Dario Franchitti

Reigning Indianapolis 500 Winner and IndyCar Champion Dario Franchitti of Scotland joined Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) last October and began a stock car development schedule reminiscent of teammate Juan Pablo Montoya’s 2006-2007 transition from Formula One.

He made six total starts beginning with the October ARCA race at Talladega Superspeedway, followed by a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway before taking on the final four Nationwide Series races at Memphis, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead-Miami.

The 34-year-old joins CGRFS with impressive open-wheel credentials.  Franchitti recently captured the 2007 Indianapolis 500 title, becoming only the second Scottish-born driver to win the race (Jim Clark in 1965), before going on to win the 2007 IndyCar Series Championship over Ganassi driver Scott Dixon in the final turn of the season.

With over 180 starts under his belt between the CART and IndyCar Series resulting in 18 wins, 17 poles, 63 top-five and 95 top-10 finishes (1997-2007), Franchitti is the winningest driver in U.S. open-wheel history from Great Britain.

In his first official race for CGRFS in 2008, Franchitti won the Rolex 24 At Daytona and became the first driver to ever capture the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Indianapolis 500, an open wheel title and the Rolex 24 At Daytona consecutively, accomplishing the feat in less than a year. Mario Andretti and A.J. Foyt are the only others to win the four titles, but neither did so in succession.

Franchitti began racing karts in 1984 at age 11, landing his first crown in the Scottish Junior Kart Championship. After securing back-to-back British Junior Kart championships (1985-1986), the Scottish Kart championship (1988), the Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship (1991) and the British Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship (1993), he competed and won in the British Formula 3 Championship (1994) and the FIA International and German Touring Car Championships (1995-1996) before making the move to CART in 1997.

Franchitti will become the first European driver in the 59-year history of NASCAR to join the series full time when he assumes the driving duties of No. 40 Dodge Charger in 2008, running for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Raybestos Rookie of the Year title along with an assortment of NASCAR Nationwide Series races.

Dan Wheldon

Now in his third season with Ganassi Racing, Dan Wheldon looks to build on an impressive IndyCar career which boasts 13 career wins, including an Indianapolis 500 victory, five pole positions and a championship title.

Wheldon began the 2007 season with his third consecutive win at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. He recorded his second win at Kansas Speedway and continued to be a championship contender throughout the season, finishing fourth in the points standings.

Wheldon joined the Target Chip Ganassi Racing team in 2006 and immediately proved his worth by winning the season opener at Homestead Miami, posting two pole positions and a second win in the season finale. Wheldon also earned nine top-five finishes after leading the field at least once in 11 of 14 races for a total of 761 laps, the most of any driver.

Wheldon’s race career in the United States began in 1999 when he claimed the US Formula 2000 Championship with six wins and eleven podiums to garner Rookie of the Year and Road to Indy titles.  After making his IRL debut in 2002, Wheldon joined Andretti Green Racing in 2003 where he competed in 14 of 16 IndyCar Series events. He finished 11th in the standings for AGR and won Rookie of the Year honors.

The 2004 campaign was Wheldon’s first full season in the IndyCar Series. He had three victories, including a win at Twin Ring Motegi. He started second and finished third in the 88th running of the Indianapolis 500, and went from last to first to win at Richmond. He also won the final race ever run at Nazareth Speedway. Wheldon ended the season with 533 points in the IndyCar Series Drivers’ Championship; the second-highest point total ever, and highest ever to not win the Championship.

In 2005, Wheldon captured the IRL Driver's Championship with six wins, breaking the record for most wins in a season.  Wheldon also won the 89th running of the Indianapolis 500 in only his third attempt, becoming the first Englishman to accomplish the feat since Graham Hill. It was also the first time in history a driver won the race from a 16th place starting position. During the season, Wheldon posted 12 top-five finishes and 15 top-10 finishes, and clinched the 2005 IRL Driver's Championship with one practice lap at Watkins Glen. That year, Wheldon became the first Englishman and the first driver since Jacques Villeneuve to win both the Indy 500 and a major Driver's Championship in the same season.

In his first three IRL seasons, Wheldon recorded nine wins in a 29-race stretch; the best streak in the history of the league. He also holds IndyCar Series records for most race wins in a season with six, and most consecutive wins with checkered flags in St. Petersburg, Motegi and Indianapolis in 2005.

Juan Pablo Montoya

Juan Pablo Montoya wasted no time making his presence known in the NASCAR world after transitioning from open-wheel cars to the 2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.  He became the first Latino to win in NASCAR’s premier Series and capture the 2007 Sprint Cup Rookie of the Year title.

Montoya visited victory lane in two style cars across three different racing series in 2007.  He kicked off the year by winning the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.  Then, in just his third Nationwide Series race in 2007, Montoya took the checkered flag in Mexico City to earn his first win in a stock car. At Infineon Raceway he captured his first Sprint Cup victory after qualifying 32nd, the deepest starting spot for a winner at Infineon Raceway.

Under the guidance of veteran Crew Chief Donnie Wingo, Montoya and his No. 42 crew went on to amass one win, three top-five and six top-10 finishes during the 2007 Sprint Cup season.  The season was highlighted with the win at Sonoma, a second-place finish at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and despite his limited short-track experience, the completion of all 1,000 laps and an eighth-place finish at Martinsville Speedway.

The Bogotá, Colombia native has seen success in everything he has driven.  Montoya drove for Ganassi’s open-wheel team in 1999 and 2000. Although their renewed partnership seemed logical, they still shocked the racing community in 2006 when they announced Montoya’s return to the Ganassi fold would be in a stock car.

The 32-year-old Montoya joined CGRFS with impressive open-wheel credentials. Over 137 starts between the CART, IndyCar and Formula One Series he tallied 18 wins, 26 poles, 60 top-five and 79 top-10 finishes.  Over his five complete seasons in Formula One, he finished sixth or better in the standings every year.

Last year Montoya added his name to an elite list of drivers with accomplishments across several top-level racing series.  He joined racing legends Dan Gurney and Mario Andretti as the only drivers to win races in the Sprint Cup Series, IndyCar Series and Formula One.

Montoya’s racing career began at the age of six with his father Pablo guiding the future champion in kart racing.  From 1984 to 1989, Montoya captured several Colombian local and national titles in the Children’s Kart Championship and Kart Komet Division.  He then went on to take the Kart Junior World Championships in 1990 and 1991.

The focus for Montoya and the No.42 Dodge in 2008 will be building on the experience of having visited all the Sprint Cup tracks, paying particular attention to consistency and improvement on intermediate oval style venues that will lead them to a spot in the season-ending Chase for the Sprint Cup.