by Joe Jennings
3/25/2008 RICHMOND IndyCar stars Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. share an assortment of common bonds, including victories in the Indianapolis 500, IndyCar Series championships and now as newcomers to the competitive world of NASCAR racing. The two drivers and 29 others were at the Richmond International Raceway taking part in Nationwide Series tests in preparation for the Lipton Tea 250 on May 2. Even though Franchitti and Hornish have won IndyCar races on the lightning-fast oval, their transition to the heavier stock cars has been anything but easy. When you show up at a place where you have won before, you think Okay, I know this place, and I can go out and do a good job, Franchitti stated. One of the things I am learning is that it is easier for me to go a track that Ive never been to before because I have no pre-conceived ideas about what I am doing. The 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner indicated it took him 20 laps to figure out what he was doing inside the Nationwide car. You learn on the job and the whole thing has been much harder than I thought it would be. You are racing against the best guys in the business and then you throw in a couple of mechanical issues that have cost us. Regarding track familiarity, Hornish, a two-time IndyCar winner at RIR, said, I need more time in the car than I do at the track. You have to learn the car, learn the brakes and decide what you want out of a car. You have to know what the car likes about a track. When you have had success at a track, you feel like, Okay, I should be able to do it. I came here (Nationwide Series race) last year and crashed two cars in one day. If anything, track familiarity makes you feel over confident. Hornish believes he holds a slight advantage as he competed in a handful of Nationwide and Sprint Cup races toward the end of the 2007 season. I had my eyes opened to something that was very different, he said. I knew I wanted to make the change, as there wasnt a whole lot left for me to accomplish with the IndyCars. Also, I didnt want to look back at a later date and wonder whether I could have made it. I knew it was going to be difficult and that is why I wanted to do it. The way I look at it we have a tremendous opportunity to do better than we have done. Our team is new and it is like putting together a puzzle. We have a new driver, a new crew chief and a new team. We are trying to put together this puzzle but we dont know whether all of the pieces will fit. 2008 is a building year for us. Asked if they would consider running the double-header on May 25 — the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 at the Lowes Motor Speedway, Franchitti said he would not do so. Hornish, on the other hand, wavered slightly. We have talked about it with Penske Racing, Hornish said. The team is capable of running three cars at Indy but it is a lot about seeing how March and April goes. We will have to wait and see what happens, particularly on the NASCAR side of the equation. Regarding the unification between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League, Franchitti said he wished it had happened several years ago. Had it happened back then, it would have given me an opportunity to race at some of my favorite tracks and against numerous other drivers. Added Hornish, I felt like there was a need for the two series to come together. With the better teams having come over a while ago, I felt we already had the best of the best guys over here, as they were the tough ones to beat. I still feel like I made the right decision. Franchitti and Hornish stated they will be keeping an eye on the IndyCar Series opener on Saturday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. I think the same faces will be running at the front; that is, the AGR, the Ganassi and the Penske guys, Franchitti stated. The Champ Car guys will take a while to figure out the ovals but they should be able to do it quickly. Hornish said, I think a few guys will get their eyes opened as to how close the IndyCar guys run on the ovals and how quickly a little problem can turn into a big one.
While the two IndyCar stars relish the opportunity to discuss their former careers, they both affirm their commitment to NASCAR and to the challenges they have taken on.