IRL news - Franchitti returns to replace Wheldon at Ganassi.
Discussion
Didn't see that one coming.
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=...
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=...
Autoweek said:
So much for Dan Wheldon's expectation to remain with Chip Ganassi's IndyCar Series team.
Wheldon will leave Ganassi at season's end and be replaced next year by 2007 Indianapolis 500 and series champion Dario Franchitti.
Wheldon's future with the team had been questionable after news leaked that Ganassi tried to sign Tony Kanaan away from Andretti Green Racing to replace Wheldon, who was the the 2005 Indy 500 and series champion.
"I have enjoyed these last three seasons with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, but will be moving on to pursue a very exciting opportunity for 2009," Wheldon said in a statement. "I will be announcing my plans for next season in the near future. In the meantime, I want to focus my efforts on winning the last race of the season. I wish the team well for 2009 and beyond."
Ganassi said: "Dan Wheldon has done everything this organization has asked of him. He was competitive from the moment that he stepped into the car for us back in 2006 and has provided Target Chip Ganassi Racing many highlights over his three years with the team. Dan is a class act both on and off the track and we wish him nothing but the best."
Franchitti, who left Andretti Green Racing at the end of last year to drive for Ganassi and Felix Sabates in NASCAR, returns to open-wheel racing after Ganassi shut down Franchitti's Sprint Cup program due to a lack of sponsorship. Franchitti made 10 starts in the Sprint Cup series this year. He will partner with 2008 championship points-leader Scott Dixon next year at Ganassi's IndyCar team.
"Part of the reason that I signed with Ganassi last year was because of how many options that Chip has at his disposal for a driver," Franchitti said. "You can do almost any form of racing that you want. With unification and the new schedule having more road and street courses, it made me think about this more and more. I have really enjoyed this last season in stock cars and have not completely closed that chapter of my professional career, but the opportunity that arose was just something I could not pass up."
Ganassi did not disclose the terms of Franchitti's contract, or whether Franchitti or Wheldon will drive in the nonpoints paying, season-ending street race at Surfers Paradise, Australia, on Oct. 26. But Ganassi--conveniently ignoring his overture toward Kanaan--said Franchitti was his first choice to team with Dixon.
"It is going to be very exciting to have Dario in one of our IndyCars next year," he said. "I have always admired his competitive spirit when he raced against us and have really grown to see more of what he is about this season while he raced in NASCAR. When there was a possibility of an opening on our IndyCar team, the only person I thought about was Dario. This is going to be a great move for Dario and for our team."
Wheldon to Nascar? or replace the useless one at AGR, no.....not Marco, the other one, the poison dwarf.Wheldon will leave Ganassi at season's end and be replaced next year by 2007 Indianapolis 500 and series champion Dario Franchitti.
Wheldon's future with the team had been questionable after news leaked that Ganassi tried to sign Tony Kanaan away from Andretti Green Racing to replace Wheldon, who was the the 2005 Indy 500 and series champion.
"I have enjoyed these last three seasons with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, but will be moving on to pursue a very exciting opportunity for 2009," Wheldon said in a statement. "I will be announcing my plans for next season in the near future. In the meantime, I want to focus my efforts on winning the last race of the season. I wish the team well for 2009 and beyond."
Ganassi said: "Dan Wheldon has done everything this organization has asked of him. He was competitive from the moment that he stepped into the car for us back in 2006 and has provided Target Chip Ganassi Racing many highlights over his three years with the team. Dan is a class act both on and off the track and we wish him nothing but the best."
Franchitti, who left Andretti Green Racing at the end of last year to drive for Ganassi and Felix Sabates in NASCAR, returns to open-wheel racing after Ganassi shut down Franchitti's Sprint Cup program due to a lack of sponsorship. Franchitti made 10 starts in the Sprint Cup series this year. He will partner with 2008 championship points-leader Scott Dixon next year at Ganassi's IndyCar team.
