Dario Franchitti

George Dario Marino Franchitti was born in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, on 19 May 1973. He is the son of Inverness-born tourist board employee Marina Franchitti, He is of Italian descent; three of his grandparents originate from the town of Cassino. His younger brother Marino, his cousin Paul di Resta and his godson Sebastian Melrose are also racing drivers. Franchitti has a sister. When Franchitti was eight years old, he moved to Whitburn. He was educated at Edinburgh's private Stewart's Melville College, where he did not feel at ease due to its traditionalism. ==Junior career==

When he was three years old, Franchitti was given a Honda-powered go-kart. His wish to become a racing driver began when his father took him to the West of Scotland Kart Club and other kart tracks as a child. When he turned ten, Franchitti started kart racing; his first race ended after two laps due to engine failure. In 1984, at the age of eleven, Franchitti won the Scottish Junior Championship; he also won the British Junior Karting Championships in 1985 and 1986. Overall, Franchitti won more than one-hundred races and twenty karting titles. In 1990, racing driver David Leslie's father suggested to Franchitti he join Leslie's team and work on his cars at races. Aged 17, Franchitti began racing a single-seater vehicle for David Leslie Racing in the inaugural Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship. Franchitti's father remortgaged the family home to pay for his son's racing. Franchitti won the championship with four victories, three in the final three rounds, and three podium finishes. Paul Stewart Racing (PSR) offered Franchitti a Formula Vauxhall test after a team member observed him driving. Team owner Jackie Stewart promised Franchitti if he drove for PSR, Stewart would find funding from Scottish sponsors. which included a test in a McLaren MP4/10B Formula One (F1) car at Jerez at the end of 1995. The following year, Franchitti became a racing school instructor, and earned money running circuit days for BMW and Nissan. He returned to the Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship for PSR in a single-seat Vauxhall-powered car, winning the championship at Brands Hatch in August of that year with three races remaining. Franchitti had six victories and four podium finishes, and was named the series' Driver of the Year. Stewart promoted Franchitti to the British F3 Championship in 1994, hoping he would later progress to F1, and he was expected to challenge for the title. Franchitti finished fourth overall with 133 points in a PSR Dallara F394-Mugen Honda, a single victory at Silverstone and six top-three finishes after errors prevented him from challenging for the title. Franchitti also finished twelfth at the 1994 Masters of Formula 3 and sixth at the 1994 Macau Grand Prix. ==Touring car career==

round at Donington Park Franchitti did not have enough money to progress to Formula 3000 and did not race in F3 for another season as expected because he did not want to incur more debt. Franchitti drove a Mercedes C-Class V6 for the AMG-Mercedes team, Mercedes-Benz's sports-car competition division. Franchitti competed in the 1995 DTM and the 1995 ITC. His fourteen-race DTM season put him fifth in the Drivers' Championship with two pole positions, four podium finishes and 74 points. During the ITC season, Franchitti won his first touring car race at Mugello, twice finished second at Donington Park, and third at the second Estoril round for third in the Drivers' Championship with eighty points. For the 1996 ITC season, he stayed with AMG-Mercedes and finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship with 171 points and five podium finishes, and won the first Suzuka round. == Championship Auto Racing Teams ==

