DARIO FRANCHITTI EVERY INDY 500 I WON I WANTED ANOTHER ONE!
‘‘What have I let myself in for?,” asked Dario Franchitti on Twitter when contemplating the prospect of answering Motorsport News readers’ questions.
He need not have worried. It is hard to imagine anyone in motorsport better suited to the task, as Franchitti indeed went on to demonstrate with his responses covering a range of topics.
His recall is sharp, his engagement is deep and his range of motorsport interest is as wide as you’ll find.
And that’s without even mentioning his extraordinary on-track success, which three Indianapolis 500s and four IndyCar titles showcase. Though, as we also discover amid the MN readers’ grilling, Franchitti has had plenty of motorsport experiences aside even from these.
We’ll start though at the beginning…
Question: “What was your first car?”
Luke Crane Via Twitter
Dario Franchitti: “The first car I actually owned was a Fiat Uno Turbo, which I have a model of it in my office! Before that and pretty much after that I was borrowing cars from various family members and friends because I couldn’t afford one. What did I have after that?A Golf GTI and then a Peugeot diesel after the Golf got nicked!”
MN: What was it about the Fiat Uno Turbo that tempted you to buy one?
DF: “Afriend had it for sale and it was quick and fairly cheap which were two key parts in my decision making! It was a great car, right up until the alternator belt came off so the water pump stopped working, that did damage to the engine. So after that it had to be sold unfortunately. I had some fun drives in that car.”
MN sets the scene: A19-year-old Franchitti claimed the 1992 McLaren Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year award, and Michael Andretti, then recently signed by McLaren as a Formula 1 driver, was on stage as Franchitti accepted his accolade. In 2007 Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500, his first, with Andretti now his team boss, in the Andretti Green squad. Question: “You first met Michael Andretti when you were a shy teenager winning your BRDC Young Driver Award. Could you ever have imagined winning the Indy 500 with him 15 years later?”
Andy Hallbery Via Twitter
DF: “No. Michael and I laugh about it. We’ve sat at lunch and I’ve pulled that picture up on my phone and I just laughed and said ‘could you imagine Mike that we did all this stuff together?’The short answer is no. From there going to America wasn’t on the cards at that point.
“Winning that award was absolutely a life-changing experience. In my very first race in America I qualified beside Michael on the grid and raced with him wheel to wheel for
