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A NASCAR BLOG BY Steve Waid
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An unfortunate development for Franchitti
Jul
4
When Chip Ganassi Racing announced that it was shutting down its No. 40 team because of a lack of sponsorship, it meant – at least to me – that a noted driver who had committed himself to NASCAR had been robbed of his opportunity.
It also meant that many other members of the Ganassi organization lost their jobs.
Not that it is entirely Ganassi’s fault. If the needed money to field a team isn’t available, well, it made a logical decision.
Racing is a business and if the funding to run that business is not in hand, it’s wise to cease operations.
But it’s a real shame to learn that Ganassi driver Dario Franchitti will, for the time being, no longer be a part of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup
circuit.
He’s not the only guy from the open-wheel circuits to forage into NASCAR and he’s certainly not the only one with impeccable credentials.
But then, he came to stock car racing as the winner of last year’s Indianapolis 500 and the champion of the Indy Racing League. He was at the pinnacle and yet he chose to move on with the hope that, in time, he could be a success in NASCAR.
It hasn’t been easy for him – and few thought it would. He failed to qualify for two events, missed five more races because of a broken ankle suffered in a Nationwide Series race at Talladega and his best finish in Sprint Cup competition has been a 22nd at Martinsville.
His Ganassi team stood 40th in owner points before it ceased operations.
I know full well that racing fortunes can be fickle; that at times high hopes are shattered by poor performance or harsh economics.
And I do not pretend to suggest that Franchitti deserves more, or is more talented, than any other of his kind who has come to NASCAR.
I am fully aware he’s not the only one to suffer from the realities of racing economics. Jacques Villenueve would agree with me.
I’m simply saying that as a driver, Franchitti has, for now, lost an opportunity to prove himself.
It’s one thing to wash out as a NASCAR competitor because the job doesn’t get done.
It is quite another to lose the opportunity for reasons beyond talent – especially when everyone recognizes the potential.
The hope here is that Ganassi, or someone else, can restore the opportunity for Franchitti.
At the least, he deserves that.
It also meant that many other members of the Ganassi organization lost their jobs.
Not that it is entirely Ganassi’s fault. If the needed money to field a team isn’t available, well, it made a logical decision.
Racing is a business and if the funding to run that business is not in hand, it’s wise to cease operations.
But it’s a real shame to learn that Ganassi driver Dario Franchitti will, for the time being, no longer be a part of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup
circuit.
He’s not the only guy from the open-wheel circuits to forage into NASCAR and he’s certainly not the only one with impeccable credentials.
But then, he came to stock car racing as the winner of last year’s Indianapolis 500 and the champion of the Indy Racing League. He was at the pinnacle and yet he chose to move on with the hope that, in time, he could be a success in NASCAR.
It hasn’t been easy for him – and few thought it would. He failed to qualify for two events, missed five more races because of a broken ankle suffered in a Nationwide Series race at Talladega and his best finish in Sprint Cup competition has been a 22nd at Martinsville.
His Ganassi team stood 40th in owner points before it ceased operations.
I know full well that racing fortunes can be fickle; that at times high hopes are shattered by poor performance or harsh economics.
And I do not pretend to suggest that Franchitti deserves more, or is more talented, than any other of his kind who has come to NASCAR.
I am fully aware he’s not the only one to suffer from the realities of racing economics. Jacques Villenueve would agree with me.
I’m simply saying that as a driver, Franchitti has, for now, lost an opportunity to prove himself.
It’s one thing to wash out as a NASCAR competitor because the job doesn’t get done.
It is quite another to lose the opportunity for reasons beyond talent – especially when everyone recognizes the potential.
The hope here is that Ganassi, or someone else, can restore the opportunity for Franchitti.
At the least, he deserves that.
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