1997–1999 At the end of 1996, the ITC folded due to escalating costs and Franchitti told Ilmor boss Paul Morgan he wanted to compete in the US-based Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) series. and the company assigned Franchitti to drive the 9 Reynard 97i-Mercedes-Benz car for the single Hogan Racing customer car squad in the 1997 CART World Series. In the following race, Franchitti achieved his best result of the season, finishing in ninth place at the 1997 Sunbelt IndyCarnival. Franchitti was 22nd in the Drivers' Championship with 10 points and was third in the Rookie of the Year standings. Franchitti had six top-ten finishes, including a second-place finish at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and qualified in pole position at the Rio 400, the Molson Indy Toronto and the Miller Lite 200 in the season's first 13 races. Three weeks later, Franchitti won the Molson Indy Vancouver from his fourth pole position of the season. After finishing fourth at the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey, Franchitti's manager Craig Pollock advised him to remain in CART to gain more experience and he rejected an offer to join Stewart Grand Prix in F1. Franchitti took seven top-ten finishes in the first ten races. Franchitti finished the race tenth and Montoya fourth, ending the season with the same number of points as the latter, who was crowned champion because he won seven races while Franchitti had only won three. 2000–2002 Prior to the 2000 CART season, Franchitti was hospitalised after a crash during pre-season testing at Homestead; part of the car's suspension hit his head, and he sustained displaced fractures in his left hip and pelvis, and multiple minor brain contusions. As a result, Franchitti underwent physical therapy five times a week, before CART's medical director Steve Olvey declared him fit that March. His performance deteriorated due to a lack of testing and his team changing personnel, and he drove an unreliable car he occasionally crashed. Franchitti finished second at the Firestone Firehawk 500 and the Molson Indy Vancouver, his best finishes of the season, in which he scored two pole positions and six more top-ten finishes—including third place at the Michigan 500 and the Honda Grand Prix of Monterey. Franchitti was 13th in the championship with 92 points. The season's opening eight rounds saw Franchitti achieve six top-ten finishes, including a second-place finish at the Tenneco Automotive Grand Prix of Detroit. His performance for the rest of the season was sub-par, with four top-ten and two second-place finishes at both Harrah's 500 and the Texaco/Havoline Grand Prix of Houston. Franchitti concluded the season seventh in the championship standings with 105 points. He finished second at the season-opening Tecate/Telmex Monterrey Grand Prix and took three third-place finishes at the Bridgestone Potenza 500, G.I. Joe's 200 and the following CART Grand Prix of Chicago, starting from pole position in Chicago. Three races later, starting from second, Franchitti led 43 laps to win the Molson Indy Montreal. He won in the Sure for Men Rockingham 500 in his only CART oval track victory two races later. Franchitti finished the season's final four races within the top ten to place fourth in the Drivers' Championship with 148 points. ==IndyCar Series and stock car racing==

