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“I was driving over here tonight and talking to my brother (Marino),” Franchitti said. “He said, ‘Winning Indy will finally set in tonight when you see your ugly face on the trophy.’ I think he’s right. But, to me, it looks pretty good. It was a huge team effort and I’m grateful to have won the race.”

Later in the evening, Franchitti also was given the Jerry Titus Award, which goes annually to the driver on the AARWBA All American team who gets the most votes from the membership.

Others on the team for 2007 included NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, Champ Car champion Sebastien Bourdais, sports cars drivers Scott Pruett and the teams of Jon Fogarty and Alex Gurney and Mika Salo and Jaime Melo, drag racers Tony Schumacher and Tony Pedregon, NASCAR truck star Ron Hornaday Jr., ARCA champion Frank Kimmel, Indy Pro Series champion Alex Lloyd and sprint car drivers Donny Schatz and Jerry Coons Jr.

Franchitti, who will drive in 2008 for the NASCAR team of Chip Ganassi, said his only regret is that he won’t be able to defend his Indy 500 championship in May.

“The timing is impossible and, at the same time, you can’t come back here and be competitive in a one-off deal because the competition is just too tough,” Franchitti said. “And I need to do everything I can to be competitive in a stock car. It’s going to be a big learning experience.”