Website: www.franchitti.com
Twitter:  @dariofranchitti

PERSONAL
Birthdate: May 19, 1973
Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
Resides: Franklin, Tenn/Edinburgh, Scotland
Ht. / Wt.: 5’9” / 155 lbs.
Marital Status: Married (Ashley Judd)
Racing Hero: Ayrton Senna / Jim Clark

PROFESSIONAL
Series: IZOD IndyCar Series
Team: Chip Ganassi Racing
Car No.: #10
Sponsor: Target
Engine: Honda
Chassis: Dallara DW-12

Career CART/IndyCar Stats
Starts: 233
Wins: 30
Poles: 26
Top 5’s: 107
Top 10’s: 150
Laps Led: 3,485
Indy 500 Wins: 2 (2007, 2010)
Championships: 4 (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)

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Four‐time and reigning IZOD IndyCar Series Champion and two‐time Indianapolis 500 Winner Dario Franchitti returns to Target Chip Ganassi Racing in 2012 for his fourth season alongside two‐time Champion and 2008 Indianapolis 500 Winner Scott Dixon.

Since joining TCGR in 2009, Franchitti has delivered three consecutive IZOD IndyCar Series titles, including 12 wins and the 2010 Indianapolis 500.  Franchitti’s 2011 championship season marked his fourth championship in the series, as he spent the 2008 season in NASCAR.  He is one of only five drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 and the series title in the same season more than once.  Franchitti is currently ninth on the all‐time wins list (1999‐2011) with 30 victories...Sebastien Bourdais and Paul Tracy lie just ahead of him with 31 career wins.

With his fourth IndyCar title in 2011, Franchitti moved into a tie for second place on the all-time list for most IndyCar Champioships (A.J. Foyt - 7 / Mario Andretti/Sebastien Bourdais/Franchitti - 4).  He is only the thrid driver in IndyCar history to win at least three titles in a row (Ted Horn: 1946-1948 / Bourdais 2004-2007).

The Scotland native has 232 starts under his belt between the CART and IZOD IndyCar Series resulting in 30 wins, 26 poles, 107 top‐five and 149 top-10 finishes (1997-2011).  He is the winningest driver in U.S. open-wheel history from Great Britain.  Over the course of his open-wheel career, Franchitti has accumulated a wealth of experience and trophies in his time on the track, winning races on road courses, street courses, short ovals and superspeedways and he is one of only 12 drivers to win a race in the IndyCar Series and CART.

The 2011 season couldn't have started any better for Franchitti, as he started second, took the lead on Lap 4 and went on to win at the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.  After three straight Top-5 finishes at Barber, Long Beach and Brazil, Dario arrived at Indy looking for his thrid Borg Warner trophy.  He qualified 9th and led 51 laps, but a pitstop on Lap 199 for a splash of  fuel relegated him to a 12th place finish.  Franchitti then captured his 28th career victory at Texas in one of two duel races.  In Milwaukee, Dario dominated at the historic Mile, taking pole position and leading 161 of the 225 laps to record his 29th career win.  He would post career win #30 at Toronto, his 26th career pole at New Hampshire and with four Top-10s to finish the season, he took home his third straight IndyCar driver's championship.

The 2010 season started in unspectacular fashion, as Dario and Team Target posted one pole position and three Top-5 finishes.  It was a different story at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  After starting in the front row from third position, Dario quickly went to the front of the field, led 155 out of the 200 laps and went on to win his second Indy 500 in four years.  With wins at Mid-Ohio and Chicago, Dario set up an epic championship battle with Will Power of Team Penske Racing at the season finale in Homestead, Fla.  Dario drove a calculated, mistake-free race and by finishing eighth, he overhauled Power's 12 point lead to capture his third career IndyCar Series driver's championship.

In 2009, after transitioning from the Ganassi team’s NASCAR program in 2008, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series Champion returned to open wheel racing alongside reigning Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series Champion, Scott Dixon.  Dario captured five race wins (Long Beach, Iowa, Toronto, Sonoma and Homestead) and posted five pole positions.  He finished 16 of the 17 races, recorded 13 Top-5 finishes, 15 Top-10 finished and led 495 laps.  Not bad for a driver who spent a year away from IndyCars...

Before trying his hand in the world of stock car racing, Franchitti posted four wins and four pole positions in 2007, en route to his first IndyCar Series championship with Andretti Green Racing.

With everyone in the IndyCar Series paddock gunning for the four-time champion in 2012, Dario will still be an odds-on favorite to capture his third Borg Warner Trophy at Indianapolis.  And who knows, with hard work, perseverance, a little luck and a tireless will to win, Dario may just become the first driver in the history of the IndyCar Series to win four straight career championships...

Career Highlights:

  • Dario’s 30 career victories makes him the winningest British driver in American open wheel history; he has passed Johnny Rutherford and Rick Mears and sits 9th on the all-time IndyCar wins list
  • Notched his 200th open wheel start in 2010 at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
  • He has accumulated 26 pole positions, 107 Top-5 and 149 Top-10 results in his open-wheel career
  • Dario is a 2-time Indianapolis 500 winner (2007, 2010) making him one of only 18 drivers in the history of the great race to win the race more than once
View full list on franchitti.com

Video: Dario & TW Steel "



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