"Part of the reason that I signed with Ganassi last year was because of how many options that Chip has at his disposal for a driver," Franchitti said. "You can do almost any form of racing that you want. With unification and the new schedule having more road and street courses, it made me think about this more and more. I have really enjoyed this last season in stock cars and have not completely closed that chapter of my professional career, but the opportunity that arose was just something I could not pass up."
Ganassi did not disclose the terms of Franchitti's contract, or whether Franchitti or Wheldon will drive in the nonpoints paying, season-ending street race at Surfers Paradise, Australia, on Oct. 26. But Ganassi--conveniently ignoring his overture toward Kanaan--said Franchitti was his first choice to team with Dixon.
"It is going to be very exciting to have Dario in one of our IndyCars next year," he said. "I have always admired his competitive spirit when he raced against us and have really grown to see more of what he is about this season while he raced in NASCAR. When there was a possibility of an opening on our IndyCar team, the only person I thought about was Dario. This is going to be a great move for Dario and for our team."
FourWheelDrift said:
Didn't see that one coming.
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=...
That's harsh - I know it's your opinion but its wrong and unjust. The only AGR driver worse than Wheldon is Mutoh and I think he brings alot more money to the table so Wheldon will be out on his ear. Least he can get some work on toothpaste commercials!http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=...
Autoweek said:
So much for Dan Wheldon's expectation to remain with Chip Ganassi's IndyCar Series team.
Wheldon will leave Ganassi at season's end and be replaced next year by 2007 Indianapolis 500 and series champion Dario Franchitti.
Wheldon's future with the team had been questionable after news leaked that Ganassi tried to sign Tony Kanaan away from Andretti Green Racing to replace Wheldon, who was the the 2005 Indy 500 and series champion.
"I have enjoyed these last three seasons with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, but will be moving on to pursue a very exciting opportunity for 2009," Wheldon said in a statement. "I will be announcing my plans for next season in the near future. In the meantime, I want to focus my efforts on winning the last race of the season. I wish the team well for 2009 and beyond."
Ganassi said: "Dan Wheldon has done everything this organization has asked of him. He was competitive from the moment that he stepped into the car for us back in 2006 and has provided Target Chip Ganassi Racing many highlights over his three years with the team. Dan is a class act both on and off the track and we wish him nothing but the best."
Franchitti, who left Andretti Green Racing at the end of last year to drive for Ganassi and Felix Sabates in NASCAR, returns to open-wheel racing after Ganassi shut down Franchitti's Sprint Cup program due to a lack of sponsorship. Franchitti made 10 starts in the Sprint Cup series this year. He will partner with 2008 championship points-leader Scott Dixon next year at Ganassi's IndyCar team.
"Part of the reason that I signed with Ganassi last year was because of how many options that Chip has at his disposal for a driver," Franchitti said. "You can do almost any form of racing that you want. With unification and the new schedule having more road and street courses, it made me think about this more and more. I have really enjoyed this last season in stock cars and have not completely closed that chapter of my professional career, but the opportunity that arose was just something I could not pass up."
Ganassi did not disclose the terms of Franchitti's contract, or whether Franchitti or Wheldon will drive in the nonpoints paying, season-ending street race at Surfers Paradise, Australia, on Oct. 26. But Ganassi--conveniently ignoring his overture toward Kanaan--said Franchitti was his first choice to team with Dixon.
"It is going to be very exciting to have Dario in one of our IndyCars next year," he said. "I have always admired his competitive spirit when he raced against us and have really grown to see more of what he is about this season while he raced in NASCAR. When there was a possibility of an opening on our IndyCar team, the only person I thought about was Dario. This is going to be a great move for Dario and for our team."
Wheldon to Nascar? or replace the useless one at AGR, no.....not Marco, the other one, the poison dwarf.Wheldon will leave Ganassi at season's end and be replaced next year by 2007 Indianapolis 500 and series champion Dario Franchitti.
