Dario Franchitti’s season as a NASCAR Sprint Cup rookie came to an abrupt halt Tuesday when team owner Chip Ganassi made the startling announcement that he has folded Franchitti’s team, effective immediately.
Ganassi said he was forced to park the No. 40 car because of a lack of sponsorship. As many as 70 employees could be laid off.
Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner and series champion, has struggled in his first NASCAR season driving Ganassi’s No. 40 Dodge. He ranks 41st in the driver standings, failed to qualify for races in Texas and Sonoma, Calif., and missed five with a broken ankle he suffered in a Nationwide Series crash at Talladega.
The poor performance came as Ganassi has searched all season for a sponsor for his third NASCAR team. Longtime sponsor Coors Light left at the end of last season, and Ganassi was unable to secure funding despite releasing David Stremme for the more marketable Franchitti.
Dario Franchitti seems like a person who has everything a racing sponsor would want. But entering NASCAR with all those assets was not enough for the suits at any major company to say, “Hey, this guy can help us sell our product.”
As the season went along and Franchitti struggled, the thought process probably was, “Why should we sponsor this guy?”
In a statement issued from the team’s headquarters in Concord, N.C., Ganassi said it was a decision he and partner Felix Sabates made jointly.
“This is a difficult decision for Felix and I that did not come without its share of anguish,” Ganassi said. “In this tough business environment, continuing to run the car without proper funding has become increasingly difficult.”
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