Paul Webb/LAT
IMS Photo
Rear-view mirror
opposite ends of the spectrum. Hornish grew
up in small-town Ohio, was discovered at a
young age and won 19 IndyCar Series races in
eight years – all on ovals. Franchitti was born in
Scotland, emerged from the ranks of classically
trained European road racers, and was
considered unflappable on road courses. One a
phenom and oval specialist, the other not
arriving in the IndyCar Series until just recently.
Still, both credit the series with being their
most credible break to date.
“I wouldn’t be the same person if it wasn’t
for this series,” Hornish says. “I never would
have had the opportunity to drive at the
Indianapolis 500 if it wasn’t for the [IndyCar
Series] and the split between the two series. I
believe I’ve done a lot to benefit them and
they’ve done a lot to benefit me as well. It was
a great partnership. For me, it was time to
move on and try something different.”
Franchitti’s entrance wasn’t quite as
splashy as Hornish’s. He was already
established in CART, having tied Juan Pablo
Montoya for the 1999 championship – losing
it on a tiebreaker. When Team Green
restructured itself as Andretti Green Racing
and moved from CART to the IndyCar Series in
2003, Franchitti went along somewhat
reluctantly. He’d never been big on oval
racing, wasn’t sure if it was his cup of tea.
Until he won an IndyCar Series oval race, of
course. In 2004, after an injury kept him out
for some time, he won a race at Pikes Peak
International Raceway. At that point, he
28 IndyCarSeries 2007 winterspecial
started to enjoy going around in circles.
“It was at Pikes Peak where the light bulb
went off and I thought, ‘Ooh, that was fun. I
can do this,‘” Franchitti says. “In 2003, I didn’t
get to compete at Indy because of my back.
When I came back in 2004 the cars were
different from what I was used to, but with
Tony Kanaan there helping out and Bryan
Herta, that helped me a lot. From that point I
enjoyed it, I enjoyed being in Indianapolis and
started to understand what it would mean to
win the Indy 500.
“In 2005, we went to road courses, too, and
it was like, ‘OK, now we’re talking.’ That spread
of short ovals, road courses and Indianapolis
really made the series good. I still don’t enjoy
the mile-and-a-half pack style of racing. That
was my least favorite part about it.”
Rivals in the
IndyCar Series,
they will once
again be fighting
each other – and
41 seasoned stock
car drivers - in
NASCAR
A road racer by
experience, Dario
found a home on
the ovals
Darrell Ingham/Getty
“I’ve got my
face on the
trophy. All
of it is a
bonus”
Sam Hornish Jr.
Yet that was Hornish’s specialty, the mileand-a-half,
side-by-side circus. He leaves the
series having won three of the four closest
finishes in history. He transformed his ovalracing
gift into success at Indy and, after his
disappointment in this year‘s race, knows just
how fleeting and fickle Indianapolis can be.
“I know how difficult it is now to win one
Indy 500,” Hornish says. “Everything has to fall
into place and go your way. As fast as we were
in the race, we couldn’t make it happen. It
started raining at the wrong time.
“I’ve got the one; I got my face on the
trophy. All of it is a bonus.”
It’s all a bonus for Franchitti, too. His home
has a room devoted to racing lore and
memorabilia, where his trophies are displayed
among other items celebrating the history of
motorsports. To Franchitti, a student of racing
history, adding his name to the list at Indy
inspired awe.
“To get my name and face on the Borg-
WarnerTrophy with those other people, it’s
humbling,” he says. “It’s the highlight of my
career. Because of the way the race ended with
the downpour of rain, I had to make sure I got
back to the finish line. When I saw the way the
rain was coming down when that caution
started, I thought we had this thing in the bag.
Then I had to bring it to the finish because the
car was hydroplaning a lot. Until I crossed the
finish line, I wasn’t sure it was ours.”
But ours it is, for both of them. And it
always will be.
F.Peirce Williams/LAT
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