Wheldon's future with the team had been questionable after news leaked that Ganassi tried to sign Tony Kanaan away from Andretti Green Racing to replace Wheldon, who was the the 2005 Indy 500 and series champion.
"I have enjoyed these last three seasons with Target Chip Ganassi Racing, but will be moving on to pursue a very exciting opportunity for 2009," Wheldon said in a statement. "I will be announcing my plans for next season in the near future. In the meantime, I want to focus my efforts on winning the last race of the season. I wish the team well for 2009 and beyond."
Ganassi said: "Dan Wheldon has done everything this organization has asked of him. He was competitive from the moment that he stepped into the car for us back in 2006 and has provided Target Chip Ganassi Racing many highlights over his three years with the team. Dan is a class act both on and off the track and we wish him nothing but the best."
Franchitti, who left Andretti Green Racing at the end of last year to drive for Ganassi and Felix Sabates in NASCAR, returns to open-wheel racing after Ganassi shut down Franchitti's Sprint Cup program due to a lack of sponsorship. Franchitti made 10 starts in the Sprint Cup series this year. He will partner with 2008 championship points-leader Scott Dixon next year at Ganassi's IndyCar team.
"Part of the reason that I signed with Ganassi last year was because of how many options that Chip has at his disposal for a driver," Franchitti said. "You can do almost any form of racing that you want. With unification and the new schedule having more road and street courses, it made me think about this more and more. I have really enjoyed this last season in stock cars and have not completely closed that chapter of my professional career, but the opportunity that arose was just something I could not pass up."
Ganassi did not disclose the terms of Franchitti's contract, or whether Franchitti or Wheldon will drive in the nonpoints paying, season-ending street race at Surfers Paradise, Australia, on Oct. 26. But Ganassi--conveniently ignoring his overture toward Kanaan--said Franchitti was his first choice to team with Dixon.
"It is going to be very exciting to have Dario in one of our IndyCars next year," he said. "I have always admired his competitive spirit when he raced against us and have really grown to see more of what he is about this season while he raced in NASCAR. When there was a possibility of an opening on our IndyCar team, the only person I thought about was Dario. This is going to be a great move for Dario and for our team."
Don't know why you quoted my entire post since you are the first reply but.... Patrick is not a good racer. She moans about everyone and complains whenever anyone blocks her yet when she blocks anyone it's never her fault. She lucked into her win and only a turn 1 crash wiping out half the field and more fuel problems for her competitors will get her another.
Here's a little USA home truth article from Doug Werner from Midweek Motorsport.
Here's a little USA home truth article from Doug Werner from Midweek Motorsport.
Doug said:
Gentlemen,
I haven't written in a while so I had a lot bottled up. Please feel free to edit as you see fit. After my last letter, many people may be wondering how crow tastes. I can assure you I have no idea, as my opinion of Danica has not changed at all. Motegi was not an epiphany of speed or skill. If anything, Motegi just proved that racing is a team sport, and she did her part. The strategy was brilliant. The execution was flawless, the driver weight perfect. Yes, that’s right the driver weight. The new weight rules are an improvement but hardly create an identical playing field. Given that it would be easier to establish a fixed car and driver weight than create some convoluted rule using averages and max weight shifts, it makes you wonder why they didn’t. Bottom line: whether you view it as a real life ‘tortoise and the hare’ story, or an apocalyptic moment of biblical proportions where “the first shall be last and the last shall be first,” she has won. I wonder which trophy will lose the spot on the mantel, the 12 year old Karting trophy or the 2002 Long Beach Pro/Celebrity trophy.
