Just over a month ago, Dario Franchitti suffered a frightening crash on the last lap of the second race of the Houston Grand Prix double-header.  His car was thrown into the catch fencing which caused his car to violently spin through the air while disintegrating.  This was by far the worst IndyCar crash since the 2011 season ending crash that took the life of Dan Wheldon – another case of a car being ripped apart by catch fencing.  Along with countless fans, I breathed a sigh of relieve when we learned that although he was pretty banged up, Dario would be okay.

A week ago, on advice from his doctors, Dario announced that he was retiring from motor racing, effective immediately.  Sadly, the injuries he sustained in Houston were serious enough to put his well-being at grave risk should he consider racing again.

Dario Franchitti – A Humble Hero

Dario closes out his career with four IndyCar titles, three Indy 500 wins, and 31 open wheel wins – one of the most successful all-time US open wheel racers – while being a cheerful, approachable, fan favorite along the way.  One of the special things about Dario is his knowledge, respect, and reverence for the history of the sport and its heroes – especially fellow Scot, Jim Clark.  Strangely though, he consistently and humbly underestimated his place in that history.  He’ll be remembered along with his heroes.

I was fortunate to see him race six times at the Grand Prix of Long Beach, including his 2010 IndyCar victory, once at Auto Club speedway, and meet him at the Monterey Historics races.

Even without the Houston crash, Dario had fewer days in IndyCar ahead of him than behind him.  I did think he had the chance to be a four-time Indy 500 winner, though, having just won his third in 2012.  As a versatile driver and true lover of the sport, I expected Dario to race sports cars for a long time even after an IndyCar career came to a close.  In 2008, he joined fellow Ganassi racers Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett, and Memo Rojas in winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona.  I could have even imagined him joining Mark Weber on the Porsche LMP1 team sometime in the future.

I really hope Dario stays involved in IndyCar in some meaningful way – the sport and the series needs him.  Losing him as a driver is a serious blow to Target Chip Ganassi Racing, his teammate Scott Dixon, the entire paddock, and the series.

We’ll miss you, Dario.