Franchitti's track record may make for easier move

He had driven full-bodied racecars on a European touring car circuit, and competed on high-speed ovals with great success while in the Indy Racing League. He lived in the heart of NASCAR country, in Nashville, Tenn., and watched every Cup race last season except for the Coca-Cola 600 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. He was a little busy that day.

Dario Franchitti and Steven Lane

Test pattern

Preseason Thunder was invaluable to Dario Franchitti, who is embarking upon his first full season in NASCAR and the Sprint Cup Series.

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So Dario Franchitti thought he had some idea of what he was getting into when he decided to switch to NASCAR. Then the reigning Indianapolis 500 champion strapped into a Craftsman Truck for his first race this past October, and began to understand the true scope of the transition he was attempting to make.

"I think the real shock was at Martinsville, when I jumped in the truck and started to get bashed around a little bit," said the new driver of Chip Ganassi's No. 40 car on the Sprint Cup tour. "I was, like, oh, this is a bit more physical than I'm used to in an Indy car."

It was the first step in a conversion not unlike the one made last year by Franchitti's teammate in the Ganassi shop, former Formula One race winner Juan Montoya. The Colombian set a relatively high bar by winning one Cup and one then-Busch event (both on road courses), finishing second in the Brickyard 400, claiming rookie of the year honors and placing 20th in final points. But the Scot has the benefit of Montoya's experience, has a stronger track record on oval circuits, and may hold the potential to better the marks his teammate set last year.

"I don't mind if he does better than me. That would be great," said Montoya, like Franchitti a past champion of the Indianapolis 500. "I think the big thing for us as a team is getting Dario up to speed as fast as possible, because the more knowledge we have as a complete team, the better we'll be."

Montoya, bred as a road racer, had never competed on an oval until he landed with Ganassi's Champ Car team in 1999, and estimated that he had raced in only about 20 oval track events before he moved into NASCAR full time. He made them count, winning six times on ovals in his North American open-wheel career, including triumphs on current Sprint Cup tracks in Indianapolis and Michigan. While Franchitti also came up on road courses, he scored eight oval track wins as an open-wheel racer, and his five years in the Indy Racing League provided him with extensive seat time at tracks like Richmond, Phoenix, California, Texas, Homestead, and Kansas -- all of which he'll now see from behind the wheel of a stock car.

"He's driven ovals the last few years, and that should make it more comfortable for him," Montoya said. "But at the same time, he's driven so much in the different car, he's so used to different feelings he doesn't have here. It's going to take him a little longer for some things."

Montoya speaks from experience. The biggest challenge in his transition wasn't the tracks, but the cars -- particularly getting comfortable with the looseness it takes to make a stock car go fast. Open-wheel racers like tight cars that stick to the ground, while stockers need to be on the edge of losing control. In NASCAR, Montoya said, the car's rear end almost has to step out for a driver to get everything out of a vehicle -- a condition that would land an open-wheel pilot in the wall. As Franchitti is discovering, it's not a matter of finding a perfect setup, because such a thing doesn't exist.

"What I didn't expect was how different the car would feel on a track I know, just how different that was going to be," Franchitti said. "With an Indy car, I kind of knew enough about it to help my engineer just pinpoint the car exactly where we needed to be in the setup for a race. Certainly, with this car and my limited experience, I'm not able to give [crew chief] Steve [Lane] ... enough information yet to get the car to that point. Then there's another part of me, in talking to other people, that says you'll never get the car to that point, because with these cars there's always a compromise. And with these cars, it's getting used to driving the car with that compromise, whether it's a little too loose or a little bit too tight. Just getting used to driving around those problems, that's all new."

While Franchitti doesn't yet have full-season primary sponsorship secured for his No. 40 car -- "It's going to be a patchwork thing to put together," Ganassi said -- he only has to learn to drive one type of car on the Sprint Cup tour, unlike Montoya who had to deal with the phase-in of a new vehicle. Franchitti also has the benefit of Montoya's experience, which should make for a smoother transition.

"The one big advantage Dario is going to have is that he'll have Juan to lean on," said Ganassi team manager Tony Glover. "Juan actually experienced a lot of things last year on his own that no one could really tell him. David Stremme really helped Juan last year, and Reed [Sorenson] as well. But I think Juan will be able to be a bigger help to Dario, because just 12 months ago he went through the same deal. I think when Juan tells Dario something, it's coming from pretty big shoes. I think [Franchitti] understands that it's in his best interest to pay attention to what he's talking about."

Ganassi saw how energized Montoya was by the move to NASCAR -- the former F1 driver raves about the camaraderie among competitors, something he never experienced in Europe -- and believes Franchitti will feel the same way. With an Indy 500 win and an IRL championship, Franchitti felt his motivation for open-wheel cars waning, and was looking for a new challenge. He found it in NASCAR, a circuit he had been interested in for two or three years. Montoya helped by convincing car owners that ex-open-wheelers could compete in NASCAR, clearing the path for the current migration seen today.

"At 34 years old, I'm doing something completely different," Franchitti said. "I never thought I'd get this chance to learn something completely new. I achieved more than I ever thought I'd achieve in open-wheel, now I'm getting the chance to come and race in NASCAR. For me, it's brilliant."

And, his car owner believes, it's not a fling. "The great thing about Dario is, he's here for the long haul," Ganassi said. "He's committed. He's here. He's not just dipping his toe in the water. He's completely dedicated to this."