124 Facts About Dario Franchitti

George Dario Marino Franchitti was born on 19 May 1973 and is a British motorsport commentator and retired motor racing driver from Scotland.

Dario Franchitti began kart racing at the age of 10 and had early success before progressing to car racing at age 17, winning the 1991 Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship and the 1993 Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship.

Dario Franchitti debuted in Championship Auto Racing Teams with Hogan Racing for the 1997 season.

Dario Franchitti's form declined over the next three years but he won four races.

Dario Franchitti won two races in the 2004 and 2005 seasons, finishing fourth and sixth overall.

Dario Franchitti won his first IndyCar Drivers' Championship in 2007 with four victories, including his first Indianapolis 500 win, before joining CGR for the following year's NASCAR programme.

Dario Franchitti's form deteriorated during the 2012 championship as he struggled to adapt to a new car but he won his third Indianapolis 500.

Dario Franchitti competed in 265 races in American open-wheel car racing, winning 31 and finishing on the podium 92 times.

Dario Franchitti has been inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame, the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame, the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame, and was named the 2007 BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year.

Dario Franchitti was born in Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, on 19 May 1973.

Dario Franchitti is the son of Inverness-born tourist board employee Marina Franchitti, and ice-cream parlour owner and amateur racing driver George Franchitti.

Dario Franchitti is of Italian descent; his three Italian grandparents originate from the town of Cassino.

When Dario Franchitti was eight years old, he moved to Whitburn.

Dario Franchitti was educated at Edinburgh's private Stewart's Melville College, where he did not feel at ease due to its traditionalism.

When he was three years old, Dario Franchitti was given a Honda-powered go-kart.

When he turned ten, Dario Franchitti started kart racing; his first race ended after two laps due to engine failure.

Dario Franchitti started racing at the West of Scotland Kart Club and tracks in the north of Scotland, and he tested karts at Knockhill near Dunfermline.

In 1984, at the age of 11, Dario Franchitti won the Scottish Junior Championship; he won the British Junior Karting Championships in 1985 and 1986.

Dario Franchitti retired from the 1987 Karting World Championship final after colliding with Luca Badoer.

Dario Franchitti raced part-time in the 1990 British Senior Kart Series.

In 1990, racing driver David Leslie's father suggested to Dario Franchitti he join Leslie's team and work on his cars at races.

Aged 17, Dario Franchitti began racing a single-seater vehicle for David Leslie Racing in the inaugural Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship.

Dario Franchitti's father remortgaged the family home to pay for his son's racing.

Dario Franchitti won the championship with four victories, three in the final three rounds, and three podium finishes.

Dario Franchitti finished fourth overall in the 1992 Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship, with multiple second and third-place finishes for PSR.

Dario Franchitti had six victories and four podium finishes, and was named the series' Driver of the Year.

Dario Franchitti finished fourth overall with 133 points in a PSR Dallara F394-Mugen Honda, a single victory at Silverstone and six top-three finishes after errors prevented him from challenging for the title.

Dario Franchitti finished 12th at the 1994 Masters of Formula 3 and sixth at the 1994 Macau Grand Prix.

Dario Franchitti did not have enough money to progress to Formula 3000 and did not race in F3 for another season as expected because he did not want to incur more debt.

Dario Franchitti drove a Mercedes C-Class V6 for the AMG-Mercedes team, Mercedes-Benz's sports-car competition division.

Dario Franchitti competed in the 1995 DTM and the 1995 ITC.

Jackie Stewart sent a letter of recommendation to trucking mogul Carl Hogan, who telephoned Mercedes in Germany, and the company assigned Dario Franchitti to drive the No 9 Reynard 97i-Mercedes-Benz car for the single Hogan Racing customer car squad in the 1997 CART World Series.

Dario Franchitti rejected the offer of a seven-year contract from McLaren owner Ron Dennis to test McLaren's F1 cars during the week while he competed in CART at weekends and act as a replacement driver in case of injury.

Dario Franchitti scored points in three more races, and at the Molson Indy Toronto, he took his first CART pole position.

