Mike Hembree: Franchitti didn’t get a fair shot
By Mike Hembree - Associate Editor
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
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COMMENTARY
So, Dario Franchitti is heading back to Indy-car racing.
Not a surprise, really. His talents rest more in that arena, but it is disappointing, nevertheless, that he didn’t get a solid opportunity to learn more about NASCAR racing and have the chance to show what that knowledge could produce.
An international star with an internationally known wife (actress Ashley Judd) and a guy who could hold up his end of the conversation on a number of topics beyond racing, Franchitti was seen as another feather in NASCAR’s cap when it was announced that he would be detouring from a successful open-wheel career to drive stock cars for Chip Ganassi Racing. He broadened NASCAR’s horizons and, as a star in another arm of the sport, moved in with a different perspective.
Franchitti says he isn’t closing the door on another shot at NASCAR’s big time, but it seems unlikely at best that he’ll turn away – for a second time – from a potentially lucrative opportunity in the IRL to chase a dream in stock-car racing again.
One of the unfortunate parts of this story is that we’ll never know how good he could have been. He showed flashes of being more than competent in his brief run in heavier, more-difficult-to-understand machinery, but he had two big factors against him: 1. His time was brief, and, 2. It was spent with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Ganassi has conquered the Indy-car world (one of the reasons Franchitti is joining him in that arena) but generally has failed big-time in NASCAR.
Ganassi’s team hasn’t made much noise since driver Sterling Marlin challenged for the Cup championship late into the 2002 season before an injury ended his run. Since then, the team has scored only one victory – a road-course win by Juan Pablo Montoya last year.
That’s a dismal record for a team that has had good drivers, has a great facility and has been backed by a collection of high-profile sponsors.
Franchitti came to the operation in Montoya’s draft. Montoya left a less-than-perfect situation in Formula One to make a run at NASCAR and, in most cases, has been better than his machinery. But Montoya’s second season has been less productive than his first, and there is little indication that significant progress is on the horizon.
Already, Montoya’s name has been floated in conversations about moving to another team, although he quickly knocked down that speculation earlier in the year.
Franchitti’s portion of the operation was shut down after only 10 races because of sponsor issues, and dozens of Ganassi employees were shown the door. Ganassi also has lost Texaco Havoline, a bedrock NASCAR team sponsor, for next season.
It is difficult to figure out exactly what isn’t working properly at Ganassi. It’s easy to find people in the garage who put the blame on too much open-wheel influence in the NASCAR shop, but Ganassi has had a string of top stock-car mechanics and managers in the operation over the years.
Whatever the problem, Franchitti will move from one Ganassi cockpit to another without a decent chance to show that he could make the first transition. That’s a potential loss for his body of work and for the sport.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Dario Franchitti
Comments
4 responses to "Mike Hembree: Franchitti didn’t get a fair shot"
Racing Maniac said:
Sep 3, 2008 at 12:57 PMThe Ganassi operation is extremely similar to that of Penske, and both seem to be like ducks out of water. Pablo oughta run (not walk) to the nearest exit and latch onto another team while he still has some life left in his bod.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportScott Baker said:
Sep 3, 2008 at 2:54 PMSorry, couldn't disagree more. To go straight into the cup series is crazy. You need at LEAST one season in Nationwide to understand the racing in NASCAR. These open wheelers aren't "The Gods of Racing", they have to learn too, just like all the cup drivers that are successful did. This year has CERTAINLY proven that.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportJerracy Shaw said:
Sep 3, 2008 at 3:55 PMHere's a correction for the author: Jamie McMurray won the race at Charlotte(which was his 2nd start). So, Montoya's win last year isn't the only thing that Ganassi has had happen with his team since Sterling was in the championship hunt.
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» Confirm Abuse ReportMarvin Noel said:
Sep 3, 2008 at 4:28 PMSeems to me that Harvick won very early on after taking Earnhart's ride over - like the second or third race? Kasey had good success early on. And what better time to come into the series than when all of the drivers and teams are struggling with the COT?
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