The media has discussed how she has changed since the burden has been lifted from her shoulders. The way I see it, in one short week, Danica transformed herself from “gas miser” to “gas bag.” After she sheared the studs off her right rear, she gave an interview that lasted so long she must have thought she was at a Champ Car race. It was so bad, I swear the pit reporter reached for a Snickers bar. “Not going anywhere for awhile.” What did we learn after listening to 2 minutes and 4 seconds of her wisdom replete with 17 “ya know’s”? That she is inarticulate, arrogant and will never be more than an average driver. Or nothing because she has already demonstrated that. I think saying “ya know” 17 times “ya know” supports my statement that “ya know” she is inarticulate, “ya know.” I am sure that “ya know” Motorola and “ya know” XM Radio, “ya know” would appreciate hearing “ya know” “Thank you,” “ya know” once. The single line, “I don’t even know who EJ Viso is?” supports both of my latter statements. The arrogance of not bothering to know who a rookie is, is apparent enough. But it also shows that she is not serious enough about her craft to ever be truly successful. She is not playing golf or running SCCA solo events, there are competitors out there on the track. A good driver will know their competitors and their tendencies, their strengths and their weaknesses. Princess Danica can’t even be bothered to know their names.
By the way, Danica, EJ Viso is the Venezuelan driver who finished 4th to your 10th at St. Petersburg and 14th to your 19th at Kansas. Maybe if he wasn’t so far ahead of you, you would, “ya know,” know who he was. She is not entirely to blame for the monster she has become. I blame her fabricators, Tony George and the media. If you were to go by them, there are no other drivers. Instead of promoting the new drivers in the series and doing something original by sending Danica, Marco and Graham out on a Media Blitz promoting the series, it is nothing but Danica-Mania.
The ESPNnews headline was “Danica Patrick First Woman to Win Open Wheel Race.” Let me help with that. No, that’s Katherine Legge. With a little re-arranging the headline can be fixed. It should read “Danica Patrick Wins Her First Open Wheel Race.” While it is a milestone of sorts, it is not the Rosa Parks moment that it has been made out to be. What hardship did she exactly overcome while driving one of the best cars on one of the best teams? Having her car set up by an Indy Car Champion? And Jack Arrute is intolerable. Thank God they are not in Toronto this year or he might accidentally break out into “Oh, Danica!” during the playing of their national anthem. I was hugely disappointed by the sudden departure of Frank Perrera from the series due to funding. But no number of Danica fluff pieces or even wins is going to suddenly bring him back.
I didn’t open the newspaper and read “Danica Wins, Sarah Fisher to Run Full Season,” Or “Danica Triumphant, Walker to Run in IRL. Tagliani and Tracy to be Announced as Drivers.” Like it or not, the IRL stands for Indy Racing LEAGUE and the word LEAGUE implies more than one. Until Tony George turns on the marketing machine and starts promoting the full product, the league will have a revolving door of drivers and be incapable of building a fan base. The IRL need only look at Champ Car for an example of that. Perrera’s leaving is the canary in the mine. Quit putting lipstick on this pig and make some real changes. The way things are going now, there will be no one left to compete against Danica because the IRL doesn’t promote anyone but her.
Danica will have to start buying teams and putting second rate drivers in so she can consistently win and maintain an income for her empire. Everyone thinks Tony George buying Champ car out was some magnanimous gesture. In reality he bought the league 8 rides for 15 million bucks. You can't do that even in Atlantics. The question is can he turn that initial investment into a solid foundation or did he just put all the open-wheel eggs into one basket. Time will tell. In the mean time, I will be watching more NHRA and cheering on a winner in every sense of the word, Ashley Force, just in case someone steps on the basket.
Cheers,
Doug
I haven't written in a while so I had a lot bottled up. Please feel free to edit as you see fit. After my last letter, many people may be wondering how crow tastes. I can assure you I have no idea, as my opinion of Danica has not changed at all. Motegi was not an epiphany of speed or skill. If anything, Motegi just proved that racing is a team sport, and she did her part. The strategy was brilliant. The execution was flawless, the driver weight perfect. Yes, that’s right the driver weight. The new weight rules are an improvement but hardly create an identical playing field. Given that it would be easier to establish a fixed car and driver weight than create some convoluted rule using averages and max weight shifts, it makes you wonder why they didn’t. Bottom line: whether you view it as a real life ‘tortoise and the hare’ story, or an apocalyptic moment of biblical proportions where “the first shall be last and the last shall be first,” she has won. I wonder which trophy will lose the spot on the mantel, the 12 year old Karting trophy or the 2002 Long Beach Pro/Celebrity trophy.