Dario Franchitti was 22nd in the Drivers' Championship with 10 points and was third in the Rookie of the Year standings.

In late 1997, Dario Franchitti signed a two-year-minimum contract to drive for Team Green from the 1998 season after impressing team owner Barry Green with his abilities.

Dario Franchitti had six top-ten finishes, including a second-place finish at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, and qualified in pole position at the Rio 400, the Molson Indy Toronto and the Miller Lite 200 in the season's first 13 races.

Three weeks later, Dario Franchitti won the Molson Indy Vancouver from his fourth pole position of the season.

Dario Franchitti finished second at the Honda Indy 300 but lost the runner-up spot to Jimmy Vasser when his engine failed at the season-ending Marlboro 500, which Vasser won.

Dario Franchitti took seven top-ten finishes in the first ten races.

Dario Franchitti led all of the Molson Indy Toronto to win and took the championship lead from Juan Pablo Montoya after winning the ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix two races later.

Dario Franchitti won the season's penultimate round the Honda Indy 300 from pole position to enter the season-ending Marlboro 500 nine points ahead of Montoya.

Dario Franchitti had to finish third in California to win the title but would lose on countback if he and Montoya finished with the same number of points.

Dario Franchitti finished the race tenth and Montoya fourth, ending the season with the same number of points as the latter, who was crowned champion because he won seven races while Dario Franchitti had only won three.

Dario Franchitti's performance deteriorated due to a lack of testing and his team changing personnel, and he drove an unreliable car he occasionally crashed.

Dario Franchitti concluded the season seventh in the championship standings with 105 points.

Dario Franchitti led the final 15 laps of the Molson Indy Vancouver after teammate Paul Tracy's pit stop for fuel and tyres, and had his first win of the season.

Three races later, starting from second, Dario Franchitti led 43 laps to win the Molson Indy Montreal.

Dario Franchitti won in the Sure for Men Rockingham 500 in his only CART oval track victory two races later.

Dario Franchitti finished the season's final four races within the top ten to place fourth in the Drivers' Championship with 148 points.

Dario Franchitti made his debut in CART's rival franchise the Indy Racing League in the 2002 IRL season, driving Team Green's unique No 27 Dallara IR02-Chevrolet Indy V8 entry for the Indianapolis 500 after the team found funding for the programme.

Dario Franchitti changed his driving style to handle the lighter and more responsive normally-aspirated, V8-engined car on short oval circuits, and improved his hand-eye-foot coordination.

Dario Franchitti was replaced by Dan Wheldon, Robby Gordon and Bryan Herta in the following three races.

Dario Franchitti was replaced by Herta for the rest of the season.

Dario Franchitti extended his contract to remain at AGR for the 2004 IndyCar Series.

Dario Franchitti gained his first IndyCar pole position in the Bombardier 500 and finished the race in second place.

Three races later, Dario Franchitti had his second series win in the Honda Indy 225 at Pikes Peak.

Dario Franchitti returned to drive for AGR in the 2005 season after signing a one-year contract extension for a four-car team in January 2005.

At the season's conclusion, Dario Franchitti almost declined an opportunity during negotiations to sign a one-year contract extension because he had been considering either a career change or retirement since his sub-par results in IndyCar; Frachitti remained at AGR for the 2006 season.

Dario Franchitti's performance declined after Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing became more developed when IndyCar used only Honda engines, and AGR underperformed on short high-speed oval tracks.

Dario Franchitti took pole position for the Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg street course race where suspension failure after colliding with Kosuke Matsuura's damaged car eliminated him from contention.

Dario Franchitti was eighth in the points standings with 311 points.

Dario Franchitti began the year by finishing the opening four races seventh and above, including podium finishes at Motegi and Kansas Speedway.

Foyt 225 to take the championship lead, Dario Franchitti won consecutive races in the inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway, and led a race-high 242 laps in the SunTrust Indy Challenge from pole position.

Dario Franchitti took two pole positions at Michigan International Speedway and Infineon Raceway and four top-three finishes over the next seven races to enter the season-ending Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 three points ahead of CGR's Scott Dixon.

