Indy winner Franchitti to drive in ARCA race at Talladega
Dario Franchitti’s much-anticipated move to stock cars will begin Friday with an ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway, the Associated Press has learned.
The 2007 Indy 500 winner and IndyCar Series champion has agreed to a multiyear deal to replace David Stremme in the No. 40 Dodge for NASCAR’s Chip Ganassi Racing, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity because the deal had yet to be announced.
An official announcement is expected Wednesday at Ganassi’s race shop in North Carolina. Ganassi also fields Nextel Cup cars for rookie Juan Pablo Montoya, another former open-wheel star, and Reed Sorenson.
Ganassi said Sunday at Kansas Speedway that he was close to a deal with Franchitti’s open-wheel team, Andretti Green Racing, to get the 34-year-old Scot out of his contract, which ends Dec. 1.
An Andretti Green spokesman said the team would have no comment on Franchitti’s move at this time.