Franchitti to drive Ganassi's No. 40 Dodge in '08
By SceneDaily Staff Report
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
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CONCORD, N.C. - Chip Ganassi Racing officials announced Wednesday that Indy Racing League champion and reigning Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti has signed a multiyear contract to drive the No. 40 Dodge full time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series beginning in 2008.
No sponsor was named to replace Coors Light for 2008, team officials said Wednesday.
The team said Franchitti would begin a development program similar to the one employed by Ganassi driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Included is this weekend's ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway.
"Anytime you can sign a driver of Dario's caliber, you have to be thrilled," team owner Chip Ganassi said in a news release. "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 [Sorenson]."
Franchitti, 34, joins Ganassi's NASCAR team after an 11-year career in North American open-wheel cars. Franchitti began his career in CART in 1997 before moving to the IRL in 2002. In 1999, with Team Green, Franchitti battled Montoya for the series title, losing on a tiebreaker in the final race.
Franchitti, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, won 10 CART races and eight in the IRL.
"I've always admired Chip's teams having competed against them over the years and recently paid particular attention to Juan's successful transition this season," Franchitti said. "This is a great opportunity to join one of NASCAR's premier teams."
Franchitti will compete for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award in Sprint Cup next year, along with an "assortment" of races in NASCAR's No. 2 series.
- Mentioned Drivers:
- Dario Franchitti
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