Dario Franchitti won the race after Dixon's car ran out of fuel on the final lap, securing his first IndyCar championship.

Dario Franchitti considered joining NASCAR but discussions with CGR team owner Chip Ganassi and Richard Childress Racing owner Richard Childress did not result in a race seat.

Talks with Ganassi resulted in Dario Franchitti replacing David Stremme as the driver of the No 40 Dodge Charger on a multi-year contract from 2008 because of Stremme's sponsorship problems, and because they believed Dario Franchitti was more marketable, a decision that greatly upset AGR.

Dario Franchitti was enrolled onto a stock car development programme that involved ARCA and the Busch Series events, as well as testing.

Dario Franchitti's season-best finish was a 22nd place in the Goody's Cool Orange 500 and his best qualifying performance was seventh in the Lenox Industrial Tools 301.

Dario Franchitti fell outside the top 35 in the points standings that he had inherited from the preceding season and was required to qualify on speed from the sixth race onwards, because his car was uncompetitive since CGR could not master the Car of Tomorrow concept.

Dario Franchitti's best series finish was a fifth place at the Zippo 200 at the Glen, where he started from pole position.

Dario Franchitti considered returning to IndyCar while spectating the 2008 Indianapolis 500.

Dario Franchitti wanted to join CGR's No 41 NASCAR Cup Series team before being reminded of the capability of IndyCars.

Dario Franchitti finished seventh and above in the next three races and took pole position for the Bombardier Learjet 550.

Dario Franchitti won the Iowa Corn Indy 250, his second victory of 2009.

Dario Franchitti led 45 laps of the Honda Indy Toronto from pole position to win the race.

Dario Franchitti had three more top-six finishes before leading the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma from pole position, winning his fourth race of 2009.

Dario Franchitti won the race from pole position, winning his second championship and finishing the year 11 points ahead of Dixon.

Dario Franchitti finished third in the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and second in the RoadRunner Turbo Indy 300.

Dario Franchitti achieved consecutive podium finishes in the Honda Indy Toronto and the Honda Indy Edmonton in the following five races.

At the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St Petersburg, Dario Franchitti started fourth and led 94 laps to win the event.

Dario Franchitti finished third in the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and the following Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, then won the first of the Firestone Twin 275s after leading 110 laps.

Dario Franchitti led 161 laps of the Milwaukee 225 from pole position in his third victory of the season, and won the Honda Indy Toronto two races later.

The race was abandoned following a 15-car accident on the 11th lap that involved Power and caused Wheldon's death, meaning Dario Franchitti won his fourth championship; his third in succession.

Dario Franchitti drove for CGR for the 2012 season; he initially struggled to adapt to the new Dallara DW12 car before becoming more competitive following the season's fourth event, which was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Dario Franchitti took two top-ten finishes in the first four races, placing tenth at Barber and fifth in Sao Paulo.

Dario Franchitti was leading the race on the final lap when Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Takuma Sato crashed into the barrier in an attempt to overtake Dario Franchitti on the inside into turn one.

Dario Franchitti was seventh in the Drivers' Championship with 363 points.

Dario Franchitti achieved another ten top-ten finishes and took pole position three more times during the 15 remaining events in which he participated, earning season-best third-place finishes at each of the Pocono IndyCar 400 races, the first Honda Indy Toronto race, the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and the GoPro Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.

Dario Franchitti was tenth in the final championship standings with 418 points.

Dario Franchitti's car ripped apart a fence section and sent debris into the grandstand past a second fence ahead of spectators.

Dario Franchitti's car settled driver side up on the racing surface; the car's front was removed but the chassis's tub portion remained intact.

Dario Franchitti travelled to Indianapolis for surgery to repair the right talus bone connecting the leg and the foot.

Dario Franchitti retired from competitive driving after doctors advised him his injuries and those from previous accidents put him at risk of permanent paralysis and brain damage in the event of another major crash.

Dario Franchitti has worked for CGR as an advisor and driver-coach to each of the team's racers since the 2014 IndyCar Series after he was offered the job by Ganassi.

Dario Franchitti did not want to be a team owner because he believed the financial risks of ownership were too great.

