Dario Franchitti, a man who is rightly best-known as Mr Ashley Judd, is leaving Nascar after just one season, to return to IndyCar in 2009. The Scot, who won the Indy 500 last year, will replace fellow Brit Dan Wheldon and team up with Scott Dixon.
Dixon is delighted with the news (perhaps because Wheldon has a reputation in the IndyCar paddock as being a bit of a dick, whereas Dario is a bit of a dude). The Kiwi said: “We saw each other over the weekend and I thought there must be some rustlings going on. To have a driver like Dario on our team is going to be spectacular. We’re going to be a force next season.”
Scottish driver spins out at Talladega, breaks ankle
Dario Franchitti (we know him as Dario F) was extremely lucky to escape with just a busted ankle when his car lost its right rear tyre on the 10th lap of the Nationwide Series Nascar support race at Talladega on Saturday. The Scot’s Dodge bounced into the wall and spun down the track. Several cars avoided him, but when it seemed he might get away without a heavy impact, Larry Gunselman’s Chevy slammed into his driver side door.
Dario Franchitti, who defected from IndyCar to Nascar at the end of the 2007 season, is one of the best-known racing drivers in the States. The Scot won the IndyCar championship in 2007 but he’s still not quite as famous as his wife, Ashley Judd. The actress, who starred in Kiss the Girls and Double Jeopardy often attends her husband’s races, and was present to see him win the Indy 500 last year, when it pissed it down and her summer dress was soaked - a paparazzo’s dream. Check out more photos of Ashley below, plus a bonus video clip of her being interviewed after the 2007 Indy 500.
