CART
| Champ Car career | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 114 race(s) run over 6 year(s) | |||||||
| Years active | 1997-2002 | ||||||
| Team(s) | Hogan Racing (1997), Team KOOL Green (1998-2002) | ||||||
| Best finish | 2nd - 1999 | ||||||
| First race | 1997 Marlboro Grand Prix of Miami (Homestead) | ||||||
| Last race | 2002 Mexico Gran Premio Telmex/Gigante (Mexico City) | ||||||
| First win | 1998 Texaco/Havoline 200 (Road America) | ||||||
| Last win | 2002 2002 Sure For Men Rockingham 500 (Rockingham) | ||||||
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With the demise of the ITC, Mercedes placed Franchitti in Hogan Racing in 1997, making his US debut in the PPG/CART Champ Car World Series where his best finish was a ninth at Surfers Paradise. In 1998 he joined Team Green (forerunner to Andretti Green Racing and the current Andretti Autosport), finishing third in the season standings with three wins (his first coming at Road America) and a season-high five pole positions.
Franchitti finished runner-up in the 1999 CART season behind rookie Juan Pablo Montoya. Both drivers scored 212 points, but Montoya had seven wins to Franchitti's three and was crowned champion. Franchitti's close friend Greg Moore died in a crash during the final race of the year at California Speedway in Fontana, California.
A heavy crash in pre-season testing the next year ruined Franchitti's 2000 season, and he only won once at Cleveland in 2001. In 2002 he won the Vancouver Molson Indy. He dedicated his win to Greg Moore, who was killed in 1999 and was from Vancouver, British Columbia. He finished fourth in Champ Car in 2002.
Read more about this topic: Dario Franchitti
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