2002–2004 Franchitti made his debut in CART's rival franchise the Indy Racing League (IRL) in the 2002 IRL season, driving Team Green's unique No. 27 Dallara IR02-Chevrolet Indy V8 entry for the Indianapolis 500 after the team found funding for the programme. Starting from 28th, Although he wanted to remain a CART driver because of the series' competition and variety, Franchitti moved to the IRL for the 2003 season with the renamed Andretti Green Racing team (AGR) following his rejection of an offer to drive for Newman/Haas Racing in place of Christian Fittipaldi. Franchitti changed his driving style to handle the lighter and more responsive normally-aspirated, V8-engined car on short oval circuits, and improved his hand-eye-foot coordination. After competing in the season's first two races, finishing seventh in the season-opening round at Homestead, Franchitti finished fourth in the Honda Indy 225—his season's best finish—before requiring season-ending keyhole surgery to strengthen his back. Franchitti extended his contract to remain at AGR for the 2004 IndyCar Series. After crashing out of the season's opening two races at Homestead and Phoenix International Raceway, Franchitti had the first top-ten finish of his campaign at Motegi. Four races later, in the Menards A. J. Foyt 225, he led a race-high 111 laps to clinch his first IndyCar victory. Three races later, Franchitti had his second series win in the Honda Indy 225 at Pikes Peak. For the rest of the season, Franchitti finished no higher than third and placed sixth in the championship standings with 409 points. A second-place finish at the season's seventh round at Richmond Raceway was his best result over the season's opening nine rounds. The following seven rounds saw Franchitti achieve two more podium finishes with a second-place finish at the next race at the Milwaukee Mile and a third-place result at Watkins Glen International. Franchitti finished fourth overall with 498 points. His performance declined after Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) became more developed when IndyCar used only Honda engines, and AGR underperformed on short high-speed oval tracks. He took pole position for the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg street course race where suspension failure after colliding with Kosuke Matsuura's damaged car eliminated him from contention. Franchitti qualified 17th for the Indianapolis 500 and came seventh after a late race pit stop for fuel. His final eight races yielded a season-best finish of second at the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma and four top-nine finishes. He was eighth in the points standings with 311 points. He began the year by finishing the opening four races seventh and above, including podium finishes at Motegi and Kansas Speedway. After finishing second at the ABC Supply Company A.J. Foyt 225 to take the championship lead, Franchitti won consecutive races in the inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway, and led a race-high 242 laps in the SunTrust Indy Challenge from pole position. Franchitti took two pole positions at Michigan International Speedway and Infineon Raceway and four top-three finishes over the next seven races to enter the season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 three points ahead of CGR's Scott Dixon. Franchitti won the race after Dixon's car ran out of fuel on the final lap, securing his first IndyCar championship. Dodge Charger in the 2007 Ford 300 Franchitti considered joining NASCAR but discussions with CGR team owner Chip Ganassi and Richard Childress Racing owner Richard Childress did not result in a race seat. Talks with Ganassi resulted in Franchitti replacing David Stremme as the driver of the No. 40 Dodge Charger on a multi-year contract from 2008 because of Stremme's sponsorship problems, and because they believed Franchitti was more marketable, a decision that greatly upset AGR. Franchitti was enrolled onto a stock car development programme that involved ARCA and the Busch Series events, as well as testing. He made his stock car racing debut in the ARCA Re/Max 250, qualifying seventh and finishing seventeenth in the No. 42 CGR Dodge. Two weeks later, Franchitti entered one race in the Craftsman Truck Series—the Kroger 200—for CGR in Cunningham Motorsports' No. 41 Dodge Ram, starting 30th and finishing 33rd after an accident. In the 2007 Busch Series, Franchitti drove in four races in CGR's No. 42 Dodge Charger, achieving a best starting position of third in the Sam's Town 250 and a best finish of 25th in the O'Reilly Challenge. During the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, he entered fourteen races, qualified for ten with an average start of 28.4 and finish of 34.3 with two did not finishes. Franchitti's season-best finish was a 22nd place in the Goody's Cool Orange 500 and his best qualifying performance was seventh in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. He fell outside the top-35 in the points standings that he had inherited from the preceding season and was required to qualify on speed from the sixth race onwards, because his car was uncompetitive since CGR could not master the Car of Tomorrow concept. Franchitti's Sprint Cup Series team funded by Chip Ganassi was disbanded by Ganassi and co-owner Felix Sabates in July 2008 due to the trouble of retaining major sponsorship funding. Early in 2008, Franchitti entered the season-opening ARCA Re/Max Series race the ARCA 200 at Daytona in CGR's No. 40 Dodge, qualifying ninth and finishing tenth. He qualified CGR's No. 40 Dodge in fourteen races in the renamed Nationwide Series, achieving two top-ten finishes with an average start of 12.6 and an average finish of 17.6. Franchitti's best series finish was a fifth place at the Zippo 200 at the Glen, where he started from pole position. During the Aaron's 312, Franchitti's right-rear tyre failed early in the event, causing a major accident with Larry Gunselman and leaving Franchitti with a minor left-ankle fracture. Franchitti was replaced by Stremme, Ken Schrader, Jeremy Mayfield and Sterling Marlin during his recovery. 2009–2013 Franchitti considered returning to IndyCar while spectating the 2008 Indianapolis 500. The introduction of new road and street circuits (particularly the Grand Prix of Toronto) to the IndyCar Series following the unification of the Champ Car World Series and the IRL sanctioning bodies in 2008 renewed Franchitti's interest in open-wheel racing. Therefore, he signed a multi-year contract with CGR to replace Wheldon starting from the 2009 season. Franchitti wanted to join CGR's No. 41 NASCAR Cup Series team before being reminded of the capability of IndyCars. After finishing fourth in the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Franchitti finished seventh and above in the next three races and took pole position for the Bombardier Learjet 550. Following his taking pole position for the SunTrust Indy Challenge, Franchitti led 45 laps of the Honda Indy Toronto from pole position to win the race. He had three more top-six finishes before leading the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma from pole position, winning his fourth race of 2009. Two more top-four finishes put him five points behind Dixon going into the season-ending Firestone Indy 300. Franchitti won the race from pole position, winning his second championship and finishing the year eleven points ahead of Dixon. In the 2010 season, Franchitti returned to CGR to defend his title. He finished third in the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and second in the RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300. Franchitti achieved consecutive podium finishes in the Honda Indy Toronto and the Honda Indy Edmonton in the following five races. A fifth place at Kentucky Speedway and a second place at Motegi put him 12 points behind Penske's Will Power before the season-closing Cafés do Brasil Indy 300 and won the inaugural A. J. Foyt Oval Track Championship with a round to spare. By finishing eighth, Franchitti won his second-consecutive championship and third overall after Power's crash. For the 2011 season, Franchitti rejoined CGR for his second successive title defence. He finished third in the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and the following Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, then won the first of the Firestone Twin 275s after leading 110 laps. Franchitti led 161 laps of the Milwaukee 225 from pole position in his third victory of the season, and won the Honda Indy Toronto two races later. The next seven races saw him finish second at Mid-Ohio and Kentucky, third at Edmonton and took another pole position at New Hampshire. The race was abandoned following a 15-car accident on the 11th lap that involved Power and caused Wheldon's death, meaning Franchitti won his fourth championship; his third in succession. Franchitti drove for CGR for the 2012 season; he initially struggled to adapt to the new Dallara DW12 car before becoming more competitive following the season's fourth event, which was held in São Paulo, Brazil. Franchitti took two top-ten finishes in the first four races, placing tenth at Barber and fifth in São Paulo. Franchitti's performance for the rest of the season was sub-par: he had four pole positions that did not result in a race win and three more podium finishes. He was seventh in the Drivers' Championship with 363 points. Franchitti qualified on pole position for the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, which he finished fourth. He finished the race in 27th. Career-ending accident and mentoring On the final lap of the second race of the 2013 Shell-Pennzoil Grand Prix of Houston doubleheader on 6 October, Franchitti's car collided with the rear of Sato's car in turn five, and was launched into the catchfence. Franchitti's car ripped apart a fence section and sent debris into the grandstand past a second fence ahead of spectators. The car ricocheted back onto the circuit, spinning multiple times before stopping. Franchitti's car settled driver side up on the racing surface; the car's front was removed but the chassis's tub portion remained intact. When E. J. Viso arrived at the crash site, he hit Sato's stationary wrecked car. Franchitti travelled to Indianapolis for surgery to repair the right talus bone connecting the leg and the foot. On 18 October, Franchitti was released from the Indianapolis hospital. After seeing a doctor in Miami for neurological examinations and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan that produced negative results, Franchitti travelled to Scotland in November for rest. Franchitti retired from competitive driving after doctors advised him his injuries and those from previous accidents put him at risk of permanent paralysis and brain damage in the event of another major crash. Franchitti's memory, decision-making skills and concentration levels have suffered because of the crash. Franchitti has worked for CGR as an advisor and driver-coach to each of the team's racers since the 2014 IndyCar Series after he was offered the job by Ganassi. Franchitti provides performance advice to CGR's racers and engineers. He did not want to be a team owner because he believed the financial risks of ownership were too great. == Other racing ventures ==

