 IndyCar wins

11.   Mike Conway (England) – IndyCar – 1 IndyCar win, 1x British F3 Champion

12.   Ryan Dalziel (Scotland) – Grand Am – 1X 24 Hours or Le Mans winner, 3 Grand Am wins

13.   Simona de Silvestro (Switzerland) – IndyCar – 5 Atlantic Championship wins

14.   Scott Dixon (New Zealand) – IndyCar – 2x IndyCar Champion, 29 IndyCar wins, 1x Indianapolis 500 winner

15.   Ron Fellows (Canada) – NASCAR – 3X 24 Hours of Le Mans class winner, 6 total NASCAR wins

16.   Dario Franchitti (Scotland) – IndyCar – 4X IndyCar Champion, 3X Indianapolis 500 winner, 20 IndyCar wins

17.   Jeff Gordon (United States) – NASCAR – 4X NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, 86 Sprint Cup wins (3^rd all time)

18.   Lewis Hamilton (England) – Formula 1 – 1X Formula 1 Champion, 19 Formula 1 wins

19.   James Hinchcliffe (Canada) – IndyCar – 2011 IndyCar Rookie of the Year, 8 IndyCar Top 5s

20.   Ryan Hunter-Reay (United States) – IndyCar – 6 IndyCar wins, Currently 2^nd in IndyCar Points

21.   Jimmie Johnson (United States) – NASCAR – 5x NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, 58 Sprint Cup wins

22.   Tony Kanaan (Brazil) – IndyCar – 1x IndyCar Champion, 14 IndyCar wins

23.   Matt Kenseth (United States) – NASCAR – 1X NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, 22 Sprint Cup wins

24.   Steve Kinser (United States) – World of Outlaws – 20X World of Outlaws Champion, 555 World of Outlaw wins

25.   Tom Kristensen (Denmark) - Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters – 8x 24 Hours of Le Mans winner (most all-time)

26.   Andy Lally (United States) – Grand Am – 2x Grand Am class champion, 3X 24 Hours of Daytona class winner

27.   Sebastien Loeb (France) – World Rally – 8x World Rally Champion, 73 Rally wins

28.   Andre Lotterer (Germany) – FIA World Endurance – 2x 24 Hours of Le Mans winner

29.   Jan Magnussen (Denmark) – Le Mans – 4x 24 Hours of Le Mans winner

30.   Allan McNish (Scotland) - FIA World Endurance – 2x 24 Hours of Le Mans winner

31.   Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) – NASCAR – 1x Indianapolis 500 winners, 7 Formula 1 wins, 2 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins

32.   Simon Pagenaud (France) – IndyCar – 1x American Le Mans Series Champion, 5 IndyCar top 5s (this season as a rookie)

33.    Miguel Paludo (Brazil) – NASCAR – 2x Porsche GT3 Cup Brasil Champion, 10 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series top 10s

34.   Max Papis (Italy) – NASCAR – 3 Champ Car wins

35.   Travis Pastrana (United States) – Rally Car/NASCAR – 4x Rally America Champion, 10X X Games gold medalist

36.   Nelson Piquet Jr. (Brazil) – NASCAR – 1 NASCAR Nationwide Series win, 20 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Top 10s

37.   Will Power (Australia) – IndyCar – 16 IndyCar wins

38.   Scott Pruett (United States) – Grand Am – 3x Grand Am Champion, 4x 24 Hours of Daytona winner

39.   Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) – Formula 1 – 1x Formula 1 Champion, 18 Formula 1 wins

40.   Memo Rojas (Mexico) – Grand Am – 3X Grand Am Champion, 21 Grand Am wins

41.   Takuma Sato (Japan) – IndyCar – 6 Formula 1 top 5s, 5 IndyCar top 5s

42.   Michael Schumacher (Germany) – Formula 1 – 7x Formula 1 Champion, 91 Formula 1 wins

43.   Oriol Servia (Spain) – IndyCar – 1 Champ Car win, 17 IndyCar top 5s

44.   Tony Stewart (United States) – NASCAR – 3x NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, 1x IndyCar Champion, 47 NASCAR Sprint Cup wins

45.   Alex Tagliani (Canada) – IndyCar – 1 Champ Car win, 6 IndyCar top 5s

46.   Paul Tracy (Canada) – Grand Am – 1x Champ Car Champion, 12 Champ Car wins

47.   Sebastien Vettel (Germany) – Formula 1 – 2x Formula 1 Champion, 22 Formula 1 wins

48.   E.J. Viso (Venezuela) – IndyCar – 3 IndyCar top 5s, 1x National Class British F3 Champion

49.   Mark Webber (Australia) – Formula 1 – 9 Formula 1 wins

50.   Justin Wilson (England) – IndyCar – 3 IndyCar wins, 4 Champ Car wins,

Double Duty at Indy, Charlotte Should Be Back in Play

Tony Stewart scored top 10s in both races in 1999.

This upcoming Sunday is my favorite sports day of the year with the Indianapolis 500 in the afternoon and the Coca Cola 600 (NASCAR’s longest race) in the evening. That’s 1,100 miles of great racing action in one day. 

It wasn’t all that long ago when drivers could attempt both races in the same day and the likes of Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon and John Andretti did. The most spectacular result was win Tony Stewart scored top 10 finishes in both races in 1999 (meaning he completed all 1,100 miles).   

However, a few years ago the Indy 500 pushed back its start time to where it would pretty much be impossible to run the Indy 500 in Indianapolis, Ind. and then get in a helicopter or plane and fly to Charlotte, N.C. in time for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race. 

Since then people have been talking about how great it would be to see drivers compete in both races on the same day again and how the Indy 500 should move ahead the race in order to entice drivers to do so. 

There are many drivers in both sports with seat time in both IndyCar and NASCAR: Stewart, Robby Gordon, Andretti, Juan Pablo Montoya, Danica Patrick, Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti among the notables. Seeing one or more of those big names try the double duty would be well worth getting up a little bit earlier for the Indy 500. 

Hopefully sometime in the near future we’ll have the opportunity and pleasure of seeing the double duty at Indy and Charlotte completed again. 

Stupid IndyCar Draw Could Ruin Franchitti's Season

For the first time in 30 years last Saturday night the IndyCar Series held two races on one night. The first race at Texas Motor Speedway was set by the normal qualifying session and three-time Indy champ Dario Franchitti went on to win the race. That’s when the stupidity and big problem set in. You see the starting order would for the second race of the night would be selected by a random draw, meaning the drivers could be lucky enough to select the pole position and could be just as unlucky and draw the 30^th and final position. Franchitti drew position 28. Current points leader Will Power, who is in a tight championship battle with Franchitti drew the third starting spot. Power’s spot, 25 positions ahead of Franchitti, allowed him to cruise to an easy win in the second race and even more importantly allowed him to open up a bigger lead in the championship standings. Thus, something as asinine as a random draw could wind up affecting the entire season and ruin Franchitti’s chances at a third consecutive and fourth overall championship. If the IndyCar Series decides to do another double race night next season they had better figure out a more fair way to set the field for the second race.