The media has discussed how she has changed since the burden has been lifted from her shoulders. The way I see it, in one short week, Danica transformed herself from “gas miser” to “gas bag.” After she sheared the studs off her right rear, she gave an interview that lasted so long she must have thought she was at a Champ Car race. It was so bad, I swear the pit reporter reached for a Snickers bar. “Not going anywhere for awhile.” What did we learn after listening to 2 minutes and 4 seconds of her wisdom replete with 17 “ya know’s”? That she is inarticulate, arrogant and will never be more than an average driver. Or nothing because she has already demonstrated that. I think saying “ya know” 17 times “ya know” supports my statement that “ya know” she is inarticulate, “ya know.” I am sure that “ya know” Motorola and “ya know” XM Radio, “ya know” would appreciate hearing “ya know” “Thank you,” “ya know” once. The single line, “I don’t even know who EJ Viso is?” supports both of my latter statements. The arrogance of not bothering to know who a rookie is, is apparent enough. But it also shows that she is not serious enough about her craft to ever be truly successful. She is not playing golf or running SCCA solo events, there are competitors out there on the track. A good driver will know their competitors and their tendencies, their strengths and their weaknesses. Princess Danica can’t even be bothered to know their names.
By the way, Danica, EJ Viso is the Venezuelan driver who finished 4th to your 10th at St. Petersburg and 14th to your 19th at Kansas. Maybe if he wasn’t so far ahead of you, you would, “ya know,” know who he was. She is not entirely to blame for the monster she has become. I blame her fabricators, Tony George and the media. If you were to go by them, there are no other drivers. Instead of promoting the new drivers in the series and doing something original by sending Danica, Marco and Graham out on a Media Blitz promoting the series, it is nothing but Danica-Mania.
The ESPNnews headline was “Danica Patrick First Woman to Win Open Wheel Race.” Let me help with that. No, that’s Katherine Legge. With a little re-arranging the headline can be fixed. It should read “Danica Patrick Wins Her First Open Wheel Race.” While it is a milestone of sorts, it is not the Rosa Parks moment that it has been made out to be. What hardship did she exactly overcome while driving one of the best cars on one of the best teams? Having her car set up by an Indy Car Champion? And Jack Arrute is intolerable. Thank God they are not in Toronto this year or he might accidentally break out into “Oh, Danica!” during the playing of their national anthem. I was hugely disappointed by the sudden departure of Frank Perrera from the series due to funding. But no number of Danica fluff pieces or even wins is going to suddenly bring him back.
I didn’t open the newspaper and read “Danica Wins, Sarah Fisher to Run Full Season,” Or “Danica Triumphant, Walker to Run in IRL. Tagliani and Tracy to be Announced as Drivers.” Like it or not, the IRL stands for Indy Racing LEAGUE and the word LEAGUE implies more than one. Until Tony George turns on the marketing machine and starts promoting the full product, the league will have a revolving door of drivers and be incapable of building a fan base. The IRL need only look at Champ Car for an example of that. Perrera’s leaving is the canary in the mine. Quit putting lipstick on this pig and make some real changes. The way things are going now, there will be no one left to compete against Danica because the IRL doesn’t promote anyone but her.
Danica will have to start buying teams and putting second rate drivers in so she can consistently win and maintain an income for her empire. Everyone thinks Tony George buying Champ car out was some magnanimous gesture. In reality he bought the league 8 rides for 15 million bucks. You can't do that even in Atlantics. The question is can he turn that initial investment into a solid foundation or did he just put all the open-wheel eggs into one basket. Time will tell. In the mean time, I will be watching more NHRA and cheering on a winner in every sense of the word, Ashley Force, just in case someone steps on the basket.