In 1999, Franchitti planned to enter the Rally GB held that November but pulled out because of a scheduling conflict. In July 2000, Franchitti took part in a two-day test session for the Jaguar F1 team in its R1 car at Silverstone. He made his endurance racing debut at the 2005 24 Hours of Daytona of the Rolex Sports Car Series, sharing Howard-Boss Motorsports's No. 2 Pontiac Crawford DP03 entry with Milka Duno, Marino Franchitti and Dan Wheldon; they finished 16th in the Daytona Prototype class and 33rd overall after Duno crashed with fewer than six hours left. In 2006, Franchitti again entered 24 Hours of Daytona, this time with CITGO Racing/SAMAX Motorsport in its No. 7 Riley MkXI DP-Pontiac alongside Duno, Marino and Kevin McGarrity, finishing eighth overall after mechanical trouble. Franchitti, Bryan Herta and Tony Kanaan won the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) category at the 2007 12 Hours of Sebring—part of the American Le Mans Series—and finished second overall in AGR's No. 26 Acura ARX-01 car. Franchitti and Herta then finished sixth in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. -Lexus Franchitti shared with Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas to win the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona. Franchitti won the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona with Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, completing 695 laps in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) Riley-Lexus car. Franchitti partnered David Brabham and Scott Sharp in Highcroft Racing's No. 9 Acura ARX-01B LMP2 entry at the 2008 Petit Le Mans, retiring after 16 laps when Sharp crashed the car. In 2009, Franchitti, Alex Lloyd and Scott Dixon finished the 24 Hours of Daytona fifth in CGRFS' No. 02 Riley-Lexus vehicle. Franchitti also raced alongside Brabham and Sharp at Highcroft Racing, sharing the No. 9 Acura ARX-02a Le Mans Prototype 1 (LMP1) car for the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans, retiring with transmission failure at Sebring and finishing sixth at Road Atlanta. In 2010, he entered the 2010 24 Hours of Daytona alongside Dixon, Jamie McMurray and Montoya at CGRFS in a Riley MkXX-BMW vehicle, finishing 37th due to mechanical failure. Franchitti joined Dick Johnson Racing as Steven Johnson's international co-driver in its No. 17 Ford FG Falcon for the 2010 Armor All Gold Coast 600 double-header round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. Franchitti finished the first race 16th and Johnson crashed in the second. Franchitti returned to the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2011 and 2012 alongside Dixon, McMurray and Montoya at CGRFS, coming second and fourth respectively in the No. 2 Riley-BMW entry. For the 2012 Petit Le Mans, Franchitti joined Marino Franchitti and Scott Tucker as a co-driver of Level 5 Motorsports's No. 055 HPD ARX-03b-Honda LMP2 car, placing third overall and second in their category. At the 2013 24 Hours of Daytona, he, Dixon, Joey Hand and McMurray were 37th overall after McMurray crashed the No. 2 car after a pit stop but Franchitti and Dixon came third in the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival. Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber had initiated plans for Franchitti to drive a Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 vehicle at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship upon retiring from IndyCar after 2014, and to race in the all-electric Formula E series. These plans failed to eventuate due to his career-ending injuries in Houston in 2013. Franchitti conducted car demonstrations because he could not compete in any form of racing since he had to avoid further injury but doctors and Motorsport UK medically cleared Franchitti to enter amateur classic car events from 2019. He returned to professional racing at the 2026 Dubai 24 Hour, sharing Team Parker Racing's No. 31 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO with Rob Huff, Shaun Lynn and Max Lynn in his GT3 debut. They finished 44th overall. ==Non-racing ventures and personal life==

