Dario Franchitti Advance Notes
Race: Sharpie Mini 300 on Saturday, March 15 (NNS)
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway (.533 miles)
Location: Bristol, Tenn.
Dario Franchitti and No. 40 Fastenal Dodge Team (NNS)
NOTES
2 Weeks in a Row: Franchitti leads the Raybestos Rookie of the Year race in both the NSCS (41-39 over Sam Hornish, Jr) and the NNS (47-34 over CGRFS teammate Bryan Clauson) for the second weekend in a row.
Eye in the Sky: Keep up with Franchitti’s rookie seasons in NSCS and NNS on FOXSports.com as No.40 car spotter Mike Calinoff chronicles the team’s weekly happenings in his blog titled Eye in the Sky.
Going Stag in Bristol: New sponsor The Hartford will debut on the No. 40 car this weekend as the company’s sponsorship and other marketing efforts will be used to connect The Hartford’s auto and homeowners products to legions of racing fans. Bearing The Hartford’s distinctive colors, the maroon and yellow race car will feature The Hartford’s branding on the hood, TV and quarter panels. Franchitti will wear a maroon and yellow fire suit featuring The Hartford and the stag logo. The Hartford, a Fortune 100 company, is one of the nation's largest diversified financial services companies, with 2007 revenues of $25.9 billion. The Hartford is a leading provider of investment products, life insurance and group benefits; automobile and homeowners products; and business property and casualty insurance. International operations are located in Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil and Ireland. The Hartford's Internet address is www.thehartford.com.
QUOTES
Question: What are your expectations heading into Bristol and what is the best advice you can give your driver Dario Franchitti?
Crew Chief Brad Parrott: “Bristol luckily is a two- and three-lane race track now. They re-concreted it last year which made it a real maneuverable place that will benefit Dario because he likes to run the bottom of the track and has been doing that the last couple of weeks. With the multiple grooves, it will give him some areas to pass cars on the bottom. The biggest challenge he has is running so much closer to the other cars. Those guys are crammed on the track and he is going to be closer to them than he has in the past.
“We are really looking forward to Bristol. Last year at this time, we were heading to Bristol with Juan Pablo Montoya for his first race there and he wasn’t looking forward to it but he came out with one of his best efforts of the year in the Nationwide Dodge. I know Dario will like it at the end of the day, if he comes out of there with all four tires and four fenders on the car.
“The best advice I can give Dario, in regard to keeping his cool at a place where that doesn’t usually happen is keep things in perspective. He is a very level-headed guy so I will just keep reminding him to maintain that. It will be my job to keep him calm. The biggest challenge is just having the mindset and focus to run 300 laps at Bristol on Saturday and then 500 laps on Sunday.”
CHASSIS INFO
No. 40 Fastenal Dodge (NNS): Chassis #653. This chassis is the same car Franchitti and the NNS Fastenal team ran at Las Vegas Motor Speedway just a couple of weeks ago to score a sixth-place start and finish at the Nevada track. Franchitti also raced the same car at Auto Club Speedway earlier this year where he raced up inside the top five and maintained a top-15 run the majority of the day, until a bad vibration seemed to derail his effort during the last quarter of the race (started 22nd, finished 24th).
