Franchitti forges bond with Special Olympians in Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas -- He may be the reigning champion of the greatest spectacle in racing, the Indianapolis 500, but in NASCAR, Dario Franchitti is still new.

He is a rookie and rookies make mistakes.

Franchitti qualified his backup 18th after his primary was hauled away.

That was evident during Busch Series practice this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway when Franchitti wadded up his primary car forcing him to race his backup in the O'Reilly Challenge.

"Practice was tough, but I have to say it was my own fault," Franchitti said. "We were on low tire pressure and I stood on [the gas] and wrecked."

After his stock-car debut last month at Talladega Superspeedway, the 28-year-old, open-wheel veteran said he's endured some bumps and still has lessons to learn.

But no lesson Franchitti has learned to date was more humbling than the one the Scotland native learned from a group of old friends on Friday.

His friends are a group of young, Special Olympic athletes from Texas who have a standing date with the driver most every year.

With 24,675 athletes, offering 20 sports with more than 200 competitions, Special Olympics Texas is one of the largest Special Olympics programs in the world.

Franchitti, both now and when he raced in the Indy Racing League, is a big supporter of the Special Olympics, as is his sponsor American Eurocopter. He makes a point to spend time talking shop with the athletes and signing autographs.

On Friday, the driver toured this year's athletes around his private helicopter parked at the Texas Motor Speedway infield.

After his lackluster day on the track, talking with the Special Olympians put things in perspective for Franchitti.

"Watching these guys and their competitive spirit and realizing the stuff they do to overcome it teaches me a lot, you learn a lot about life from them," said Franchitti as he chatted with Special Olympians Ryan Falcon, 27, and Jonathan Blackmon, 27, who both have known the driver personally for a few years now.

Franchitti said with every passing year, the athletes seem to know more and more about racing.

"Especially Jonathon, he knows his stats like you wouldn't believe," Franchitti said. "He knows everything about IndyCar and NASCAR."

Blackmon, diagnosed with a mental disability with autistic tendencies at age 4, can quote Franchitti's stats from his career in the IRL and now his latest accomplishments with his new team at Chip Ganassi Racing.

Every year he looks forward to the fall race at Texas Motor Speedway.

"I feel lucky to be able to say I know Dario, he's really down to earth and is a good racecar driver," said Blackmon, who two weeks ago medalled in multiple events including golf and swimming.

More than 1,400 athletes of all ages embarked upon Texas A&M University and surrounding College Station, Texas, from October 18-20 for the Fall Classic.

Falcon, also a gold medallist in swimming, said he appreciates the time Franchitti gives year in and year out.

"I feel like I know a celebrity," Falcon said. "He asks me about my events and gives me advice on how to be a better leader, I like being a leader."

Being a leader is a role Franchitti is accustomed to amongst the open-wheel ranks, but in the NASCAR garage, is he somewhat of a follower for the time being.

Franchitti said, because of his accomplishments in open-wheel racing, everyone expects him to acclimate at lighting speed.

"Some days I feel great then things like the Texas practice happen and things are more difficult. I'm learning and it is in public with all these people watching," Franchitti said. "There's a certain amount of expectations because of who I am, but I'm rookie like everyone else."