at the 2014 British Grand Prix. Franchitti has endorsed the Dutch watch brand TW Steel since 2010. Franchitti volunteered for the charity Bethany Christian Trust in Edinburgh as a van driver to deliver food and drink to homeless people, and for the charity Mission Motorsport, which supports the rehabilitation and employment of former military personnel, frequently through sport. He has appeared on the American television shows Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Franchitti made a cameo appearance as a racing driver in the 2001 film Driven. He also voiced a Scottish news anchor and a male tourist in the 2013 animated film Turbo, for which he provided technical consultation. He has served as a television co-commentator and driver pundit on Formula E's world feed since its inaugural season in 2014. In 2019, Franchitti and Take That band member Howard Donald co-presented the four-part Channel 4 television motoring series Mission Ignition. He has also worked in development for high-performance car manufacturers Acura and Gordon Murray Automotive. Franchitti is a member of the "Brat Pack", an international group of CART drivers composed of Kanaan, Greg Moore and Max Papis, who shared a desire for enjoyment, attending all-night parties, discussing life and staying in close contact with one another. Moore introduced Franchitti to actor Ashley Judd at Jason Priestley's wedding in February 1999. Judd and Franchitti became engaged that year and married on 12 December 2001 at Skibo Castle near Dornoch, Scotland. The marriage was childless; Franchitti and Judd divorced in 2013 and remain on friendly terms. He has since married hedge-fund executive Eleanor Robb; the couple have two children. == Awards and recognition ==

Dario Franchitti received the Autosport British Club Driver of the Year in 1993, and the Autosport British Competition Driver of the Year in 1998 and 2010. In 2001, he won the Greg Moore Legacy Award as "the driver who best typifies Moore's legacy of outstanding talent on track as well as displaying a dynamic personality with fans, media and within the CART community". Six years later, Franchitti received the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year, the Gregor Grant Award, the Jackie Stewart Medal and the Callands Trophy. Since 2011, the Scottish National Gallery has held a 2010 photographic portrait of Franchitti taken by David Livshin. Franchitti was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours "for services to motor racing". Franchitti was elected to the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame in 2014; the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2017, the Open Wheel category of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2019; the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2022; and was the 2023 International Category inductee of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame. ==Motorsports career results==

Touring car racing Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) International Touring Car Championship (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) • † – Retired, but was classified as he completed 90% of the winner's race distance. International V8 Supercar results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) American open–wheel racing results (key) CART :* Franchitti lost the title on the tiebreaker—he won only three races compared to Juan Pablo Montoya's seven after both tied on 212 points. IndyCar Series : ** Podium (Non-win) indicates second or third place finishes. : *** Top 10s (Non-podium) indicates fourth through tenth place finishes. Indianapolis 500 : 1 Non-points-paying, exhibition race. : 2 Cancelled due to death of Dan Wheldon. : 3 Sat out of race due to injury Sports car racing Rolex Sports Car Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class) American Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, Results are overall/class) NASCAR (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 Nationwide Series Craftsman Truck Series ARCA Re/Max Series (key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.) ==Notes==