Cheers,
Doug
Ps. Wheldon is joining Panther Racing on a multi-year contract, just announced.
SpeedTV said:
Six years after Dan Wheldon made his IndyCar Series debut at Chicagoland Speedway for Panther Racing, the team announced today it has reached a multi-year agreement to bring the former Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion back home to the two-time league champions.
“It’s hard to describe the level of excitement and emotions all of us at Panther have knowing that Dan has come back to drive for us,” team Managing Partner and CEO John Barnes said. “I remember watching him drive for the first time in the Indy Lights series years ago, and I knew he was going to be a special talent. Since then he’s become one of the best open-wheel drivers in the world, and for him to make his return to our team at the height of his racing career is a tremendous compliment to our team. I know he’s excited about getting into the No. 4 car for the first time and we’ve got a tremendous future ahead of us.”
Wheldon signed with the team originally in June of 2002 under a testing agreement. It was later the same year, at Chicagoland, that Wheldon made his debut for Panther driving the No. 15 Pennzoil sponsored entry and finished 10th. He also started at Texas Motor Speedway for the team and finished 15th despite not even making
a qualification attempt.
“I’m very excited to be joining the entire Panther Racing crew,” Wheldon said. “This is the place where I started my career in 2002 and with the personnel and leadership that John Barnes has put together, I know that we’ll be fighting for outright victories, the Indianapolis 500 title and the league championship. I’m looking forward to when my obligations with my current team have been honored, so I can get with the entire Panther family and start moving towards all of our goals of winning races and championships together. It’s great to be back.”
Wheldon became one of the winningest and most consistent drivers in open-wheel racing during stints with Andretti Green Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing. In 2005, he won both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship during a season in which he won a league-record six races. The following season he won two more races and tied former teammate Hornish for the overall points lead at the end of the year but the title went to Hornish because he had more victories.
He currently ranks fourth in the IndyCar Series points standings and has two victories this year – at Kansas Speedway and Iowa Speedway.
“It’s hard to describe the level of excitement and emotions all of us at Panther have knowing that Dan has come back to drive for us,” team Managing Partner and CEO John Barnes said. “I remember watching him drive for the first time in the Indy Lights series years ago, and I knew he was going to be a special talent. Since then he’s become one of the best open-wheel drivers in the world, and for him to make his return to our team at the height of his racing career is a tremendous compliment to our team. I know he’s excited about getting into the No. 4 car for the first time and we’ve got a tremendous future ahead of us.”
Wheldon signed with the team originally in June of 2002 under a testing agreement. It was later the same year, at Chicagoland, that Wheldon made his debut for Panther driving the No. 15 Pennzoil sponsored entry and finished 10th. He also started at Texas Motor Speedway for the team and finished 15th despite not even making
a qualification attempt.
“I’m very excited to be joining the entire Panther Racing crew,” Wheldon said. “This is the place where I started my career in 2002 and with the personnel and leadership that John Barnes has put together, I know that we’ll be fighting for outright victories, the Indianapolis 500 title and the league championship. I’m looking forward to when my obligations with my current team have been honored, so I can get with the entire Panther family and start moving towards all of our goals of winning races and championships together. It’s great to be back.”
Wheldon became one of the winningest and most consistent drivers in open-wheel racing during stints with Andretti Green Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing. In 2005, he won both the Indianapolis 500 and the IndyCar Series championship during a season in which he won a league-record six races. The following season he won two more races and tied former teammate Hornish for the overall points lead at the end of the year but the title went to Hornish because he had more victories.
He currently ranks fourth in the IndyCar Series points standings and has two victories this year – at Kansas Speedway and Iowa Speedway.
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