In 1999, Dario Franchitti planned to enter the Rally GB held that November but pulled out because of a scheduling conflict.

In July 2000, Dario Franchitti took part in a two-day test session for the Jaguar F1 team in its R1 car at Silverstone.

Dario Franchitti made his endurance racing debut at the 2005 24 Hours of Daytona of the Rolex Sports Car Series, sharing Howard-Boss Motorsports's No 2 Pontiac Crawford DP03 entry with Milka Duno, Marino Franchitti and Dan Wheldon; they finished 16th in the Daytona Prototype class and 33rd overall after Duno crashed with fewer than six hours left.

Dario Franchitti won the 2008 24 Hours of Daytona with Juan Pablo Montoya, Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, completing 695 laps in the No 01 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Riley-Lexus car.

Dario Franchitti partnered David Brabham and Scott Sharp in Highcroft Racing's No 9 Acura ARX-01B LMP2 entry at the 2008 Petit Le Mans, retiring after 16 laps when Sharp crashed the car.

Dario Franchitti raced alongside Brabham and Sharp at Highcroft Racing, sharing the No 9 Acura ARX-02a Le Mans Prototype 1 car for the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans, retiring with transmission failure at Sebring and finishing sixth at Road Atlanta.

Dario Franchitti finished the first race 16th and Johnson crashed in the second.

Dario Franchitti returned to the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2011 and 2012 alongside Dixon, McMurray and Montoya at CGRFS, coming second and fourth respectively in the No 2 Riley-BMW entry.

Red Bull Racing driver Mark Webber had initiated plans for Dario Franchitti to drive a Porsche 919 Hybrid LMP1 vehicle at the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship upon retiring from IndyCar after 2014, and to race in the all-electric Formula E series.

Dario Franchitti conducted car demonstrations because he could not compete in any form of racing since he had to avoid further injury but doctors and Motorsport UK medically cleared Dario Franchitti to enter amateur classic car events from 2019.

Dario Franchitti has endorsed the Dutch watch brand TW Steel since 2010.

Dario Franchitti volunteered for the charity Bethany Christian Trust in Edinburgh as a van driver to deliver food and drink to homeless people, and for the charity Mission Motorsport, which supports the rehabilitation and employment of former military personnel, frequently through sport.

Dario Franchitti has appeared on the American television shows Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Dario Franchitti made a cameo appearance as a racing driver in the 2001 film Driven.

Dario Franchitti voiced a Scottish news anchor and a male tourist in the 2013 animated film Turbo, for which he provided technical consultation.

Dario Franchitti has served as a television co-commentator and driver pundit on Formula E's world feed since its inaugural season in 2014.

In 2019, Dario Franchitti and Take That band member Howard Donald co-presented the four-part Channel 4 television motoring series Mission Ignition.

Dario Franchitti has worked in development for high-performance car manufacturers Acura and Gordon Murray Automotive.

Dario Franchitti is a member of the "Brat Pack", an international group of CART drivers composed of Kanaan, Greg Moore and Max Papis, who shared a desire for enjoyment, attending all-night parties, discussing life and staying in close contact with one another.

Judd and Dario Franchitti became engaged that year and married on 12 December 2001 at Skibo Castle near Dornoch, Scotland.

Dario Franchitti has since married hedge-fund executive Eleanor Robb; the couple has two children.

Dario Franchitti received the Autosport British Club Driver of the Year in 1993, and the Autosport British Competition Driver of the Year in 1998 and 2010.

Six years later, Dario Franchitti received the BBC Scotland Sports Personality of the Year, the Gregor Grant Award, the Jackie Stewart Medal and the Callands Trophy.

Dario Franchitti was one of two winners of the BRDC Gold Star in 2009.

Since 2011, the Scottish National Gallery has held a 2010 photographic portrait of Dario Franchitti taken by David Livshin.

Dario Franchitti was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2014 Birthday Honours "for services to motor racing".

Dario Franchitti was elected to the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame in 2014; the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2017, the Open Wheel category of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2019; the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2022; and was the 2023 International Category inductee of the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame.