Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced last week it had ceased operation of its No.40 team and in the process laid off at least 70 employees from its racing organization. Franchitti’s car has run without a primary sponsor since Coors Light pulled their sponsorship with the team at the end last season.
Franchitti enjoyed his first championship season in the IndyCar Series last year, driving for Andretti Green Racing. The native of Edinburgh, Scotland won four races, including the Indianapolis 500, en route to the championship. Just weeks after clinching the title in the season-ending event at Chicagoland, Ganassi named Franchitti as driver of the No.40 Dodge, starting in 2008. He made a handful of starts in the Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series at the tail end of the 2007 season to prep for his rookie Cup campaign.
So what is Franchitti to do now?
While one option is to drive a Ganassi car in the remaining Nationwide races this year, another might be his return to the American Le Mans Series. He competed in the series for AGR with his brother, Marino, as his teammate. Marino remains a competitor on the circuit, but now drives for Dyson Racing.
It’s a remote possibility but perhaps Franchitti’s most favorable choice is back to IndyCar. Franchitti has a multi-year contract with Ganassi, and Ganassi putting him in an Indy car is not out of the question.
Even though Franchitti and his wife continue to share the same safety concerns about open-wheel racing and wish to remain in NASCAR competition, Franchitti’s career options are now becoming limited.
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