Okay, we'll admit it. Most of us here at Autoblog aren't big NASCAR fans. But we have been intrigued by the recent migration of championship-winning open-wheel racers to the stock car series. Former Indy 500 and Monaco GP winner Juan-Pablo Montoya seems to be making a go of it, while fellow Indy and F1 champ Jacques Villeneuve has all but given up hope of ever making it with the good ol' boys. But how about Dario Franchitti? After winning both the Indy 500 and the IRL title, Franchitti made the move to NASCAR. Unfortunately, however, his skills in open cockpits have yet to translate to closed ones in the same way as they have for his Colombian team-mate, and his sponsorship cash in the top-level Sprint Cup has run dry after Coors Light dropped the No. 40 Dodge.
Team principal Chip Ganassi has had no choice but to shut down Franchitti's ride as a result. Ganassi emphasized that Dario is encouraged to continue in the second-tier Nationwide Series, and after Franchitti finds his speed again we hope to see him rubbin' bumpers and taking names back in the Sprint Cup soon. In the meantime he'll just have to take solace in the arms of his wife Ashley Judd... poor guy.
[Source: AutoWeek, Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images]
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